Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi ( Ukrainian : Павло Петрович Скоропадський ; 15 May [ O.S. 3 May] 1873 – 26 April 1945) was a Ukrainian aristocrat, military and state leader, who served as the hetman of the Ukrainian State throughout 1918 following a coup d'état in April 29 of the same year.
31-580: Born the son of a nobleman, he attended the Page Corps from which he came out an officer. After his service in the Russo-Japanese War , he was promoted to the rank of colonel, later in command of the 20th Finnish Dragoon Regiment in 1910. Skoropadskyi would be promoted to major general and aide-de-camp of Nicholas II in 1912. During the First World War , he became a lieutenant general in charge of
62-479: A cabinet of mainly Russian-speakers, Tsarists , and Slavophiles . Simultaneously, he committed Ukraine to federation with a restored Russian Empire . Despite these criticisms, by contrast with the earlier Central Rada , his government was given credit in certain circles for forming an effective administrative organization, establishing diplomatic ties with many countries, concluding a peace treaty with Soviet Russia, and founding many schools and universities, including
93-716: A daughter of Pyotr Pavlovich Durnovo , the Governor General of Moscow (see Durnovo ). Skoropadsky's first major assignment was a sotnia (company) commander in the 2nd Chita Cossack Regiment of the Trans-Baikal Cossack Host in Chita during the Russo-Japanese War . Later he became an adjutant to the commander of the Russian forces on the Far East General Nikolay Linevich . During the war Skoropadsky
124-2117: A daughter of the Russian soldier and statesman Pyotr Pavlovich Durnovo (6 January 1835 – ?) (of a notable family of Russian statesmen and landowners) and wife Princess Maria Vasiliyevna Kochubey (Saint Petersburg, 17 September 1848 – Saint Petersburg, 15 February 1894) (of Ukrainian Cossack Kochubey noble family), paternal granddaughter of Pavel Dimitreievich Durnovo (Saint Petersburg, 6 March 1804 – Saint Petersburg, 12 March 1864) and wife (Saint Petersburg, May 1831) Princess Alexandra Petrovna Wolkonskaya (Saint Petersburg, 7 June 1804 – Saint Petersburg, 2 June 1859) and maternal granddaughter of Prince Vassili Victorovich Prince Kochubey (1 January 1812 – 10 January 1850) and wife Elena Pavlovna Bibikova (September 1812 – Saint Petersburg, 15 February 1888); and great-granddaughter of Dmitri Nikolaievich Durnovo (Saint Petersburg, 14 February 1769 – 11 February 1834, son of Nikolai Dmitrievich Durnovo and wife ...) and wife (Saint Petersburg) Marija Nikitichna Demidova (Saint Petersburg, 2 June 1776 – 25 May 1847, daughter of Nikita Akinfievich Demidov and wife Alexandra Evtikhieva Safonova), of Prince Petr Mikhailovich Wolkonsky (Saint Petersburg, 26 March 1776 – 27 August 1852, son of Prince Mikhail Petrovich Wolkonsky and wife Elisaveta Petrovna Makulova) and wife and relative Princess Sophija Grigorievna Wolkonskaya (? – Saint Petersburg, 26 March 1868, daughter of Prince Grigori Semenovich Wolkonsky and wife Princess Alexandra Nikolaievna Repnina), of Noble then Count then Prince Victor Pavlovich Kochubey, 1st Count Kochubey since 4 April 1799 and 1st Prince Kochubey since 6 December 1831 (11 November 1768 – Moscow , 3 June 1834, son of Pavel Vassilievich Kochubey and wife ...) and wife Maria Vassilievna Vassilshikova (10 September 1779 – Paris , France , 12 January 1844, daughter of Vassili Semenovich Vassilshikov and wife Countess Anna Kirillovna Razumovskaya) and of Pavel Gavrilovich Bibikov and wife Elisaveta Andreievna Zakharievskaya. The couple had six children: In some Ukrainian cities there are streets named after Pavlo Skoropadskyi. In 2023
155-778: A provisional government of five directors chaired by Volodymyr Vynnychenko . Skoropadskyi signed an abdication document on 14 December 1918. After going into hiding in Kyiv, Skoropadskyi retreated with the withdrawing German forces. He went into exile in Germany in 1919 and settled in Berlin's Wannsee district While living in Weimar Germany , Skoropadskyi maintained close personal friendships with senior government and army officials originating as far back as his military-college days. In later years, however, he consistently refused offers to collaborate with
186-515: A speaker ( marshal ) for the Starodub County Council ( zemstvo ) (1869–1885) until his death. Skoropadskyi's aunt Countess Yelyzaveta Myloradovych (née Skoropadska) (1832–1890) was a Ukrainian public activist. She was one of the main sponsors for foundation first Ukrainian scientific institution Shevchenko Scientific Society in Lviv. Her husband was Count Lev Myloradovych whose mother was from
217-756: The 34th Army Corps . After the February Revolution which saw the emergence of the Central Rada , Skoropadskyi would begin to Ukrainize his 34th Army Corps, later known as the 1st Ukrainian Corps . With the help of the German Empire , Skoropadskyi would overthrow the Ukrainian People's Republic and establish the Ukrainian State . During his rule, he gave the occupying Austrian and German forces greater control over Ukraine while also appealing to
