Grushevsky Mikhail Sergeevich
(1866 - 1934), Ukrainian historian, philologist and social scientist political figure. Academician of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, USSR Academy of Sciences.
Born on September 17, 1866 in the city of Kholm in the family of a teacher. Soon the family moved to the Caucasus, where the future historian spent his childhood and adolescence in Stavropol, Vladikavkaz and Tiflis. According to Grushevsky’s recollections, his interest in Ukrainian history and culture arose in his childhood. As a high school student, he independently learned the Ukrainian language. When the historical and artistic magazine “Kiev Antiquity” began to be published in Kyiv in 1887, Mikhail’s father subscribed to this publication. On the pages of “Kyiv Antiquity” Grushevsky first became acquainted with the works of V.B. Antonovich. Then, during his gymnasium years, his acquaintance with the historical works of N. I. Kostomarov and M. A. Maksimovich began. Thus, by the time he graduated from high school, Grushevsky was imbued with the concepts of the founders and ideologists of the Kyiv school of historians. Therefore, his path to the Kiev University of St. was natural. Vladimir, where V.B. taught. Antonovich.
Antonovich played a decisive role in the development of Grushevsky as a historian. Under the leadership of Antonovich, he wrote his first works: “South Russian Gospodar castles in the half of the 16th century.” and an essay on the history of the Kyiv land. By this time, books by P.V. had already been published. Golubovsky and D.I. Bagaleya about the Seversk land, N.V. Molchanovsky about Podolskaya, A.M. Andriyasheva about Volynskaya. Then, in the 1890s and 1900s, studies by M.V. Dovnar-Zapolsky about the Krivichs and Dregovichs, Golubovsky about the Smolensk land and others. Grushevsky’s essay, written according to the general plan of work of the Antonovich school (first a geographical sketch, then a historical one), was distinguished by the scale of the research and the conclusions drawn on its basis. Arguing for his awarding a gold medal, Antonovich especially noted the author’s conclusions about the presence of zemstvo boyars in Kyiv and the assumption of the absence of princes in Southern Rus' after the Mongol conquest. It should be noted that assumptions, often completely hypothetical, occupied an unreasonably large place in the book for scientific research.
Grushevsky graduated from Kiev University in 1890. In 1891, Antonovich announced the imminent prospect of opening a department of general history at Lvov University with a special review of the history of Eastern Europe and began to prepare Grushevsky to occupy this department. In 1892, Mikhail Sergeevich passed his master's exams. The topic of his master's thesis was suggested to him by Antonovich and is devoted to the history of the Barsky eldership - an administrative-territorial unit of Poland in the 15th - 18th centuries. with a predominantly Ukrainian population. Having discovered a lack of literature on this issue, Grushevsky processed a lot of material from several archives. Built according to the scheme of other “regional” monographs of Antonovich’s school, the book “Manorial eldership. Historical Sketches” (Kyiv, 1894) went beyond the school’s scheme: chronologically it belonged to a later time, “territorially” it went far to the west. The author paid special attention to the urban community; Much was said in the work about Magdeburg law. In 1894, the dissertation was successfully defended, and Grushevsky became a master of Russian history. After his defense, the scientist went to Lviv, where he took the waiting department, which actually became the department of history of Ukraine.
In Lvov, Grushevsky launched a vigorous activity. Having headed the Scientific Society named after. Taras Shevchenko, he turned it into something like the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. The society organized its work into three sections: historical, philological and natural-mathematical. The society established a museum, a library, a large printing house and a bookstore. At the same time, Grushevsky became the editor of the “Notes” of the society, transformed from a yearbook into a bimonthly. Until 1913, more than 100 volumes of this publication were published. Along with “Notes,” Grushevsky headed another magazine, “Literary and Scientific Bulletin.” The scientist also gave public lectures in Lviv, expanding the horizons of Galician Ukrainians. Soon after arriving in Lvov, the scientist became involved in political activities, joining the Galician National Democrats party. In his scientific work, Grushnitsky directed his main efforts towards creating a generalizing (“synthetic”) history of Ukraine. At first, he intended to publish a relatively small three-volume work, but as research progressed, the work grew and in the final version it was an unfinished ten-volume work (the author intended to complete the presentation until the end of the 18th century, but only completed it until 1658). The scientist’s views on the history of Ukraine in the second half of the 17th century - the beginning of the 20th century are set out in his other works - “Essay on the history of the Ukrainian people” and “Illustrated history of Ukraine”).
Unlike Grushevsky’s early works, in which he was a supporter of the federalist theory of N.I. Kostomarov and V.B. Antonovich, “History of Ukraine-Rus” was based on a different concept. The author developed the views of his predecessors to their logical conclusion. He believed that the ancestors of the Ukrainians were the ancient Ant tribes, in other words, the independent history of the people began with them in the 4th century. According to Grushevsky's concept, the first independent Ukrainian power was Kievan Rus, which reached its peak under Vladimir the Holy, who united various Slavic lands. The scientist identified several reasons for the collapse of the unified Kyiv state into separate lands: here was the formation of new princely centers, and the economic and colonization processes that captured the Dnieper region. Unlike most representatives of Russian science, Grushevsky considered the successor of Kievan Rus not to the Vladimir-Suzdal land, but to the Galicia-Volyn region. As the scientist emphasized, this state “continued... for another whole century after the decline of the Kyiv land in the full force of the tradition of great power politics, the princely squad regime, the socio-political forms and culture developed by the Kyiv state.” The main content of the late (13th century) history of Galician-Volyn Rus', in his opinion, was its gradual incorporation by neighboring states: Lithuania, Poland and Hungary.
The most important element of Grushevsky’s concept was the idea of the continuous development of the Ukrainian nation. Many Russian historians believed that the Tatar invasion led to the desolation of the Dnieper region and the departure of the population to the North-East. Grushevsky's predecessors: M.A. Maksimovich, V.B. Antonovich and M.F. Vladimirsky-Budanov - showed that the desolation was not absolute, some population remained. Grushevsky, joining this point of view, emphasized that the main role in the settlement of the Dnieper region belonged “not to the newcomers, but to the local population, which never completely disappeared.”
Grushevsky gave a relatively detailed description of the community. He called a community “a self-governing social group in different forms (rural community, city, veche district, self-governing land). The princely-squad element was opposed to the communal one.
When presenting the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grushevsky was in line with the traditions of the Kievan school, considering this state to be one of the two centers of unification of ancient Russian lands, along with the Moscow state, a successor to the traditions of Kievan Rus. The historian emphasized the great importance of the East Slavic population in the political and social structure and life of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, with the Catholicization and Polonization of the region, previously barely noticeable contradictions between the Eastern Slavs and Lithuanians begin to intensify and ultimately lead to the reorientation of the former to Muscovite Rus'. Grushevsky observed such trends starting from 1385. By the beginning of the 16th century, they were already fully formed, and active Polonization after the Lublin Union of Lithuania with Poland in 1569 completed the process of reorientation.
