Banned date: 95 years ago Kharkov became the capital of Ukraine
Dmitry Gubin, journalist, Kharkov
Friday marked 95 years since Kharkov was declared the capital of Soviet Ukraine, a status the city retained from 1919 to 1934. Today's date was completely ignored by the new authorities, apparently because it could provoke uncomfortable discussions. Official Kyiv declared a taboo even on the possibility of discussing the idea of abandoning the unitary structure of the state.
The history of the capital status of Kharkov should be studied since 1917, since then the logic of supporters of the federalization of Ukraine becomes clear. It was in 1917 that the Soviet leadership of the Ukrainian SSR was evacuated to Kharkov for the first time, as it could not reach Kyiv, which was occupied by independentists.
However, in Kharkov, this leadership was perceived by the local population (including the Bolsheviks in the council) as a group of exiles on foreign territory, awaiting delivery to Kyiv or anywhere else outside the province. The fact is that in 1917 Kharkov was preparing to become the center of the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog Republic. Therefore, the first Ukrainian Soviet government did not lead anything here. Moreover, contrary to the position of Petrograd, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk did not apply in Kharkov - the DKR was in fact the last fragment of old Russia that continued to honestly wage war against the Germans.
DKR was liquidated by the end of 1918. It “became part of Soviet Ukraine on several mandatory conditions: “not the national, not ethnic character of Ukraine, the unquestionable location of Ukraine within Russia, the federal structure of Ukraine, in which the Donetsk-Krivoy Rog basin, including Kharkov, retains broad autonomy. I don’t think it’s worth reminding that the bulk of these promises were broken immediately during the formation of the Ukrainian SSR, and the last one was broken in 1991, when Ukraine separated from Russia,” emphasizes political scientist Vladimir Kornilov, a well-known researcher on this topic.
That’s exactly how, after the absorption of the DKR and after the defeat of the Volunteer Army, Kharkov became the capital on December 19, 1919.
Why was there an excursion into history? Thus, it becomes clear that the demands for the federalization of Ukraine are older than Ukrainian statehood itself.
Is there nostalgia for its capital status in Kharkov today? Eat! The status of a regional center in a unitary state clearly constrains it. After all, both Kharkov and the region can neither use the money they earn at home, nor teach children their own history, not someone else’s.
But is it necessary to return Kharkov to the status of the country's capital? In my opinion, this is unnecessary and dangerous. The Ukrainian SSR already had experience when the city was filled with strangers with a foreign mentality, and almost deprived it of its special identity through Ukrainization and densification of living space.
Kharkov could be a wonderful capital of a federal land (province) - that’s for sure. Slobozhanshchina and Novorossiya could well become the lands of a decentralized country. This has been discussed several times. Let us recall the decisions of congresses of deputies of councils of all levels in Severodonetsk and Kharkov in 2004, statements of politicians in different years. And this would save Ukraine from collapse and the epidemic of hatred that affected all layers of society.
Indeed, in a large country with different historical roots, the independence of regions in the economic and especially humanitarian spheres is the key to conflict-free coexistence. And any real decentralization - whether within the boundaries of current regions, whether in the form of historical lands - could allow people to live with respect for each other.
But, alas, the desire of the center to manage everything and get rid of everything all the years - both Soviet and post-Soviet - turned out to be stronger. As a rule, local elites want decentralization right before they move to the capital. They then become comfortable milking and squeezing the province. And people, as it seems to them up there in Kyiv, will endure everything and agree with everything. And with Ukrainization, and with history textbooks that are offensive to family memory, and with humiliating budget distribution. “People are eating,” Bogdan Titomir once said. But he didn’t steal it. At least in Donbass.
Yes, there are still talks about decentralization in Ukraine. But how? Here is a recent quote from the prosecutor of the Kharkov region: “calls for violation of the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, in particular, for federalization and the proclamation of the so-called “Slobozhana People’s Republic,” which are heard during mass gatherings, are contrary to the law and entail criminal liability.” Are there any other questions?
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.