UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
Russo-Ukrainian Relations: March 1917–January 1918
Description:
CIUS Seminar Audio Part 1 and 2.
The eighth Institute seminar at the University of Alberta was held on February 23, 1978. Mr. Nestor Makuch, a third year honors history student, spoke on "Russo-Ukrainian Relations: March 1917–January 1918."
Ukrainian political currents in Russian controlled Ukraine from the mid-nineteenth' century to 1917 had been predominantly federalist in character. Their major concern was the creation of an autonomous Ukraine within a democratic federated Russia built upon the national principle. This national concern was closely linked to social issues in Ukraine. The predominantly rural and uneducated Ukrainians, occupying economically inferior positions were dominated by powerful urban non-Ukrainian elements (mostly Russian and Jewish).
When the Ukrainian Central Rada was formed in March 1917, it attempted to apply its principle of federalism to the contemporary situation in Ukraine. It encountered strong resistance from the Provisional Government, however, and became engaged in prolonged, fruitless arguments over power. This diversion of the Rada's attention from pressing social issues prevented it from retaining mass support.
The speaker examined the situation and events in Russian-controlled Ukraine from the March revolution (1917) to the proclamation of the Fourth Universal (22 January 1918), which forced the Rada to break with its inherited vision of a Ukraine within a Russian federation and to proclaim a sovereign independent Ukraine.
Found in CIUS Newsletter Vol 2 Issue 3 (Winter 1978)
The eighth Institute seminar at the University of Alberta was held on February 23, 1978. Mr. Nestor Makuch, a third year honors history student, spoke on "Russo-Ukrainian Relations: March 1917–January 1918."
Ukrainian political currents in Russian controlled Ukraine from the mid-nineteenth' century to 1917 had been predominantly federalist in character. Their major concern was the creation of an autonomous Ukraine within a democratic federated Russia built upon the national principle. This national concern was closely linked to social issues in Ukraine. The predominantly rural and uneducated Ukrainians, occupying economically inferior positions were dominated by powerful urban non-Ukrainian elements (mostly Russian and Jewish).
When the Ukrainian Central Rada was formed in March 1917, it attempted to apply its principle of federalism to the contemporary situation in Ukraine. It encountered strong resistance from the Provisional Government, however, and became engaged in prolonged, fruitless arguments over power. This diversion of the Rada's attention from pressing social issues prevented it from retaining mass support.
The speaker examined the situation and events in Russian-controlled Ukraine from the March revolution (1917) to the proclamation of the Fourth Universal (22 January 1918), which forced the Rada to break with its inherited vision of a Ukraine within a Russian federation and to proclaim a sovereign independent Ukraine.
Found in CIUS Newsletter Vol 2 Issue 3 (Winter 1978)
Author:
CIUS
Publisher:
CIUS
Date:
February 23, 1978
Contributor:
Nestor Makuch
Language:
English, Ukrainian
Original Format:
Magnetic tape, audio cassette
Files
Collection
Citation
CIUS, “Russo-Ukrainian Relations: March 1917–January 1918,” CIUS-Archives, accessed October 29, 2025, https://cius-archives.ca/items/show/1962.