In the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Muscovite Rus', and the Russian Empire, Ukrainians were either a simple passive object of government or were in sharp opposition to the state system. According to Grushevsky, on political life Ukrainians did not exert any influence on the country. The only content of their history was only cultural and economic processes.
Speaking about the origin of the Cossacks, Grushevsky distinguished the Cossacks as an everyday phenomenon, a social system and a term. The main mistake of the authors of the mid-19th century (Kostomarov, Antonovich, Maksimovich), in his opinion, was the spread of the late structure of the Cossacks (early 17th century) to the early period of its history (late 15th - early 16th century). Grushevsky rightly noted that in the 15th – 16th centuries “the Cossacks were more an occupation than a social position... The Cossacks as a social class, like any “communities”, are not visible in our documentary material for a long, long time, almost until the very end of the 17th century " The historian believed that the original Cossacks united: the population of the Dnieper region, which lost state power due to the raids of nomads; “industrialists” from more distant regions, attracted by the freedom and natural resources of the region, and, finally, fugitive peasants and townspeople fleeing oppression.
Following Antonovich, Grushevsky noted the broad democracy of the Ukrainians, expressed in the creation of the Cossack state. This feature of Ukrainian statehood came into conflict with the predominance of the monarchical principle in Russia, which ultimately led to the liquidation of the autonomy of Ukraine in the second half of the 18th century. All manifestations of anti-Russian protests were described sympathetically by Grushevsky, although he was far from idealizing the leaders of these movements, for example I.S. Mazepa. When presenting the history of the 19th century, the scientist focused on the facts of the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation (prohibitions of the Ukrainian language, persecution of representatives of the intelligentsia), while practically nothing was said about the economy of Ukraine and its social development.
In its most concentrated form, Grushevsky’s concept was presented in the article “The usual scheme of “Russian” history and the matter of rational presentation of the history of the Eastern Slavs,” published in 1904 and which became widely known, prepared in connection with the intention of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences to publish an encyclopedia of Slavic studies. Grushevsky’s concept, with rare exceptions (A.A. Shakhmatov, A.E. Presnyakov), met with rejection and condemnation in Russian historiography. In addition, having become the political basis of Ukrainian nationalism, this theory and Grushevsky himself became persona non grata in the socio-political life of the Russian Empire. At the same time, everyone, including the historian’s opponents, recognized the significant factual value of the “History of Ukraine-Rus.”
During the years of the first Russian revolution, Grushevsky transferred to Kyiv the publication of the “Notes” of the Scientific Society named after. T. Shevchenko and “Literary and Scientific Bulletin”. At the same time, he traveled to St. Petersburg, where he took part in the work of the Ukrainian faction of the first State Duma. At this time, his numerous journalistic works “Ukrainianism in Russia, its demands and needs”, “The Ukrainian Question”, “Unity or Disintegration of Russia”, “Autonomy and the National Question”, etc. were published. In them, the historian advocated the autonomy of Ukraine in within the framework of a unified Russian state, called on the government to pursue a policy of stimulating the languages and culture of national minorities, including Ukrainians. Grushevsky's name is becoming popular, but his activities are causing growing discontent among the authorities. Therefore, Grushevsky, even after receiving the degree of Doctor of Russian History honoris causa from Kharkov University in 1907, was unable to fill the vacant position declared after the death of Professor P.V. Golubovsky Department of Russian History in Kiev
university.
In 1904 – 1914 “Essay on the history of the Ukrainian people” intended for Russian readers was published (based on a course of lectures given by Grushevsky at the invitation of M.M. Kovalevsky at the Russian Free School in Paris) and Russian translations of the popular “Illustrated History of Ukraine”, as well as three volumes “History of Ukraine-Rus”, dedicated to Kievan Rus and the history of the Cossacks. At the same time, editor of the historical department of the New encyclopedic dictionary Brockhaus - Efron N.I. Kareev suggested that Grushevsky write a general outline of the history of Ukraine. The prepared text of the essay almost exceeded the volume of an entire volume of the dictionary, and publication did not take place. In general, Grushevsky’s participation in the scientific life of Russia was quite wide - he corresponded with many Russian scientists, published reviews of Russian books, his works were known in Russia.
Meanwhile, the scientist became the recognized head of Galician historians. His students were: E. Terletsky, M. Korduba, S. Tomashevsky, I. Dzhidzhora, I. Kripyakevich and others. In September 1914, Grushevsky intended to resign, move to Kiev and focus exclusively on scientific work. This was also facilitated by contradictions within the Ukrainian national liberation movement in Galicia. Some of its participants agreed to cooperate with the Poles, which Grushevsky categorically objected to. In 1913, during the election of the new leadership of the Scientific Society named after. T. Shevchenko, all supporters of Grushevsky were defeated in the vote. Under these conditions, he did not want to remain as chairman and, having edited the 116th volume of notes, resigned. However, his plans were not destined to come true - the First World War began.
Military operations found the Grushevsky family in the Carpathians, where they had their own house. The scientist was forced to leave first to Hungary, then to Vienna. Due to persecution by the police, who saw him as an agent of the Russians, Grushevsky moved to neutral Italy, and then through Romania to Russia. In mid-November 1914, the historian arrived in Kyiv, where he soon went to prison on charges of collaboration with the Austrians and anti-Russian propaganda. Grushevsky's imprisonment lasted until February 1915. The authorities intended to deport him to Siberia, and only the active requests of Russian historians (in particular, Academician A. A. Shakhmatov) and the petition of the President of the Academy of Sciences, Grand Duke K. K. Romanov, led to the change of Siberia to Simbirsk . After living in Simbirsk for several months, the scientist received permission to move to university Kazan. Grushevsky did not stop scientific work, preparing the next volume of “History of Ukraine-Rus”. In the fall of 1916, he was allowed to move to Moscow.
After the February Revolution on March 11, 1917, he left Moscow and went to Ukraine. In Kyiv, he immediately became involved in political activities. He is elected head of the Central Rada of Ukraine. It should be emphasized that before the October Revolution, Grushevsky spoke from the position of the federalist republican structure of Russia, for the autonomy of Ukraine within this state. At the same time, he saw federal Russia as a democratic republic as a stage towards the political restructuring of Europe into a European federation.
During the attack of the Bolshevik troops on Kyiv, Grushevsky’s house burned down, and numerous books and manuscripts were lost in the fire. Together with other members of the Central Rada, Grushevsky moved to Volyn and returned to Kyiv again with German troops who occupied Ukraine. His political attitudes are changing: he has moved away from focusing on Russia. The fourth universal of the Central Rada, compiled by Grushevsky, proclaimed the independence of Ukraine on January 11, 1918. At the same time, Grushevsky still adhered to federalist ideas, but called for an alliance with new states that arose from the ruins of the Russian Empire, within the framework of the Black Sea Federation he was projecting.
