Thread by @CanadianKobzar

🧵FELLAS! STAY AWHILE AND LISTEN! An often repeated russian lie is "Ukraine didn't exist before 1991". Ukraine's state has roots going back to the early Kingdom of Rus in 1253. Today we will discuss the creation of the first modern Ukrainian state(s) in the 20th century! 1/19

The foundations of the Ukrainian state were established by the Hromada, formed in Ukraine shortly after the Crimean War. In Hapsburg ruled Ukraine, in 1848 during the Spring of Nations, Ukrainians formed the Supreme Ruthenian Council whose goal was autonomy for Ukraine. 2/19

Ukraine's independence truly took flight during the bolshevik revolution. After the February Revolution, Ukrainians took the first steps at establishing a Ukrainian State. The Fist Universal of the Central Rada proclaimed Ukrainian autonomy in the russian empire. 3/19

The Third Universal established the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Fourth Universal, on January 25, 1918 declared Ukraine an independent and autonomous state. The first President of the Ukrainian State was the Ukrainian scholar and historian, Mykhailo Hrushevsky. 4/19

On April 29, 1918, the Ukrainian Constitution was officially ratified. It asserted that the Ukrainian National Republic was a ‘sovereign, independent, and free state,’ in which the people of Ukraine held sovereign power and exercised it through the National Assembly. 5/19

The Central Rada Government was short lived, as it was overthrown by Pavlo Skoropadsky. Skoropadsky established a monarchy based on Ukrainian Cossack traditions. It would become known as the Hetmanate, named after the original Ukrainian cossack state established in 1648. 6/19

Skoropadsky's government was supported by Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. As a result, Ukrainian territory grew to a great extent. It included most of modern Ukraine (including Crimea). 7/19

As German support would dwindle, the Hetmanate's power weakened. A majority of Ukrainians did not support the Hetman due to elitist policies. The government would AGAIN be overthrown and replaced with the Directory, headed by Symon Petlura. 8/19

In Hapsburg territories, Ukrainians declared an independent state known as the Western Ukrainian People's Republic on April 9, 1918 with its capital in Lviv with Yevhen Petrushevych the first president. 9/19

The constitution was passed on November 13, 1918 and defined the territories of the new republic. These territories included Galicia, Bukovyna and Transcarpathia. Despite also being Ukrainian, it wad distinct and separate from the Ukrainian People's Republic....until.... 10/19

A significant milestone in was on 22 January, 1919 when the Act Zluky was signed formally unifying the UPR and the WUPR into one Ukrainian State. For the first time since the 13th century, all Ukrainian lands were unified under one state. 11/19

However, these were not the only lands where Ukrainian independence movements took place. The Kuban People's Republic joined the Hetmanate government in January 20, 1918. Many Kuban Cossacks fought in the Ukrainian People's Republic Army for independence. Below is Hetman Skoropadsky with Kuban Cossack representatives. 12/19

In the Far East, Lead by Yurii Hlushko Ukrainians attempted to establish a Ukrainian state that would be known as Green Ukraine. Pictured below is a massive Ukrainian rally with Blue and Yellow Ukrainian flags in Vladivostok 1917. 13/19

North of Kazakhstan and in southern Siberia, Ukrainians attempted to create a Ukrainian state known as Grey Ukraine. As stated by locals "The city of Omsk looks like a typical Moscovite city, but the bazaar and markets speak Ukrainian". 14/19

Along the Volga, Ukrainians pushed for a state called Yellow Ukraine. As late as 2014, many traditional Ukrainian villages were preserved. 15/19

Many elements of the Ukrainian state today derives from these states. The Tryzub, the national anthem, the Blue and Yellow, well as many other important aspects of the Ukrainian state were first adopted in the Ukrainian People's Republic. 16/19

These states were internationally recognized by countries including: Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and by Bolshevik Russia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and the Holy See. 17/19

Unfortunately, in 1922, the Ukrainian People's Republic fell to the Bolshieviks and the Ukrainian state would become the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The capital of the republic at this time was Kharkiv. 18/19

In 1991, the Ukrainian state was reborn into today's Ukraine, but in my opinion, the Ukrainian state in many was truly reborn on 2014. Despite russia's invasion, Ukraine will not fall. Ukraine will be free and independent. We will never be defeated! SLAVA UKRAINI! 19/19

Ps1 - a lot of people are asking “why 1253 and not 890 when Rus was founded”. In my opinion, 1253 marks the start of the Ukrainian state with the creation of the kingdom of Rus. While Ukraine undoubted comes from Kyivan rus, Kyivan Rus was really a grouping of loosely affiliated Varangian principalities and not really a “state” as we understand it today. A similar comparison is with the Carolingian Empire and France. While France undoubted came from the Carolinian empire, the Carolingian empire really wasn’t a “French state”. I’d argue that France began with the Capetian dynasty.