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Ukrainian theatre, part of the October Revolution
Date November 8, 1917 – November 13, 1917 (Kyiv Bilshovyk Uprising) Location city of Kiev Result Victory of the Kyivan revkom, defeat of the Kiev Military District forces
Belligerents
Kievan Committee of the Bolshevik Party Ukrainian Central Rada	Kiev Military District
Commanders and leaders
Georgiy Pyatakov Jan Hamarnyk Volodymyr Zatonsky others	Lieutenant-General Kvetsinsky
Strength
6,000 (Bolshevik supporters) 8,000 (Central Rada supporters)	10,000
Casualties and losses
Military dead: Military wounded: Military missing: Total:	Military dead: Military wounded: Military missing: Total:

Kyiv Bilshovyk Uprising (November 8-13 (October 26-31 by old style), 1917) was a military struggle for power in Kyiv after the fall of the Russian Provisional Government due to the October Revolution, that ended with a victory for the Kievan Committee of the Bolshevik Party and the Central Rada.

Chronology of activities

On November 7, 1917 to Kyiv came a message about the activities in Petrograd following this a question has arisen about the power in the city and Ukraine in general. For the power competed three major factions: the Ukrainian Central Rada, the headquarters of the Kievan Military District (KMD), and the Kyivan Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Worker's Party (Bilshovyks) 10 members of which joined the Central Rada previously. The best chances had the Central Rada that consisted of representatives from 19 political parties including the Bilshovyks. The last one did not have a wide influence in Ukraine with about of 10% of support from the total population. Prior to the activities the Central Rada was in a conflict with the Provisional Government from which it was requesting a full autonomy of Ukraine as part of the Russian State. That was the reason for it to take the actions using the circumstances of political situation which has established in the city.

On November 8 with the initiative of the Central Rada was created the State Committee for the Protection of the Revolution which had to be a temporary government in Kyiv. It consisted of representatives from different political parties, councils, and the city Duma. The Committee was presiding in the building of the Pedagogical museum. The headquarters of the KMD was supporting the Russian Provisional Government and did not trust the State Committee as it included the bilshovyks. On November 9 the Central Rada finally defined its negative position to the Petrograd coup, condemned the bilshovyk's actions, and declared that "it will decisively fight against all attempts to support such uprising in Ukraine. Rada expressed its agreement for the creation in Russia homogeneous socialist government with the representatives of all socialist parties.

The Kyivan bilshovyks headed by Georgiy Pyatakov (active member of the Central Rada) firmly stood on the Lenin's principles and they did not agree with the position of the Central Rada. The same day they left the State Committee for the protection of the revolution and held a joint meeting (congress) with representatives of worker's and soldier's deputies councils, trade unions, factory presiding committees (fabzavkom), and military units (in the building of the Bergonie theater). And although it was clear that the possible seizure of power by one will lead the disagreement with other political forces, the split in society, and the civil war they accepted the resolution for the support of the Bolshevik Revolution in Petrograd and declared the power of Soviet government. With their next decision the congress elected revkom consisting of such bilshovuks as Jan Hamarnyk, Oleksandr Horwits, Andriy Ivanov, Isaac Kreysberg, Volodymyr Zatonsky, Ivan Kulik, and others to whom was planned to transfer the power. All of them also initiated the January Uprising couple of months later to support the sack of Kyiv by the advancing bilshovyk forces from Russian SFSR and installation of the Soviet government in Ukraine.

In response to the bilshovyk activities the military forces of the KMD were ordered to liquidate the bilshovyk center on November 10, 1917. They surrounded Mariyinsky Palace where was located the local revkom and thrashed the building of the Kyivan Duma Executive Committee and the bilshovyk Committee. Almost all the members of the Kyivan Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Worker's Party (Bolsheviks) and the revkom (14 people) were arrested. The same day ceased to exist the State Committee for the protection of the revolution as the commander of the KMD, Mikhail Kvetsinsky, refused to take orders from it. On November 10 all the functions of the liquidated State Committee for the protection of the revolution were transferred to the General Secretariat.

Bilshovyks answered by reinstating the revkom the next day (Volodymyr Zatonsky, Andriy Ivanov, Ivan Kudrin, and others). They initiated military operations against the forces of the KMD. At the same time the VII session of the Central Rada was taken place, the deputies of which formed a committee that would find ways to stop mayhem in Kyiv. The seesion also sanctioned all the power in Ukraine to be transferred to the Central Rada. The committee decided that all the power in the city will transfer to the Ukrainian Central Rada that will cooperate with the City Duma and the soviets of the workers' soldiers' deputies. For the next couple days street firefights filled some parts of the city (Pechersk, Demiivka). On November 13 the headquarters of the Kievan Military District (KMD) that was located on the Bankova Street signed a cease-fire agreement with the Kyiv revkom and soon withdrew out of the city. Since that time the Kiev Military District was virtually liquidated.

On November 16, 1917 at the joined meeting of the Central Rada and the Executive Committee of the soviets of the workers' soldiers' deputies in Kyiv have acknowledge the Rada as the regional council in Ukraine. Soon, on November 20, was issued the III Universal of the Ukrainian People's Republic which declared Ukraine an autonomous part of the democratic Russian state with the capital in Kyiv.

See also

• Vinnytsia Bilshovyk Uprising

References

1. Orest Subtelny, History of Ukraine
2. In 1921 the new Soviet KMD was installed in its place, the last commander of which refused to pledge allegiance to Ukraine and the District was terminated in 1991.

• Kyiv. Historical encyclopedia. 1917-2000.
• Doroshenko Dmytro (1932). "Історія України 1917—1923" (History of Ukraine 1917-23). Vol I "Доба Центральної Ради" (The times of the Central Rada). Uzhhorod.

• History of Kiev
• History of Ukraine
• Conflicts in 1917