The policies of the Central Rada soon began to cause discontent among various segments of the population. On April 29, at the congress of the Union of Land Owners, he was elected new chapter state - former general of the tsarist army P.P., proclaimed hetman. Skoropadsky. Grushevsky was forced to go underground. At the end of 1918, after the Hetman was overthrown and the Directory came to power, Grushevsky came out of hiding and tried to revive the ideas of the Central Rada, but, having encountered opposition from the new authorities, he left Kiev.
At the beginning of 1919, he lived briefly in Kamenets-Podolsky, where he edited the newspaper “Life of Podolia”, the organ of the Ukrainian Socialist Party. In March, Grushevsky left for Galicia and then to Prague. In 1922, he left the Ukrainian Socialist Revolutionary Party and concentrated on scientific work. The lack of necessary sources did not allow him to continue working on his main work, so there is a temporary reorientation of his scientific interests. Back in 1919, he organized the Ukrainian Sociological Institute in Vienna with money from the Ukrainian diaspora. As part of the scientific theme of the institute’s classes, Grushevsky prepared an important theoretical work, “The Origin of Society (Genetic Sociology).” Using available literary sources, as well as materials from new volumes of the “History of Ukraine-Rus,” the scientist began work on the multi-volume “History of Ukrainian Literature.” During the author's lifetime, five volumes were published, brought to the beginning of the 17th century. The sixth volume, prepared for publication, was released only in 1995. In fact, this book by Grushevsky is a study of Ukrainian spirituality.
The impossibility of continuing full-time work as a historian abroad led to Grushevsky offering his services to Kharkov (then the capital of Ukraine). He was sympathetic to the formation of the USSR on a federal basis and, after receiving permission from the authorities, returned to Kyiv in March 1924. By this time, he had already been elected academician of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, where he became the head of the historical and philological department. Numerous commissions and dozens of employees worked under his leadership. The department's press organ, the magazine "Ukraine", published both articles by Grushevsky himself and other employees. Archaeographic activity, traditional for the Kyiv school, has resumed: many previously unknown documents of Ukrainian history are published in the department’s publications.
In 1926, Grushevsky’s 60th anniversary was widely celebrated in the USSR. By this date, a collection of essays dedicated to him was published. Volumes of “History of Ukraine-Rus” began to be published again. He did not stop his teaching activities and supervised graduate students. His closest assistant was his only daughter Catherine, a talented historian and sociologist (she was later repressed and died in a camp). Recognition of the merits of Grushevsky the scientist was his election in 1929 as an academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences. But this success was the last. The “great turning point” of 1929–1931 came.
Under the pretext of reorganization, the magazine “Ukraine” is actually closed. Reforms in the structure of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine lead to the removal of Grushevsky from the leadership of the department. On March 23, 1931, on the way to Leningrad for a session of the USSR Academy of Sciences, he was arrested in Moscow. By this time, one of his employees, Professor F. Savchenko, was forced during interrogation to confirm false information: allegedly Grushevsky returned to Ukraine to continue the political struggle and unite nationalist forces; he pinned his main hopes on the intervention of Western countries and kulak uprisings; He headed the Ukrainian Nationalist Center. The academician was transported to Kharkov, where from March 28 to April 3 he was interrogated and forced to plead guilty to all charges. On April 4, Grushevsky was again transported to Moscow, where he was interrogated by the deputy chairman of the OGPU, Ya.S. Agranov. It seemed that the scientist’s fate was predetermined. But on April 14, he was received by Agranov and renounced his testimony: “It’s hard for me to talk about this,” Grushevsky said, “but I do not belong to the breed of heroes and could not stand the 9-hour night interrogation. I am an old man, my strength has long been undermined. Before prison I had the flu. I couldn’t withstand the investigator’s harsh pressure.”
Grushevsky was released. As it became known later, the decisive role in his release was played by the petition of his cousin, in 1931 the deputy chairman of the State Planning Committee, G. Lomov-Oppokov. After his release, Grushevsky lived in Moscow, but the criminal case was not dropped and the scientist lived under the threat of a new arrest. Probably, on the advice of the same Lomov, in August 1933 Grushevsky sent a letter to the Chairman of the State Planning Committee V.V. Kuibysheva. In the letter, Grushevsky emphasized: “As a result of this cruel and hasty reprisal, I became a scarecrow. Everyone is afraid of touching me in any way. Ideological, political, criminal accusations are flying around me.” In conclusion, the historian asked that the materials left in Kyiv be returned to him and thus the opportunity for full-fledged scientific work. In the accompanying note to the letter, Lomov noted: “With Hitler’s bet on Ukraine, we need to keep some names of the national liberation movement at the ready. Grushevsky is a big name. It is unlikely that it should be completely driven into the ground; it will certainly come in handy at the right time. It seems to me that Grushevsky should be supported financially and reassured a little. I am convinced that he will agree to make any protest against Hitler-Rosenberg, etc.” Soon the criminal case was dropped.
However, the persecution of Grushevsky in Ukraine did not stop. In May 1934, the People's Commissar of Education of Ukraine V.P. Zatonsky turned to the head of the republic S.V. Kosioru and P.V. Postyshev with a proposal to expel Grushevsky from the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Grushevsky's views and past activities were subject to fierce criticism at all levels. But they didn’t have time to expel Grushevsky. On November 25, 1934, he died in Kislovodsk, where he was on vacation, during an unsuccessful operation for a carbuncle. By government decree, he was buried in Kyiv, at the Baikovo cemetery.
How is the rating calculated?◊ The rating is calculated based on points awarded over the last week
◊ Points are awarded for:
⇒ visiting pages dedicated to the star
⇒voting for a star
⇒ commenting on a star
Biography, life story of Mikhail Sergeevich Grushevsky
Mikhail Sergeevich Grushevsky is a Ukrainian historian, revolutionary, public and political figure.
Childhood and adolescence. Education
Mikhail Grushevsky was born on September 29, 1866 in Kholm, Polish Kingdom (today Chelm, Poland), in the family of Sergei Fedorovich, a professor of Russian literature, and his wife Glafira Zakharovna.
Grushevsky received his primary and secondary education at the Tiflis gymnasium. Then, from 1886 to 1890, he studied at Kiev University at the Faculty of History and Philology. In 1894, Mikhail successfully defended his dissertation for a master’s degree “Manorial eldership. Historical essays".
Scientific, political and social activities
After graduating from Kyiv University, Mikhail Grushevsky began publishing his scientific articles in respected publications. In these works, Grushevsky presented and supported with facts his theory of the origin and development of statehood of Kievan Rus.
