Problems of Foreign Policy Choice of the State Center of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in 1939–1940

Abstract

The Second World War was viewed by Ukrainians abroad and in Ukraine as a potential chance to restore Ukraine’s independence. At the beginning of the war, the main political forces of the Ukrainian emigration interfered in a state of mutual confrontation. Each of them tried to attract international contacts for support. The article examines the process of finding foreign policy allies by the State Center of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in exile at the first stage of World War II (1939–1940). The main attention is paid to the political processes in this part of the Ukrainian emigration, the disunity and the presence of three governing centers (in France, Czechoslovakia and Poland) and the foreign policy orientations of the emigration government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. For the first time, the document”Letters from the leading circles of the UPR” is published, which attempts to justify the need for a foreign policy alliance with Germany and criticizes the “francophilism” of some figures of the State Center of the UPR in Europe and America. The hypothetical circle of emigration politicians who could be the authors of these documents and their addressees is outlined. Attention is drawn to the fact that the conclusion of foreign policy agreements with Germany in the interwar period was a well-established practice for many countries at that time (France, England, the USSR, etc.). The reasons for the disinterest of the main players in world politics at this stage in the restoration of Ukraine’s independence are emphasized. As the government’s emigration status and military actions did not help preserve the archives, documents belonging to this period of Ukrainian history and diplomacy have come down to us in limited numbers. Publication and analysis of documents of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in exile, which relate to the foreign policy concepts of the Ukrainian emigration government, allow to more fully reveal the vision of ways to restore Ukraine’s independence after its territories were part of the USSR, Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia.