Ukrainian War of Independence

A series of conflicts from 1917 to 1921 in which Ukrainian governments and armies sought independence amid revolution and the collapse of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires.

Ukrainian People's Republic: A Ukrainian state proclaimed in 1917 that fought to establish and preserve independence during the revolutionary era. Its governments and armies formed a central Ukrainian side in the wars.
February Revolution: The 1917 revolution that toppled the Russian monarchy and created a provisional government. It allowed Ukrainian political institutions to organize openly in the former empire.
Symon Petliura: A Ukrainian political and military leader who headed the Directory of the Ukrainian People's Republic. He led the republic's struggle after the Hetmanate fell and sought an alliance with Poland.
Treaty of Riga: A 1921 treaty between Poland and Soviet Russia that ended the Polish–Soviet War and divided disputed territories. It left most Ukrainian lands divided between Poland and Soviet Ukraine rather than united under independence.
White movement: A loose coalition of anti-Bolshevik forces that sought to restore a unified Russian state during the Russian Civil War. Its opposition to Ukrainian separation made it a rival to national independence as well as to Bolshevism.
West Ukrainian People's Republic: A Ukrainian state proclaimed in eastern Galicia in 1918 after Austria-Hungary collapsed. Its conflict with Poland and union with the Ukrainian People's Republic widened the struggle.
October Revolution: The Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia in November 1917, according to the Gregorian calendar. It brought a rival revolutionary government into conflict with Ukraine's emerging authorities.
Pavlo Skoropadskyi: A Ukrainian military officer and politician who ruled the Hetmanate in 1918. His German-backed government briefly replaced the republic before an uprising restored it.
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic: A Soviet republic established in Ukraine and incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1922. It became the principal successor state on much of the territory contested during the wars.
Makhnovshchina: An anarchist-led peasant movement in southern Ukraine that organized autonomous communities and fought multiple armies. It pursued social revolution and local autonomy rather than the centralized Ukrainian state sought by national governments.

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