In 1894, master of history Mikhail Grushevsky became head of the department of general history with a special review of the history of Eastern Europe at Lviv University. It was there that Grushevsky began work on his fundamental work, “The History of Ukraine-Rus,” which eventually fit into eight volumes.
In 1895, Grushevsky became editor of the "Notes of the Scientific Society named after". After 2 years, Mikhail Sergeevich took the position of chairman of this society.
In 1906, Mikhail Grushevsky became a doctor of Russian history. This honorary degree was awarded to him by Kharkov University.
On December 11, 1914, Mikhail Grushevsky was arrested. The historian was accused of Austrophilism and participation in the process of creating the Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. Grushevsky spent several months in prison, after which he was exiled to Simbirsk. In 1905, police surveillance was established over Grushevsky. Soon, thanks to his connections in the professorship, Mikhail Sergeevich settled in Kazan, but only on the condition that he signed a written undertaking not to leave the city and the impossibility of changing his place of residence within Kazan. In 1916, Grushevsky moved to Moscow - this was facilitated by the “cream” of the liberal intelligentsia, whom Mikhail managed to convince that his stay in Kazan endangered him scientific activity and the safety of his family.
CONTINUED BELOW
After the revolution of 1917, Mikhail Grushevsky, at a meeting of representatives of political, cultural and public organizations in Kyiv, was elected chairman of the newly created Central Rada. In his new position, Grushevsky began to form a national statehood, first providing for the national-territorial autonomy of Ukraine. In the spring of 1917, Mikhail Sergeevich acted as one of the founders of the Ukrainian Socialist Revolutionary Party.
In November 1917, after an armed uprising in Petrograd, the Central Rada announced the creation of the Ukrainian People's Republic. In January 1918, the UPR declared itself independent. Mikhail Grushevsky took over the responsibilities for developing the Constitution of Ukraine.
In the spring of 1919, after the abolition of the Central Rada, Mikhail Grushevsky left for Vienna. There he created the Ukrainian Sociological Institute. At the same time, Grushevsky began writing appeals to the Ukrainian Soviet government. In his letters, Mikhail Sergeevich passionately condemned his counter-revolutionary activities and admitted the error of his judgments. In 1924, the government allowed Grushevsky to return to his native land for scientific work. So Grushevsky became a professor of history at Kyiv State University, an academician of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, the head of the archaeological commission of the Academy and a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
In 1931, Mikhail Sergeevich was arrested again. He was accused of counter-revolutionary activities and anti-Sovietism. After his release, he began working in Moscow.
Death
In 1934, Mikhail Grushevsky went to Kislovodsk in order to improve his own health. On November 24, after a minor surgical operation, the Ukrainian historian and revolutionary died suddenly. His body was buried at the Baikovo cemetery in Kyiv.
Family
The wife and faithful life partner of Mikhail Grushevsky was Maria Silvestrovna Voyakovskaya (1868-1948), a translator. In 1900, a daughter, Ekaterina, was born into the family (d. 1943).
Plan
Introduction
1 Biography
1.1 Theory of ethnogenesis of the Ukrainian people
1.2 Grushevsky and Russophiles
1.3 The period after the February Revolution of 1917
1.4 The fate of the family
2 Memory
Bibliography
Introduction
Mikhail Sergeevich Grushevsky (Ukrainian Mikhailo Sergeyovich Grushevsky) (September 29, 1866, Kholm, Kingdom of Poland - November 25, 1934, Kislovodsk) - public and political figure of Ukraine, one of the leaders of the Ukrainian national movement, chairman of the Ukrainian Central Rada, historian of Ukraine and Austria Hungary, professor at Lvov University (1894-1914), academician of the VUAN. Grushevsky is the author of “The History of Ukraine-Rus,” a work that covered the entire history of Ukraine.
1. Biography
Mikhail Grushevsky was born in Kholm, (Poland, now Chelm, Polish. Chełm). His father was a teacher at a Greek-Uniate gymnasium. He spent his youth in the Caucasus, where he studied at the Tiflis gymnasium.
In 1886-1890 he studied at the Faculty of Philology of Kyiv University. For his student work “Essay on the history of the Kyiv land from the death of Yaroslav to the end of the 14th century.” received a gold medal and was retained at the university.
After graduating from the university, Grushevsky published articles in “Kiev Antiquity”, “Notes of the Shevchenko Scientific Society”, and published two volumes of materials in the “Archive of Southwestern Russia” (part VIII, vols. I and II). The preface to these materials was Grushevsky’s master’s thesis, entitled “The Lord’s Starostvo” (Kyiv, 1894).
1.1. Theory of ethnogenesis of the Ukrainian people
In his works, Grushevsky developed his theory of the origin and development of statehood of Kievan Rus and its people.
1.2. Grushevsky and Russophiles
In 1894, the Department of General History was opened at Lvov University with a special review of the history of Eastern Europe, which Grushevsky occupied.
In Lvov, Grushevsky wrote and published his historical works “Vimki from zherel to the history of Ukraine-Rus” (1895), “Inventory of royalty in the lands of the Russians of the 16th century.” (1895-1903, 4 vols.), “Explorations and materials before the history of Ukraine-Rus” (1896-1904, 5 vols.) and began working on his main work - the eight-volume “History of Ukraine-Rus”.
Gradually, Grushevsky became the leader of the entire scientific and cultural life of Galicia: from 1895 he worked as editor of the “Notes of the Shevchenko Scientific Partnership”, and in 1897 he was elected chairman of this society. He hired the leaders of the national movement of Galicia - Franko and Pavlik - into the society. In 1899, Grushevsky actively participated in the creation of the Ukrainian National Democratic Party in Galicia.
In 1906, Kharkov University awarded Grushevsky an honorary doctorate in Russian history. In 1908, while continuing to remain a professor at Lvov University and chairman of the Scientific Partnership, Grushevsky nominated himself for a department at Kiev University, but was refused.
In 1914, after 20 years of work at Lvov University, he moved to live in Kyiv, where he directed the activities of the “Scientific Partnership in Kiev” and moved the publication of the “Literary and Scientific Bulletin” here. Arrested in December 1914 on charges of espionage for Austria-Hungary, and after several months in prison, he was exiled by order of the head of the Kiev Military District to Simbirsk, as stated in the order, “for the duration of the state of the localities from which he was expelled, under martial law.” In exile, he wrote the historical drama “Khmelnytsky in Pereyaslav” and “Yaroslav Osmomysl”, the plot of which was the entry in the Ipatiev Chronicle about the expulsion of Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl by the Galicians in 1173 for marrying the daughter of a “smerda” while the princess was alive.
At the end of 1915, Grushevsky managed to obtain permission (with the help of Academician A. A. Shakhmatov) to move to Kazan, and a year later to Moscow, where he lived until the February Revolution.
