Makhno with the ruling cabinet
The political situation in Ukraine changed dramatically, and on November 13, 1918, five people, including Vinnichenko, a socialist, a socialist, and Petliula Petliula, a nationalist, established a ruling cabinet. They reorganized Sechi, organized an uprising, overthrew the government of Skoropatsky, occupied Kharkov on the 18th, moved the capital to Kiev on the 19th, occupied Yekaterinoslav and Belgorod, north of Kharkov on the 21st), restored the Ukrainian People's Republic (12.14), made the Ukrainian language the official language.
The ruling cabinet declared itself the supreme authority, but nothing more than a temporary body during the revolutionary period, who would hand over power to the people at the Congress of Ukrainian Working People's Congresses. But the ruling Cabinet did not restore the Central Rada, stipulating that the Ukrainian People's Republic belonged only to the workers and peasants, and deputies to the People's Congress of Labor could only be elected from among them.
In fact, this system is neither Soviet nor parliamentary democracy, and in itself reflects the emptiness within the ruling cabinet.
After the defeat of Austria-Hungary in October 1918, the Ukrainians in its territory formed the Ukrainian National Council in Lviv, and on November 1 proclaimed the independent Ukrainian republic, the Western Ukrainian People's Republic.
But on the 22nd, the Ukrainians were driven out of Lviv by the Poles, and the conflict developed into a full-scale war between Ukraine and Poland and then developed into a Soviet-Polish war. The Western Ukrainian People's Republic was incorporated into the Ukrainian People's Republic on January 22, 1919, becoming its Western Province, retaining autonomy, its own laws, and the Galician army.
The Ukrainian National Army, which at one time numbered 100,000 after uniting with the Galician army, controlled a considerable amount of Ukrainian territory. However, the Labor Congress of January 26, 1919, when no decision was reached, and the ruling cabinet faced a serious external crisis: the White Army, the Russian Red Army, the Entente and the Polish Army.
The ruling cabinet, initially led by Vinnichenko, pursued a left-leaning policy and chose a pro-Soviet path, and after the Bolsheviks occupied Kiev, the nationalist Petliura came to power, who announced his withdrawal from the Social Democratic Labor Party in order to seek the support of the Entente. Disputes within the ruling cabinet weakened its own power, and it never controlled the Makhno movement area.
On November 11, 1918, the day of Germany's surrender, the Revolutionary Military Council of Soviet Russia immediately issued an order to prepare for an invasion of Ukraine within 10 days. On 13 November, the Russian government abrogated the Brest Peace Treaty, including the recognition of the independence of the Ukrainian People's Republic. On the 17th, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Russia (CPB) and the Russian government jointly decided to set up the "Revolutionary Military Committee of the Kursk Front" composed of Stalin, Piatakov, Zatonsky, Antonov and others, and on the 28th, the "Provisional Government of Ukrainian Workers and Peasants" headed by Piatakov was established in Kursk, which was the second Soviet government of Ukraine.
Soon, the Pyatakov government issued a decree that the "Revolutionary Military Council of the Kursk Front" was officially changed to the Soviet Ukrainian Front, proclaimed the overthrow of the Skoropatsky government, abolished all decrees of the Central Rada, fought against the ruling cabinet, marched on Kharkov and Kiev.
Makhno was alarmed by the ruling cabinet that emerged after the overthrow of the Skoropatsky regime. Reading a telegram to the peasants about the establishment of the ruling cabinet, the local teacher asked Makhno: "What position will you stand on?"
What is the attitude of the young father Makhno and the revolutionary guerrilla forces towards the ruling cabinet?" The question made Makhno confused and nervous: "I don't expect it in the countryside, and it makes me sad to some extent – more because the village partisans are not so serious about Vinnichenko's political confidence. Since this issue is a real issue, it must be dealt with seriously and responsibly."
After a while, Makhno overcame his nervousness and replied that although Vinnichenko was "a socialist, involved and is participating in the struggle for the life of workers", the current regime allowed the wolf Petliura, to participate in politics, "I do not think that the revolutionary partisan detachments have a common language with the ruling cabinet of Ukraine, and we are not yet clear about the program, the customization, and the election process of the ruling cabinet."
Ukraine should be formed on the basis of labor freedom and independence", "We will not recognize the ruling cabinet of Ukraine", "We will not wage armed struggle against it, but we will...... Be ready to fight it". Makhno convened his close colleagues Marchenko, Kolesnik and others to discuss the matter, and unanimously declared that the ruling cabinet would never be allowed to establish power in the countryside, and propagated that the ruling cabinet was a counter-revolution and that "the rural revolution is an open opposition to the government", which was approved by the people of Gulia and Hippoly.
Makhno considered the ruling cabinet worse than the Central Rada, and had no intention of joining the ruling cabinet army, but felt that it should not be opposed at the moment, as it would be threatened by the White Army, the ruling cabinet, the remnants of the German-Austrian army, and the Red Army at the same time. Makhno decided to send two deputies, A. Cupiko and the leftist Socialist-Revolutionaries, to negotiate on December 15, but instructed the two deputies to "test the intentions of the Yekaterinoslav soldiers and young commanders" and secretly establish contact with them to reach a certain agreement.