248-695: The Kochubey family. His paternal grandfather Ivan Mikhailovich Skoropadskyi (30 January 1804 – 8 February 1887) also served as a speaker for the Pryluky County (1844–1847) and Poltava Governorate (1847–1852) councils. He also was known for building the Trostyanets Arboretum (today in Chernihiv Oblast ). He married in 1829 his paternal grandmother Elisaveta P...vna Tarnovska. Skoropadskyi's father Petro Ivanovych Skoropadskyi (6 March 1834 – 30 June 1885)
279-616: The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine . On 11 November 1918, Germany signed an armistice with the Entente – this left the Hetmanate's military and international support in doubt. In the same month an uprising led by the social democrat Symon Petliura started to take power in Ukraine. The uprising nominally restored the Ukrainian People's Republic , but power was vested in a Directoria ,
310-537: The National Bank of Ukraine released a 2 hryvni coin to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Pavlo Skoropadskyi. [REDACTED] Media related to Pavlo Skoropadsky at Wikimedia Commons Page Corps The Page Corps ( Russian : Пажеский корпус , romanized : Pazhyeskiy korpus ; French : Corps des Pages ) was a military academy in Imperial Russia , which prepared sons of
341-612: The Nazis . In the final weeks of World War II in Europe, Skoropadskyi fled from advancing Soviet forces with the retreating German army. He died at Metten Abbey in Germany on 26 April 1945 after being wounded (16 April 1945) in Allied bombing of Plattling near Regensburg , and was buried in Oberstdorf . His movement continued into the early 1980s, influencing a Ukrainian monarchist program based on
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#1732863159040372-459: The Russian Revolution in 1917. The Corps des Pages , as it was generally referred to in pre-Revolutionary Russia, was the only military academy (out of about twenty) to prepare future officers for all arms. The others were devoted to specialized training for cavalry, infantry, artillery, engineers, cossacks, topographical studies, etc. In common with the other Russian military schools,
403-596: The Cossack State model. It ended gradually with the aging of eastern-Ukrainian émigré communities. Skoropadsky's daughter, Olena Skoropadska-Ott (died 2014), resided in Switzerland , visited Ukraine several times, and was honoured for her historical writings. On 11 January 1897/8 in Saint Petersburg , Russia , Skoropadsky married the Russian noblewoman Aleksandra Petrovna Durnovo (23 May 1878 – 29 December 1952),
434-573: The Imperial family. Graduates from the Page Corps had the unique privilege of joining the regiment of their own choice, regardless of the existing vacancies (however, as a matter of etiquette, the consent of the unit's commander was sought beforehand). As serving officers, they wore, on the left side of their tunic, the badge of the Page Corps, modeled after the cross of the Order of Saint John. Upon graduation,
465-568: The Page Corps cadet school in Saint Petersburg . In 1893, Skoropadsky graduated from the Page Corps and was assigned as a cornet (meaning the 2LT in cavalry ) to the Chevalier Guard regiment where he was given command of a squadron . After two years he was assigned a duty of the Regimental adjutant in the same regiment. In December 1897, he was promoted to Poruchik ( 1LT ). In 1897 Skoropadsky also married Aleksandra Petrovna Durnovo,
496-506: The Page Corps imposed a harsh regime on its cadets. Corporal punishment involved beatings with a birch for even minor offences, and bullying of younger students by their seniors was common. Peter Kropotkin 's memoirs detail the hazing and other abuse of pages for which the Corps had become notorious. The students served on a rotational basis as pages at Court and provided services at ceremonies, including attendance upon individual members of
527-724: The Permanent Financial Commission of the City Council of St. Petersburg. Durnovo lived in a family mansion on 16 Angliyskaya Embankment, owned the Durnovo Dacha on Polyustrovskaya Embankment , as well as apartment buildings adjacent to it (No. 13-15). From July to November 1905 he was Moscow General-Governor. He was never a "Commander (of the Troops) of the Moscow Military District". Nikolai Nikolayevich Malakhov
558-548: The Provisional Government. Pyotr Pavlovich Durnovo Pyotr Pavlovich Durnovo was Moscow's Governor General during the 1905 Russian Revolution . His dacha became the site of an anarchist occupation in 1917. From 1881 to July 1917 he was the vowel of the Saint Petersburg City Duma (chairman from 1904). In the provincial zemstvo meeting, he was elected a member of the City Council, chairman of
589-585: The Russo-Japanese War when the latter was commanding Trans-Baikal Cossack Host . On 6 August 1914 his regiment distinguished itself in battles near Kraupishken as part of the Russian invasion of East Prussia . Later he was appointed as a commander of the United Cavalry Guard Division which distinguished near Kaushen. General Skoropadsky also commanded the 5th Cavalry Division . On 2 April 1916 he
620-596: The Ukraine in order to extort as much food and raw material as possible, but the German high command was wary of penetrating deeper into Russia for fear of spreading their army too thin." Skoropadskyi was chrismated by bishop Nykodym in Saint Sophia Cathedral . Some Ukrainian nationalists denounced him as a German collaborator supported by wealthy landowners. Some other Ukrainians considered him too pro-Russian and dictatorial . Among other things, Skoropadsky formed