1.3. The period after the February Revolution of 1917
After the February Revolution on March 4, 1917, representatives of the largest parties in Ukraine created the Central Rada in Kyiv. Grushevsky was elected in absentia as its chairman and arrived in Kyiv on March 14.
At the beginning of April 1917, the Founding Congress of the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (UPSR) took place, one of the founders of which was Grushevsky (together with N. Kovalevsky, P. Khristyuk, V. Golubovich, N. Shrag, N. Shapoval, etc.)
As Chairman of the Central Rada, Grushevsky negotiated with the Russian Provisional Government on granting autonomy to Ukraine.
On November 25, 1917, according to the results of the general elections, Grushevsky was elected to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly in Kyiv District No. 1 - Ukrainian Socialist Revolutionaries, Selyanskaya Spilka, Ukrainian Social Democrats.
At the end of March 1919 he left for Austria and created the Ukrainian Sociological Institute in Vienna - the ideological center of the Ukrainian nationalist counter-revolution. After several appeals by Grushevsky to the Ukrainian Soviet government, in which he condemned his counter-revolutionary activities, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee in 1924 allowed him to return to his homeland for scientific work. Was a professor of history at Kiev state university, elected academician of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, head of the historical and philological department. He headed the archaeographic commission of the VUAN, the purpose of which was to create a scientific description of publications printed on the territory of ethnographic Ukraine in the 16th-18th centuries. Under this commission, on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of printing in Ukraine, a committee was created, the secretary of which was V. Barvinok.
Beginning in 1930, Grushevsky was subjected to repression and persecution by security forces. He was accused of “counter-revolutionary activities” and was accused of participating in the anti-Soviet Ukrainian National Center, including demanding that he confess to organizing terrorist attacks and assassination attempts on leading party leaders. Repression also affected most of his students and employees who worked with him during the 1920s. Almost all of Grushevsky’s employees were repressed. From 1930 he worked in Moscow.
One of Grushevsky’s most irreconcilable opponents was the famous orientalist A.E. Krymsky; among the more tolerant opponents, who partially shared his ideas, one can name A.P. Ogloblin. In 1929 Grushevsky was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
He died in 1934 from blood poisoning in Kislovodsk and was buried with honors.
1.4. The fate of the family
“Repressed posthumously” - at the end of the 1930s, all his works were banned, many relatives (among them his daughter, also a famous historian) were repressed and died. When prosecuting members of Grushevsky’s family, the testimony of his former student (and at the same time an NKVD informant, and later a Ukrainian collaborator) K. F. Shteppa was used.
In Lviv, on the territory of the estate where he lived until 1914, today there is a Grushevsky Museum. Monuments to him were erected in Lvov and Kyiv.
Mikhail Grushevsky is depicted on the 50 hryvnia banknote.
Bibliography:
1. Mikhail Grushevsky - the first president of Ukraine?
2. Members of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly
3. Mikhail Sergeevich Grushevsky
Mikhail Grushevsky was born in Kholm, (Poland, now Chełm, Polish Chełm). His father was a teacher at a Greek-Uniate gymnasium. He spent his youth in the Caucasus, where he studied at the Tiflis gymnasium.
In 1886-1890 he studied at the Faculty of Philology of Kyiv University. For his student work “Essay on the history of the Kyiv land from the death of Yaroslav to the end of the 14th century.” received a gold medal and was retained at the university.
After graduating from the university, Grushevsky published articles in “Kiev Antiquity”, “Notes of the Shevchenko Scientific Society”, and published two volumes of materials in the “Archive of Southwestern Russia” (part VIII, vols. I and II). The preface to these materials was Grushevsky’s master’s thesis, entitled “The Lord’s Starostvo” (Kyiv, 1894).
Theory of ethnogenesis of the Ukrainian people
In his works, Grushevsky developed his theory of the origin and development of statehood of Kievan Rus and its people.
Grushevsky and Russophiles
In 1894, the Department of General History was opened at Lvov University with a special review of the history of Eastern Europe, which Grushevsky occupied.
In Lvov, Grushevsky wrote and published his historical works “Vimki from zherel to the history of Ukraine-Rus” (1895), “Inventory of royalty in the lands of the Russians of the 16th century.” (1895-1903, 4 vols.), “Explorations and materials before the history of Ukraine-Rus” (1896-1904, 5 vols.) and began working on his main work - the eight-volume “History of Ukraine-Rus”.
Gradually, Grushevsky became the leader of the entire scientific and cultural life of Galicia: from 1895 he worked as editor of the “Notes of the Shevchenko Scientific Partnership”, and in 1897 he was elected chairman of this society. He hired the leaders of the national movement of Galicia - Franko and Pavlik - into the society. In 1899, Grushevsky actively participated in the creation of the Ukrainian National Democratic Party in Galicia.
In 1906, Kharkov University awarded Grushevsky an honorary doctorate in Russian history. In 1908, while continuing to remain a professor at Lvov University and chairman of the Scientific Partnership, Grushevsky nominated himself for a department at Kiev University, but was refused.
In 1914, after 20 years of work at Lvov University, he moved to live in Kiev, where he led the activities of the “Scientific Partnership in Kiev” and moved the publication of the “Literary and Scientific Bulletin” here. Arrested in December 1914 on charges of espionage for Austria-Hungary, and after several months in prison, he was exiled by order of the head of the Kiev Military District to Simbirsk, as stated in the order, “for the duration of the state of the localities from which he was expelled, under martial law.” In exile, he wrote the historical drama “Khmelnytsky in Pereyaslav” and “Yaroslav Osmomysl”, the plot of which was the entry in the Ipatiev Chronicle about the expulsion of Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl by the Galicians in 1173 for marrying the daughter of a “smerda” while the princess was alive.
At the end of 1915, Grushevsky managed to obtain permission (with the help of Academician A. A. Shakhmatov) to move to Kazan, and a year later to Moscow, where he lived until the February Revolution.
The period after the February Revolution of 1917
After the February Revolution on March 4, 1917, representatives of the largest parties in Ukraine created the Central Rada in Kyiv. Grushevsky was elected in absentia as its chairman and arrived in Kyiv on March 14.
At the beginning of April 1917, the Founding Congress of the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (UPSR) took place, one of the founders of which was Grushevsky (together with N. Kovalevsky, P. Khristyuk, V. Golubovich, N. Shrag, N. Shapoval, etc.)
As Chairman of the Central Rada, Grushevsky negotiated with the Russian Provisional Government on granting autonomy to Ukraine.
On November 25, 1917, according to the results of the general elections, Grushevsky was elected to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly in Kyiv District No. 1 - Ukrainian Socialist Revolutionaries, Selyanskaya Spilka, Ukrainian Social Democrats.
