Peasant split

Already in the first days after the February Revolution of 1917, on the initiative of the Russian Socialist Revolutionaries , the creation of councils of peasant deputies and "Peasant Unions" throughout the territory of the Russian Empire began . In April-May 1917, the All-Russian Peasant Union organizations were formed in the Yekaterinoslav , Tauride and Chernihiv provinces .

The spread of the idea of ​​organizing estate peasant unions deep into the right-bank Ukraine, as well as the rise of the national movement, in particular the creation of the Ukrainian Central Council , contributed to their national identification. In the territory of the Kiev , Poltava and Podolsk provinces , where the absolute dominance of the Ukrainian party of socialist revolutionaries was observed, there was an intensive process of forming local cells of the alternative “All-Russian Peasant Union” - the Ukrainian Peasant Union (Ukrainian Selyanskaya split).

The question of creating the Selyansk split was raised at the First Congress of the UPR , which took place on April 4–5 (April 17–18), 1917. Already on April 6–7 (April 19–20), 1917, at the congress of leaders of the Ukrainian village, the Selyansk split was created and its Temporary Central Committee was elected consisting of N. Stasyuk (chairman), T. Osadchy, A. Serbinenko, V. Koval, I . Snow. The goals of creating the organization were declared the struggle for national autonomy and land reform, ensuring the proper representation of the peasantry in local authorities and upholding class peasant interests in the development of local government policies.

At the congress, a decision was made to organize the cells of the Selyansk split in all villages, volosts, counties and provinces. The propaganda campaign launched in the press disseminated instructions on the mechanisms for the formation of local committees of the Selyanskaya split.

For proper legitimization among the peasantry, the local cells of the Selyansk split were formed at general peasant meetings in each settlement, at which a village committee consisting of at least five people was elected. Spilka volost organs were formed at a general meeting of commissioners from individual villages, and a volost committee was elected. If possible, special executive structures were formed (a “help desk”) for educational, political, legal, medical, cultural and other matters. The committees could only include peasants, and the rural intelligentsia and other supporters of "peasant ideas" were not directly part of Spilka, but they could be involved in work in county "bureaus."

The most important tasks of the volost committees of Selyanskaya Spilka were to participate in the work of local food and land bodies in order to defend the interests of the peasantry, as well as to prepare for the elections to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly .

The volost committees of Spilka united into county and provincial committees, and then - into the “All-Ukrainian Selyanskaya Spilka”. To control the work of government agencies, Selyanskaya Spilka formed county and provincial councils of peasant deputies. Financing the activities of the Selyansk split was based on mandatory membership dues, first 50 kopecks per year, later 1 ruble. The targeted use of funds was monitored by the Revision Commission. A small contribution made it possible for the broad strata of the middle and low-income peasantry to participate in the Split.

On April 28–29 (May 10–11), 1917, a provincial congress of peasants split in the Kiev province was held, which decided to create local committees of all levels of the All-Ukrainian Selyansky Spilka, but this congress sent a delegation of 27 people to the All-Russian Council of Peasant Deputies.

During May - June 1917, provincial congresses of Kherson, Poltava, Chernihiv provinces and Podillia. Congress delegates supported the policy of the Ukrainian Central Rada, in their decisions they put forward demands for the abolition of private ownership of land, the autonomy of Ukraine as part of federal Russia, the convening of the Ukrainian Sejm, and the Ukrainianization of the army.

In the Yekaterinoslav region, a regional congress was convened by representatives of the All-Russian Peasant Union. Representatives of the Ukrainian Selyanskaya Splika D. Dubov and I. Romanchenko were not even given the floor to speak. At the congress, it was decided "to remain part of the All-Russian Peasant Union with a center in Petrograd."

The final organizational registration took place at the First All-Ukrainian Peasant Congress on May 28 - June 2 (June 10-15) 1917 in Kiev, where 2,500 delegates represented peasants from 1,000 counties. At the congress, Selyanskaya Spilka supported the policy of the Ukrainian Central Rada and elected her own Central Committee ( N. Kovalevsky , N. Stasyuk, V. Vinnichenko , P. Khristyuk, B. Martos , A. Stepanenko , M. Osadchiy, I. Pugach, A. Levitsky ) and the All-Ukrainian Council of Peasant Deputies (their 133 deputies, they were included in the Ukrainian Central Rada), which determined the political direction of the Selyanskaya Spilka.

Selyanskaya Spilka sought from the Ukrainian Central Council to abolish private ownership of land and transfer it to the ownership of the people, did not recognize the hetman’s authority . The 2nd All-Ukrainian Peasant Congress, which took place on May 21-23, 1918 in the Goloseevsky forest near Kiev, was secretly convened by the Selyanskaya Spilka, he expressed protest against German interference in Ukrainian affairs, declared his allegiance to the Ukrainian People’s Republic , and called on the peasantry to fight against the hetman. After the separation of the UPSR (May 15, 1918), the Selyanskaya Spilka, in contrast to the pro-Soviet Borotbists , found itself in the "central current" of the UPSR under the leadership of N. Grigoriev. Selyanskaya Spilka had 3 representatives in the Ukrainian National Union, F. Shvets was her representative in the Directory , while the head of Selyanskaya Spilka was A. Yanko (he is also the chairman of the Organizing Committee of the UPR).

• Encyclopedia of Ukrainian studies / V. Kubіyovich . - Paris; New York: Young Life, 1954-1989. (Ukrainian)
• V.S. Lozovy . Formulyany villages of villages in Ukraine for the lute revolution 1917 p. National Library of Ukraine

• Іstoriya Poltavi. Ukrainian Selyansk spіlka