NATIONAL MILITARY UNITS IN THE CONDITIONS OF THE GREAT WAR AS A COMPONENT (DETERMINANT) OF STATE FORMATION: COMMON ORIGINS, DIFFERENCES AND POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIVITY

Abstract

The processes of nation- and state-building gain new ground in the conditions of the First World War, which led to the destruction of the continental empires. Such a component (determinant) as national military units is added to the traditional markers, without which it is difficult to imagine the outlined processes. It has been confirmed by time that their availability and level of combat effectiveness played a crucial role in modern state-building. The reasons for their creation and their role in each case had their unique contexts. However, they all became a compelling argument in defending the rights of national states to exist. In the conditions of the Russian Empire, as well as the formation of the Russian "democratic" model, it was virtually impossible to create a separate Ukrainian army. Confirmation of this fact was a significant resistance on the part of Russian senior command staff as well as mid-level officers. Notwithstanding the significant efforts by the Ukrainian activists to create and develop the army in the 1917-1920 period, the Ukrainian project at this stage could not be realized due to unfavorable political external and internal conditions. The Polish army, which ultimately became the main defensive and protective argument of the newly created state, had greater experience of autonomous existence. In the case of Poland and Czechoslovakia, the presence of powerful political leaders, around which military-political unity took place, worked in favor of the implementation of the state project. The Central States as well as Russia and France demonstrated significant interest in the creation and financial support of the Polish legions. This kind of competition for affection (supported by appropriate financial infusions, in particular from France) only contributed to the strengthening of the Polish legions, and provided moral support to its political leaders. In Ukrainian, Polish and Czechoslovakia cases both internal and external factors had worked and contributed to the creation of armies and independent states. Despite considerable similarity in the preconditions of creation and the factor of the Great War, the results of the state creation differed fundamentally in terms of success.