At the end of March 1919 he left for Austria and created the Ukrainian Sociological Institute in Vienna - the ideological center of the Ukrainian nationalist counter-revolution. After several appeals by Grushevsky to the Ukrainian Soviet government, in which he condemned his counter-revolutionary activities, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee in 1924 allowed him to return to his homeland for scientific work. He was a professor of history at Kiev State University, elected academician of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, and head of the historical and philological department. He headed the archaeographic commission of the VUAN, the purpose of which was to create a scientific description of publications printed on the territory of ethnographic Ukraine in the 16th-18th centuries. Under this commission, on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of printing in Ukraine, a committee was created, the secretary of which was V. Barvinok.
Beginning in 1930, Grushevsky was subjected to repression and persecution by security forces. He was accused of “counter-revolutionary activities” and was accused of participating in the anti-Soviet Ukrainian National Center, including demanding that he confess to organizing terrorist acts and assassination attempts on leading party figures. Repression also affected most of his students and employees who worked with him during the 1920s. Almost all of Grushevsky’s employees were repressed. From 1930 he worked in Moscow under the close control of the OGPU.
One of Grushevsky’s most irreconcilable opponents was the famous orientalist A.E. Krymsky; among the more tolerant opponents, who partially shared his ideas, one can name A.P. Ogloblin. In 1929 Grushevsky was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
He died in 1934 from blood poisoning in Kislovodsk and was buried with honors.
The fate of the family
“Repressed posthumously” - at the end of the 1930s, all his works were banned, many relatives (among them his daughter, also a famous historian) were repressed and died. When prosecuting members of Grushevsky’s family, the testimony of his former student (and at the same time an NKVD informant, and later a Ukrainian collaborator) K. F. Shteppa was used.
Memory
In Lviv, on the territory of the estate where he lived until 1914, today there is a Grushevsky Museum. Monuments to him were erected in Lvov and Kyiv.
Mikhail Grushevsky, depicted on the Ukrainian fifty-hryvnia banknote, is the closest to us in time among all domestic figures who “got caught on the money.” And his biography and contribution to the development of the Ukrainian state are known perhaps better than others. However, here the reader can expect certain surprises.
The fact is that Mikhail Grushevsky, who is now being proclaimed from all the high stands and memorial plaques as the “first President of Ukraine,” in fact, never was!
And this is not the only paradox associated with Grushevsky’s personality.
But let's start in order.
The future “first president” and chairman of the Ukrainian Central Rada was born on September 17 (29), 1866 in the town of Kholm, Lublin province of the Russian Empire (now the city of Chelm, Poland) in the family of a gymnasium teacher. His father, Sergei Fedorovich Grushevsky, was the author of a textbook on the Church Slavonic language adopted by the Ministry of Education and repeatedly republished in Russia. The copyright for this textbook brought the family, and later Mikhail Grushevsky himself, stable income, which allowed him to focus on his own historical research.
Soon after Mikhail’s birth, the family moved to the Caucasus, where he spent his childhood and adolescence in Stavropol, Vladikavkaz and Tiflis. After graduating from the Tiflis gymnasium in 1885, he entered the Faculty of History and Philology of the Kyiv University of St. Vladimir, where he studied with Professor Vladimir Antonovich. Under his leadership, he prepared works on southern Russian castles of the first half of the 16th century. and “The History of the Kyiv Land from the Death of Yaroslav to the End of the XIV Century,” which was awarded a gold medal.
After Grushevsky defended his master's thesis in 1894, Professor Antonovich recommended that Lviv University take the newly minted master's degree in his place as a professor in the newly created department of history.
The fact that a subject of the Russian emperor, Mikhail Grushevsky, moved to Lvov in 1894, which was then under the rule of Austria-Hungary, and received a high professorship there, subsequently gave rise to a lot of rumors. Allegedly, the insidious Austrians even then, twenty years before the start of the First World War, decided to plant a “mine” under the national “unity” of the Russian Empire and for this purpose... they invented the Ukrainians. As Kiev Governor-General Dragomirov used to say: “Only dumplings, borscht and varenukha are Ukrainian, Austria invented everything else!”
And now the vile Austrians urgently needed someone who would compose a story for these “fictional” Ukrainians in order to present them as a separate people. And 28-year-old Russian citizen Mikhail Grushevsky was chosen to play the role of this “evil genius”.
But then a completely logical question arises: how can one, even a very talented, young scientist independently come up with and compose the history of an entire people? And, moreover, as stated, a fictitious people who have never existed before?
In response to this question, the “sworn lovers” of Grushevsky and everything Ukrainian retort that he, you see, was not alone, that he was helped in this by... the Austrian General Staff!
Strange logic. It would seem that what prevented the Russian General Staff, in turn, from trying in the same way to undermine the no less “national-monolithic” Austria-Hungary from within? And do something similar in relation to the Ukrainian subjects of Emperor Franz Joseph? Look, if they created a department of Ukrainian history at Kiev University, the centuries-old foundations of the “Danube Empire” would immediately shake. And the “Austrian subjects” Ukrainians would simply flock in flocks to the paternal hand of Sovereign Nikolai Alexandrovich. But it was not there…
It is clear that this whole legend about the malicious Austrians was invented in Russia retroactively in order to justify the policy of denying Ukrainians the right to any national and cultural identity. And also to hide the fact that in “some kind of” Austria-Hungary, the Slavic peoples, in particular the Ukrainians, enjoyed much broader rights and even had national representation in the Vienna Parliament. After all, the Austria-Hungary of that time, unlike Russia, was not an absolute, but a constitutional monarchy.
However, the facts stubbornly show that official Vienna also did not really recognize the Ukrainians as a full-fledged nation. Thus, the Austrian minister Gautsch completely denied the importance of science in Ukrainian history. Therefore, at Lvov University a department was opened not of Ukrainian at all, as is commonly believed, but of general history with a special review of the history of Eastern Europe. It was at this department that Mikhail Grushevsky took up a professorship.
Be that as it may, while delivering an annual course of lectures at Lvov University, Mikhail Grushevsky at the same time decided to create a generalizing History of Ukraine - Rus' that had not been written by anyone before him. He developed an innovative scheme for the historical development of the Ukrainian people, which is still a bone in the throat of official Russian historians, depriving Russia of the coveted monopoly on the right to be called the successor of Kievan Rus.
The scheme of Ukrainian history proposed by Grushevsky looked like this:
1) Ukrainians as a separate people (albeit under other names: Ants, Polyans, Rusyns) have existed since the early Middle Ages;
2) in Kievan Rus, Ukrainians represented the core of the state, a nationality separate from the northeastern (in the future - Great Russian) nationality;
3) the heir to the statehood of Kievan Rus was not the Vladimir-Suzdal, but the Galician-Volyn principality, which gradually lost its independence and was incorporated by neighboring states - Lithuania, Poland, Hungary.
