Ukrainian–Soviet War

A series of armed conflicts between the Ukrainian People’s Republic and Soviet Russia over control of Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, fought chiefly from 1917 to 1921.

Ukrainian People’s Republic: A Ukrainian state proclaimed during the collapse of the Russian Empire and led by the Central Rada and later the Directory. Its forces fought to preserve Ukrainian independence against Soviet rule.
Russian Revolution: The 1917 revolutions that ended the Russian monarchy and brought the Bolsheviks to power. The collapse of imperial authority opened the struggle over who would govern Ukraine.
Symon Petliura: A Ukrainian political and military leader who headed the Directory and the Ukrainian People’s Republic’s forces. He pursued resistance and the Polish alliance after the republic lost Kyiv.
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic: A Soviet republic established in Ukraine and ultimately incorporated into the Soviet Union. It became the Soviet state that governed most of Ukraine after the fighting.
White movement: The anti-Bolshevik forces that sought to restore a unified Russian state during the Russian Civil War. White armies also fought in Ukraine, but generally rejected Ukrainian independence.
Red Army: The principal military force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, later, the Soviet Union. Its campaigns against Ukrainian forces drove the Soviet advance into Ukraine.
Central Rada: The Ukrainian representative body that proclaimed the Ukrainian People’s Republic in 1917. Its assertion of Ukrainian autonomy and independence brought it into conflict with the Bolsheviks.
Volodymyr Vynnychenko: A Ukrainian writer and politician who led the Directory before Petliura became its dominant figure. His brief leadership reflected divisions within the republic’s governing coalition.
Polish–Soviet War: The 1919–1921 war between Poland and Soviet Russia and Ukraine over territory in eastern Europe. Its outcome set the border that divided Ukrainian lands between Poland and Soviet rule.
Makhnovshchina: The anarchist movement and insurgent army led by Nestor Makhno in southeastern Ukraine. Its forces opposed both Bolshevik centralization and other armies, pursuing a distinct revolutionary project.

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PrometheismBroader topic: The struggle produced Ukrainian exiles and allies central to Polish Promethean efforts.