The West Ukrainian National Republic (zunr)
Having suffered a crushing defeat in the First World War, the Austro-Hungarian Empire began to disintegrate in October 1918, about 20 months after the Russian Empire had collapsed. Trying to save the unity of his state the emperor Charles Habsburg proclaimed the transformation of his empire into federation of its peoples. Ukrainians formed an organization in Lviv called the Ukrainian National Rada (with Ievhen Petrushevych at the head) that proclaimed the creation of the Ukrainian autonomous state on Ukrainian ethnic lands within the disintegrating Austro-Hungarian Empire.10 That step brought West Ukrainians into conflict with the Poles who planned to revive the Great Poland “from sea to sea” (from the Baltic to the Black Sea). At first Ukrainians were victorious. On 1 November they captured Lviv and declared the establishment of an independent Ukrainian state, soon officially named the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic. A powerful 40,000 “Galician Army” was organized.
The republic, however, could not control all the territories it claimed. Northern Bukovyna was occupied by Romania, and Transcarpathia remained under Hungarian control until the Allies (Entente) gave it to the new state of Czechoslovakia.
On 22 January 1919 the ZUNR (Western Ukrainian People’s Repblic) united with the UNR (Ukrainian People’s Republic). The ZUNR got a wide autonomy and was renamed into ZOUNR (West Oblast of the UNR) which included Eastern Galicia, Bykovyna, and Transcarpathia.11 This act went down into history as злука (unification), but in fact it was mostly symbolic because at that time Petliura’s armies were losing its territories to the Bolsheviks and West Ukrainians were losing their territories to Poland which got a strong 80,000 army of General I. Galler formed of former Polish prisoners (who had fought in the German army) in France. France provided this army with officers and arms. France wanted to prevent the reemergence of a powerful Germany on its eastern border. Thus Paris decided to create a strong and allied to France Polish state to counterbalance Germany from the East. That is why France wanted to strengthen Poland at the expense of western Ukraine. By 18 July 1919 all Galicia had been occupied by the Polish army. But the Galician Army managed to avoid encirclement. It crossed the Zbruch River and united with Petliura’s troops.12
After leaving western Ukraine the Galician Army fought in union with Petliura against the Reds. Then in November 1919 it came under the command of white General A. Denikin and fought with him against the Reds. West Ukrainians did not consider the Whites their enemies as their enemy was Poland. (S. Petliura, on the contrary, considered A. Denikin Ukraine’s major enemy). Denikin promised not to use the Galician Army against Petliura. In January 1920, when the Whites were loosing the war, the Galician Army joined the Reds under the name of ‘Red Galician Army.’
Petliura’s alliance with Poland
At the end of 1919 the position of Petliura’s army was hard. He had to fight against the Reds and the Whites at the same time. As he had no chances to defeat his powerful enemies he turned to Poland for help. Petliura agreed to Poland’s incorporation of eastern Galicia and western Volhynia in return for Polish military help against the Bolsheviks. That enraged West Ukrainians who accused him of treason. Poles were interested in war with the Bolsheviks not so much to defeat them as to create a buffer East Ukrainian state between themselves and Soviet Russia.
The Polish-Ukrainian offensive was successful at first. By 6 May the allied forces, took Kyiv. Petliura and the Polish generals expected Ukrainian peasants to rebel against the Reds but it did not happen. By June the Bolsheviks launched a counterattack which brought them great success. The Polish capital Warsaw was under threat. The Poles were ready to renounce considerable parts of western Ukraine and western Belarus but Lenin decided to attack Warsaw and start all-European revolution from there. The threat of loosing independence inflamed patriotism in Poland. Poland conducted mobilization and counterattacked the Reds. The Bolsheviks were forced to retreat and lost western Ukraine and western Belarus. Finally an armistice between Poland and the Bolsheviks was signed in October after which Petliura had to fight alone against the Bolsheviks without any chances of success. In November 1920 the remnants of Petliura’s army crossed the Polish border and were interned. The war for Ukrainian independence was finally over.
On March 18, 1921 the Treaty of Riga was signed between Soviet Russia and Poland. According to this treaty Poland got western Belarus, western Volhynia and eastern Galicia As a result of the war with Soviet Russia the Poles got the lands promised by Petliura but failed to establish a buffer Ukrainian state.