WESTERN UKRAINIAN PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC: INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITY (DEDICATED TO THE CENTENARY OF THE CREATION)

Abstract

In the first days of the activity of Ukrainian People's Council state and legal institutions were formed, and their functioning created conditions for the revival and development of the Ukrainian state. However, Galician politicians realized that the fate of the ZUNR in those historical conditions was largely dependent on its international recognition and the support of great powers. It was actualized by the fact that the revived Polish state tried to legalize its claims on Eastern Galicia. Along with the plans of national-state construction, Ukrainian politicians faced the problem of forming the conceptual foundations of foreign policy, defining its priorities, and establishing an appropriate foreign policy apparatus. On November 9, 1918, the government was formed – the State Secretariat, which united 14 Secretariats, including the State Secretariat of Foreign Affairs. Trying to take advantage of political and international realities, the ZUNR government concentrated its foreign policy activities on two directions: the establishment of relations with the UPR and the recognition of the WUPR by the victorious countries in the First World War (Entente, USA) and stopping the aggression of Poland with their assistance. Under the act of unification on January 22, 1919, an association of the ZUNR and the UPR was constitutionalized in one sovereign state of the People's Republics. However, there was no real association. Significant historical, psychological, ideological and political disagreements that had accumulated over the centuries came out. The political weakness of the UPR did not allow it to help ZUNR. In addition, the UPR itself was not recognized by the Western world. Galician politicians had good reason to rely on the international recognition of ZUNR during the Paris Peace Conference. However, significant successes in Paris could not be achieved, as Western politicians favored Poland as a stronger partner than ZUNR. In defending the right to their own statehood, Galician politicians at the talks in Riga (1920) sought not to legitimize the annexation of the Eastern Galicia by Poland. Although the goal was not achieved, however, the ZUNR leaders believed that Galician delegation was successful in the negotiations, as information was provided to the world press about the current state of the Galician problem. The ZUNR exiled government in Vienna focused on diplomacy and the international recognition of the Ukrainian state, hoping for international conferences and the League of Nations. However, neither the Council of Ambassadors of the Entente countries nor the League of Nations hastened to return to the issue of Galician statehood. The successes of the foreign policy of the politicians of the Western Ukrainian state were reduced by inconsistency of actions and conflicts within the Ukrainian delegations, by controversial foreign policy opinions, maximalism, and uncompromisingness. Excessive hopes for the Entente states inhibited the formation of practical political thinking. One can agree with the conclusions of the researchers that the ZUNR governments did not formulate clear concept of their foreign policy.