In this way, Makhno took a neutral stance. Makhno allowed the ruling cabinet to recruit and deploy troops through its territory, but intercepted military trains carrying soldiers and called on soldiers to rebel against the ruling cabinet.
Makhno military agreement with the Bolshevik Party
As early as December 19, 1918, Denikin's army, led by Mai Mayevsky, marched from the Kuban to the Mariupol-Berdyansk-Sinelynikovo line in an attempt to take control of Donbass. On January 3, 1919, the Red Army occupied Kharkov, the ruling cabinet was expelled, but it still controlled central and western Ukraine, and Makhno achieved the first military alliance with the Bolshevik PartyOn January 3, the commander of the Makhno front, Viktor Berash, called for a front-line conference in Pologhi, attended by more than 40 delegates.
The meeting discussed the issue of obtaining weapons and ammunition, and it was decided to unite all independent guerrilla forces to achieve a united front, establish supply bases, and organize a defensive front. The meeting formed a military command headed by Berash.
After the meeting, Tesrek Entnivoka, Pologi, Helbet, Orekhovo and other places organized corps, and by January 20, the number of partisans was 15,000, including 1,000 cavalry, 40 machine guns, and occupied a 150-mile-long front line.
White troops were constantly being transported into the new army from the ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol, and the ruling cabinet issued a general mobilization order for the "defense of the Motherland". In this context, on 23 January, the first regional congress of workers, peasants, partisans was held in Volya-Maharlivk.
The meeting was chaired by Central Peasant Krovka and attended by 100 deputies, who were elected by one from each county and one for every 100 partisans. Determined that there would be mass murder between the Makhno partisans, nationalists and the Bolsheviks, the conference called for the mobilization of the population and the soldiers of the ruling cabinet to return to their homes and unite with the Bolsheviks to stop the bloodshed.
Since then, Makhno's power has been strengthened to a certain extent. The Anarchist Alarm Bell Coalition was established in November 1918 and decided to use Ukraine as a base of activity for the realization of anarchic ideas, participating in the popular movement, the Makhno movement.
In January 1919, Beresh reached an agreement with the Alarm Bell faction with Makhno's order, and the Alarm Bell sent cultural and propaganda personnel to the rebel army, and Gulya Hippoly formed an independent Alarm Bell group. At the same time, the leftist Socialist-Revolutionary, Viktor Popov, joined the Makhno movement and became active.
Regional Congress of Workers, Peasants, Guerrillas
The regional congresses of workers, peasants and partisans in the Makhno movement were the supreme organs of power. As mentioned above, the First Regional Congress was still discussing cooperation with the Bolshevik Party on 23 January 1919, and the Bolshevik Party found that the Makhno movement had not been curbed by the signing of military agreements, and that the Bolsheviks had propaganda that "kulaks, counter-revolutionary, not conducive to genuine revolutionary activity" had appeared, and had sent troops to blockade all goods in and out of the Makhno area of activity, and had dispatched Cheka personnel to arrest Makhnos.
The Makhnoites considered the Bolsheviks' way of handling political affairs tantamount to that of the Tsar, and called for "the overthrow of the commissariat regime and the appointment of commissars from above" and "the downfall of the Cheka". The Second Regional Congress of Workers, Peasants, Partisans was held on February 12, 1919 in Gulya Ipole and was attended by 245 delegates, representing 350 districts with Volitsky and Makhno as honorary president.
The delegates to the conference reported on the signing of the Bolsheviks by the delegates sent to Kharkov. Heated discussions took place on the free elections of the Soviets.
The meeting was imbued with a strong anti-Bolshevik atmosphere. The conference opposed the decree of the Ukrainian Soviet Government on the creation of Soviet farms, demanded that the land be distributed equally among the peasants, adhere to the principle that "land does not belong to any institution", and abolish labor employment.
The conference rejected the Bolshevik political commissar appointee, saying, "Whatever the cost, we must establish a Soviet without any party rule." Only the freely elected non-partisan Soviets of the workers can give us real freedom and liberate the workers from slavery and oppression. Long live the free elections of the non-partisan Soviets!"
In conclusion, Makhno concluded that "if the Bolshevik friends had come to Ukraine not to help us, but to rule Ukraine, then say to them to raise their hands, 'Without your help we will also liberate the toilers and form a new life without landlords, slaves, oppressors, and oppressors' The political commissars are watching every move of the local Soviets and treating the workers and peasants who defend their freedoms rudely", and the meeting urged the workers and peasants to "keep an eye on every move of the Bolsheviks that may threaten the workers' and peasants' revolution".
The Grigoriev partisans helped the Red Army occupy Odessa and defeat the Entente that attacked southern Ukraine. The Grigoriev rebellion to a certain extent hindered the movement of the Red Army to the Romanian front and hindered the process of the Hungarian revolution by the Soviet and Russian regimes, and the Hungarian army, which had once established the Slovak Soviet Republic, was defeated by the intervention of the Entente, and the Hungarian Soviet Republic existed for only 133 days, "with all possible postponement of the workers' revolution in some small countries such as Bulgaria, Poland, Galicia, Romania and the Balkan countries" , which interrupted the Bolsheviks' plan to control the connection between Odessa and Barr in the birthplace of the revolution, and slowed down the world revolution.