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in his opinion, was the same equivalent center for the unification of ancient Russian lands as the Principality of Moscow. However, as Lithuania became Catholicized and Polonized, the contradictions between Lithuanians and Orthodox Lithuanians and Rusyns (Belarusians and Ukrainians) intensified, and the latter reoriented towards Muscovy.
Having lost their former independence and being part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Muscovite kingdom, the Ukrainians, Grushevsky concluded, were either simply a passive object of governance, or were in opposition to the authorities. The only content of their history now remains cultural and economic processes.
Naturally, this version of the history of Kievan Rus could not suit official Russian circles, which, even after the conclusion of the Pereyaslav Treaty, considered themselves the exclusive owners of the rights to the Kievan inheritance.
Therefore, accusations of “separatism” immediately began to be heard in the Russian Empire. These attacks especially intensified after in 1899 he bluntly raised the question of allowing abstracts in Ukrainian at the archaeological congress, which was to be held in Kiev. This demand aroused strong opposition in Russian professorial circles and was rejected. Then Grushevsky and other Ukrainian scientists from Austria-Hungary avoided participating in the congress.
In 1906, Kharkov University dared to elevate Mikhail Grushevsky to the degree of honorary doctor of Russian history. However, Grushevsky’s candidacy for the chair of Russian history at Kiev University in 1907 was rejected for political reasons.
Grushevsky tried to engage in politics long before the formation of the Ukrainian People's Republic - back in Austria-Hungary. In 1899, he took an active part in the creation of the Ukrainian National Democratic Party, which, in his opinion, was supposed to unite the disparate forces of Ukrainian patriots of Austria-Hungary. However, Grushevsky’s hopes were not destined to come true - throughout its history, the UNDP spent most of its time engaged in internal party squabbles, and before the First World War it found itself on the verge of final collapse.
On the eve of the First World War, Grushevsky intended to leave the department of Lvov University and return to Kyiv. But the war ruined the move plan. Due to persecution by the police, who saw him as a Russian agent, the scientist moved to Italy and then returned to Kyiv through Romania.
But here in Grushevsky they already saw an agent of the Austrians! Therefore, in December 1914, Grushevsky was arrested and, after several months in prison, was forced to leave Ukraine. The order of the head of the Kiev Military District said: “Professor of Lvov University Mikhail Grushevsky, as a propagandist of Ukrainian separatism and a prominent figure in the Ukrainian National Democratic Party, is to be sent to Simbirsk for the duration of the state of the localities from which he was expelled, under martial law.” From Simbirsk he was allowed to move to Kazan, where he was able to continue his scientific work, and later to Moscow.
Vladimir Vernadsky himself handled the request to transfer Grushevsky to Moscow. He, along with other scientists from the Russian Academy of Sciences and Moscow University, sent a letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs Khvostov, which indicated that all measures taken against Grushevsky were reckless and unacceptable.
It was in Moscow that the February Revolution found Grushevsky.
The outskirts of the former Russian Empire are beginning to move and, on the wave of national upsurge, are declaring their claims to autonomy and independence. Ukraine was no exception. In March 1917, the Ukrainian Central Rada was created in Kyiv, a body of national self-government that urgently needed a nationally known and respected leader. And then the founders of the Central Rada remembered Grushevsky.
“No one was as suitable for the role of a national leader as Grushevsky,” wrote the famous political figure of those years, Dmitry Doroshenko. Numerous telegrams from Kyiv began to arrive at Grushevsky’s Moscow address with a request to immediately return and take the post of head of the Ukrainian Central Rada. Taking with him only valuable books, on March 11 he left for Ukraine.
Grushevsky’s return to his homeland turned out to be very peculiar. The night on the train passed peacefully, but in the morning, not far from Bryansk, a fire started in the carriage where he was traveling. The flames from the next compartment quickly engulfed the entire carriage. Grushevsky rushed to collect his books, but it was too late. In just five minutes the carriage burned to the ground.
Because of this incident, the train arrived in Kyiv very late. No one was waiting for Grushevsky at the station. The people of Kiev, who were preparing to meet him, had already dispersed. There were no relatives either. After wandering through the unlit streets and wet snow without galoshes (they burned on the train), in only his underwear, with a blanket on his shoulders, he only got home in the morning. This is how Grushevsky returned to his native land in an unusual and more than modest way.
On Tuesday, March 14, he came to the first meeting of the Central Rada. Here the meeting was already more solemn, Grushevsky was literally carried in their arms. He spoke to those gathered with enthusiasm, spoke about the goals of the revolution, and called on his compatriots to actively build a new Ukraine, however, so far only as an autonomy within Russia. At that time, the majority did not even think about the complete separation of Ukraine. The national inferiority complex that had been inculcated for centuries was taking its toll. Why! After all, there are “only” thirty million Ukrainians. Where do they care about their own state, in comparison with the eight million Swedes or the Dutch? “Ukrainians have no intention of separating from the Russian Republic,” Grushevsky wrote in the brochure “Where Ukrainianism Came From and Where It Leads,” published in the summer of 1917. “They want to remain in voluntary and free connection with her.”
Defending the position of the Central Rada, Grushevsky proved the groundlessness of the accusations of separatism brought against it, emphasizing: “We think that Ukraine is not only for Ukrainians, but for everyone who lives in Ukraine and loves it, and loving it, wants to work for the good of the region and its inhabitants. And so anyone who shares such views is a dear fellow citizen for us, regardless of who he is - a Great Russian, a Jew, a Pole, a Czech.”
In July 1918, Mikhail Grushevsky was elected chairman of the Ukrainian Central Rada. The first steps of the historian Grushevsky in this post were more than strange. In general, the behavior of the then leaders of the UPR, who strove in their state activities to look “holier than the Pope,” is completely bewildering!
On the one hand, he, together with the head of the People's Secretariat (Government) of the UPR, writer Vladimir Vinnychenko, negotiates on an equal footing with the Russian Provisional Government on granting Ukraine broad autonomy and writes universals declaring this autonomy.
On the other hand, he is doing everything to collapse the Ukrainian armed forces that are still being created.
Grushevsky, you see, tried to convince everyone and everything that the newly created Ukrainian state is democratic and exclusively peace-loving and is not going to fight with anyone, and therefore does not need a professional army.
An armchair scientist, he had absolutely no understanding of real politics, remaining an adherent of “paper” theories and schemes. And this is in the context of the ongoing World War and the beginning Civil War!
As a result, the UPR was left without an army, and there was simply no one to defend the Central Rada.
And Grushevsky, along with other members of the Central Rada, under the threat of a Bolshevik offensive, had to urgently flee Kyiv. True, before this he still managed to send detachments of Kyiv high school students and students to certain death near Kruty. Who, old enough to be Grushevsky’s grandchildren, paid with their lives for the “theories” of our professor.
Thus, we can make a completely logical conclusion that this handsome “father of the nation” brought no less harm to this very nation than any of its enemies.
