The Idea of Independence and the Process of Sovereignization of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, 1917–1918
Journal: AREI
Year: 2026

This article examines the political, socio-economic, and military foundations of Ukraine’s first modern bid for statehood during the years 1914–1921, focusing particularly on the role of Symon Petliura and the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UNR). It argues that Ukraine’s drive toward independence emerged not from an early separatist consensus but from the radicalization of the Russian Revolution, the collapse of imperial authority, and the Bolshevik coup of October 1917, which constituted a decisi