651-499: The cadets received the rank of podporuchik ( cornet in cavalry ). While most graduates entered the Russian Imperial Army as officers, a minority opted for diplomatic or civil service careers. The Page Corps had a range of uniforms for different purposes. The most spectacular of these was the gala uniform worn for Court functions. This comprised a spiked helmet with white plume, a dark green tunic with gold braid covering
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#1732863159040682-519: The elite Russian military forces assigned for a personal protection of the emperor. On 6 December 1912 Skoropadsky was promoted to the Major General of the H. I. M. Retinue . At the start of World War I , Skoropadsky was given command of the reorganized 1st Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Guard Division (General Nikolai Kaznakov ) as part of the 1st Army commanded by General Paul von Rennenkampf . Skoropadsky already worked for von Rennenkampf during
713-517: The front, white breeches and high boots. From its inception until 1917, the Page Corps graduated 4,505 officers. An additional 200 were unable to complete their courses because of the revolution of 1917. The school effectively ceased to function following the overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II in February 1917, and it was finally closed in June of the same year on the orders of Alexander Kerensky , War Minister of
744-597: The interests of predominately Russian landowners. Skoropadskyi's government also improved Ukrainian education, foreign affairs, and the organization of the Ukrainian army. Pavlo Skoropadskyi was born into the Skoropadsky family of Ukrainian military leaders and statesmen, that distinguished themselves since the 17th century when Fedir Skoropadsky participated in the Battle of Zhovti Vody . His grandson Ivan Skoropadsky (1646–1722)
775-716: The need for properly trained officers for the Guard units , the Page Corps was reorganized in 1802 into an educational establishment similar to cadet schools. It would accept the sons of the hereditary nobility of Russian lands, and the sons of at least Lieutenant Generals/Vice Admirals or grandsons of full Generals/Admirals. In 1810, the school was moved to the palace of the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem , also known as Vorontsov Palace . It continued at this location in Saint Petersburg for over one hundred years, until
806-586: The nobility and of senior officers for military service . Similarly, the Imperial School of Jurisprudence prepared boys for civil service . The present-day equivalent of the Page Corps and other Imperial military academies may be said to be the Suvorov Military Schools , though none of these was established before 1943. The Page Corps was founded in 1759 in Saint Petersburg as a school for teaching and training pages and chamber pages. In light of
837-504: The railway corridor stretching through Podolie to Polissya , Vapniarka – Zhmerynka – Koziatyn – Shepetivka and defended against the attacks from the Romanian front particularly the 2nd Guard Corps that was headed by Yevgenia Bosch . In April 1918, the invading Germans forced the army of the socialist Ukrainian People's Republic to retreat, and made Skoropadsky Hetman of Ukraine . According to Peter Kenez , "German troops occupied
868-576: Was Hetman of the Ukrainian Cossacks from 1708. The present Skoropadskys descend from his brother. His patrilineal great-grandfather was Mikhail Yakivich Skoropadskyi, son of Yakiv Mikhailovich Skoropadskyi and wife, and his patrilineal great-grandmother was Pulcheria Markevich. Skoropadskyi's father Petro Skoropadsky (1834–1885) was a Cavalry Guard Colonel and a veteran of the Caucasian War (Subjugation of Circassia , 1863). Afterwards he served as
899-555: Was also a descendant of the Tarnovsky family, while Skoropadskyi's mother Maria Andreievna Miklaszevska, daughter of Andrei ...vich Miklaszevski and wife Daria ...vna Olsufieva, was a descendant of Miklashewsky and Olsufiev families. Skoropadskyi grew up at his father's estate in Trostianets , Pryluky County, Poltava Governorate . He attended a gymnasium in Starodub and later graduated from
930-536: Was awarded the George's Weapon and several orders. In December 1905 Tsar Nikolai II made him a Fliegel-Adjutant in a rank of colonel . On 4 September 1910 Colonel Skoropadsky was commissioned as the commander of the 20th Finnish Dragoon Regiment still continuing to be a Fliegel-Adjutant of the H. I. M. Retinue . On 15 April 1911 he was reassigned to the Leib-Guard Cavalry Regiment . Leib-Guards were
961-506: Was promoted to Lieutenant General and was commissioned the 1st Cavalry Guard Division . From 22 January to 2 July 1917 he was in charge of the 34th Army Corps . In July 1917, the decommissioned 34th Army Corps was transformed into the 1st Ukrainian Corps . In October 1917 at the first Congress of the Free Cossacks , he was awarded a title of the honorary Otaman . From October to November 1917 his 60,000-man Army Corps successfully defended