Mikhail Grushevsky managed to return to Kyiv quite soon, but with German troops who responded to the call of the Central Rada to clear the territory of Ukraine from Russian and local Bolsheviks in exchange for food. Truly, those who do not want to support their own army will feed someone else’s!
After returning to Kyiv, Grushevsky was re-elected chairman of the Central Rada and began to pursue the same political line. Having promised the German allies regular supplies of food, Grushevsky simply brushed aside their legitimate demands to fulfill what was promised, making the excuse that the required measures to confiscate food and restore order in the country were undemocratic.
Naturally, the German occupation authorities needed a more obedient Ukraine, and on the night of April 29-30, as a result of the coup d'etat, the UPR of Grushevsky and Vinnychenko ceased to exist. Its place was taken by the Ukrainian State, led by Hetman Skoropadsky.
The last chord political activity Mikhail Grushevsky, as the head of the Central Rada, can be considered to have adopted the UPR Constitution literally on the eve of the hetman’s coup on April 29, 1918. According to this document, Ukraine became a sovereign parliamentary state that guaranteed the rights of all peoples living here. Power was divided into executive, legislative and judicial. The Supreme Body of the UPR was proclaimed the National Assembly - the legislative power of the Ukrainian Republic.
It is with the Constitution that the myth about Grushevsky’s presidency, which still exists today, is connected, which has long been exploited by historians and publicists. In the mid-90s, almost all researchers and journalists wrote that at the last meeting of the Central Rada, along with the adoption of the Constitution, a president was elected. Very quickly, this unproven fact migrated from television screens and newspaper pages to school textbooks and became entrenched in the minds of millions of Ukrainians.
It is believed that this myth originated among Ukrainian emigrants. While the USSR prohibited any positive references to the independent Ukrainian state, they, on the contrary, strongly emphasized the usefulness of this state. And in their interpretation, the Chairman of the Central Rada, Mikhail Grushevsky, turned into a president. Perhaps this is due to the fact that in foreign languages (French, German) the position
“Chairman” of the Rada was rendered as president (du parlement), but corresponded only to the position of speaker of parliament. In any case, Grushevsky’s then comrade-in-arms, Vladimir Vinnichenko, directly points out in his memoirs that sometimes the Chairman of the Central Rada, Mikhail Grushevsky, was called president, but this name was not official.
As a result, it turned out that there were no documents confirming the fact of Grushevsky’s presidency. And in the Constitution of the UPR, with which everything seems to have begun, not a single word is said about such an institution of power. Its text read as follows: “The National Assembly convenes and is led by a head elected by the National Assembly. The power of the head lasts all the time until a new meeting is convened and a new head is elected.”
Researchers believe that in this way a parliamentary form of government was introduced in Ukraine, rather than a presidential or parliamentary-presidential one, so Grushevsky could hardly have been elected to a position that did not exist at all at that time.
True, in the early 90s of the twentieth century there was an opinion that Leonid Kravchuk, who considered himself such, prevented the recognition of the historian Grushevsky as the first president of Ukraine at the state level. He allegedly once said: “I understand that Grushevsky is the first president, but I’m not the second.”
The ex-president himself, when asked who he considers the first, almost always answers: “I am the first president of Ukraine. But Grushevsky was elected president of the Ukrainian People's Republic, and not by the people, but by the deputies. And he was in this position for one night. That is, there are no documents signed by President Grushevsky. Therefore, most researchers of this problem believe that Grushevsky was not the first president at all.”
Indeed, in all minutes of Rada meetings he is listed exclusively as the head.
And yet, despite the scientific conclusions of historians, many Ukrainians consider the head of the Central Rada, Mykhailo Grushevsky, to be the first president of the country. Apparently, the ancient philosophers were right when they believed that it is much easier to create a myth than to debunk it.
At the end of 1918, when the hetmanate was replaced by the Ukrainian Directory, Grushevsky again tried to revive the ideas of the Central Rada, but, encountering opposition from the new government, he left Kyiv and Ukrainian politics. But as it turned out, not for long.
Modern Ukrainian historians, as a rule, write in passing about the fate of Grushevsky after the end of the Civil War. In Ukraine, it is somehow not particularly customary to spread the fact that the symbol of Ukrainian Independence returned to the USSR in 1924 and turned into an apologist for Soviet power and the communist regime. A Soviet academician, chairman of the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, author of insightful articles about the great socialist state. Nevertheless, this is exactly the case.
The only thing that is usually written about in detail is how Grushevsky was arrested in the fabricated case of the Ukrainian National Center. But at the same time, after several interrogations, he was released. But few people managed to be released without trial or prison time when they came to the attention of the all-powerful NKVD. Moreover, Grushevsky was transferred to work in Moscow, treated in the Kislovodsk sanatorium and buried, after his death in 1934, with all honors at the most prestigious Kiev Baikovo cemetery.
And the whole point is that Grushevsky, in the end, signed all the protocols and denunciations that the security officers offered him. And against yourself and against those who were supposed to be taken in the case of the “Ukrainian National Center”. And his testimony, even after Grushevsky’s death, sent many innocent people to death row and to the camps.
And only some time after his death it was announced that he led an illegal bourgeois-nationalist organization. For this, his works were later banned, and many relatives were repressed, including his own daughter Catherine. She was already a well-known culturologist, sociologist, and folklorist, who continued his scientific work after Grushevsky’s death, but died in exile in 1943.
At one time, Grushevsky became the only leader of the Ukrainian revolution of 1917-1921 who returned to the USSR. This caused a stormy negative reaction among Ukrainian emigrants. They branded him with disgrace as one of “the renegades who absolutely calmly went into the service of their worst enemy, went shamefully, without any concessions on his part.” Former UPR Minister Nikita Shapoval called Grushevsky’s return “political death” in an article of the same name published on March 18, 1924. “Grushevsky... has reclaimed himself... as one of the fighters for Ukraine. Having turned into a political corpse, the Ukrainians are guilty of turning up their noses.”
I wonder how his daughter assessed this act of Grushevsky before her own death? And how should we evaluate Grushevsky’s personality?
Yes, it was Grushevsky who created the major history of Ukraine. Yes, it was he who headed the newborn Ukrainian state. But, at the same time, it was he who doomed this state to death, leaving it at the most decisive moment without an army. It was he who brought the occupation troops to his native land. It was he, being a living symbol of Ukrainian Independence, who publicly renounced his political views and went into the service of Soviet power. And it was according to his testimony that the flower of the Ukrainian intelligentsia was destroyed by this very government.
This is how Mikhail Grushevsky turns out to be an ambiguous state symbol...
What would have happened to our country if the UPR had managed to maintain its almost million-strong army?
We will try to understand this issue by analyzing the actions of the previously mentioned Vladimir Vinnychenko and Simon Petliura in the article “Petlyura without cuts.”