The French Military Mission in Kherson in 1919 and Its Consequences
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15407/uhj2022.01.075Keywords:
regional history, Kherson, Kherson region, Entente, Ukrainian People’s Republic, Directorate of Ukraine, Volunteer ArmyAbstract
The Entente’s mission in Southern Ukraine was an important military-political event that influenced Ukrainian-French relations at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920 and, ultimately, the future of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. However, her assessments are very different, both among the participants and in historiography. The availability of significant source material through the creation of electronic archives at the moment allows us to consider this event in many ways, without the predominance of some groups of sources over others.
Given the above, the main purpose of the study is to establish a timeline for the landing of the Entente in Kherson and their assessment in the historical process.
In the course of work methods of archival heuristics, critical analysis of sources, historiographical analysis are used.
Of the scientific novelty is the results of a study that allows us to get acquainted with the events of late 1918 – early 1919 in Southern Ukraine from the standpoint of all parties – their participants.
Conclusions. As a result of the study, it was found that yielding to the basic principles of the republic in favor of temporary political interests, the French military mission in Kherson and Southern Ukraine did not fulfil its task – to establish public order in the region. This resulted in a series of repressions against the local population, unjustifiably accused of supporting the Bolsheviks, growing anti-Semitism and destroying a large number of hostages during the retreat from Kherson. Such actions nullified all the achievements of the Entente mission and, accordingly, affected the attitude of the population towards their allies, which became a trump card in the hands of the Bolsheviks. However, the result of Allied intervention was a temporary stabilization of the situation, which ended with the transition of Ataman N.Hryhoriev to the side of the Bolsheviks. With the cessation of the military mission in the South of Ukraine, the military confrontation increased and culminating in the final destruction of the region’s economy and the coming to power Bolsheviks at the height of the largescale famine of 1921–1923.
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