The question of the catholicity of the Ukrainian lands in international relations 1918 - 1919

Abstract

The article examines the preconditions and consequences of the unification of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and West Ukrainian People’s Republic a single state body through the prism of international relations during the period of formation of the bases of the Versailles-Washington system, analyzing the first steps towards the implementation of the Reunification Act of the Union and the reasons for the failure of the collegiality. It is noted that the political outcome of the end of the First World War had a decisive influence on the position of Ukrainian leaders. The Ukrainian people were forced to fight for their own state life in difficult foreign policy circumstances. For the course of historical processes in the territory of Great Ukraine, a decisive factor was the revolution and subsequent military actions in the territory of the former Russian Empire. The difficulties of Galicians were largely due to the fact that they were in the camp of the losers. In addition to the unique ethnic roots and common state life in the past, the Galician people with the Dnieper were more dissociated than united. Recent adversaries on the fronts of the world war, with political leaders, who, calling themselves socialist, often resisted the opposite views on the content of socialist transformations (to mention at least the differences in relation to the fundamental question of private property) and held divergent positions in defined the key directions of the foreign policy course (the "Polish question", relations with the Entente, the attitude towards Soviet power, etc.), and, finally, with different chances to achieve world recognition ("14 points" by W. Wilson), western and eastern Ukrainians and After joining the ZUNR with the UPR, they continued to live a separate life, and their governments pursued an independent policy. Unfortunately, this association was declarative. Therefore, it is not surprising that the association was so short-lived in time. Already on November 17, 1919, after the departure of the Government of the UPR from abroad, the state communication with the Directory was torn apart, and an entirely independent political course was conducted on the international arena, aimed at obtaining diplomatic recognition from the victorious countries Entente.