History of the Ukrainian revolution is full of countless heroic episodes. The fact that Ukrainians then failed to protect their People’s Republic can be explained by many factors, which were largely objective. Nobody, though, can say that they lacked perseverance, determination, heroism in the struggle for the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UPR)’s independence.
Among the heroic episodes of the struggle, the battle of Kruty was especially noteworthy. In the Soviet period, the authorities tried to erase this episode from the popular memory, as they did with everything having to do with the Ukrainian War of Independence of 1917-20. However, since the early 1990s, we have seen memoirs about the battle, previously carefully gathered and published by the Ukrainian Diaspora, republished in Ukraine as well as articles and even books about the battle and its heroes. Thus, it makes no sense now to recount all the episodes of the heroic battle that saw a student company participating in the defense of the Bakhmach railway station against attacking Red Guards commanded by Pavel Egorov. It is important to state just a few basic facts. One of the company’s platoons got lost in the dark and went to the station of Kruty, located between Bakhmach and Nizhyn and already occupied by the Red Guards. Egorov ordered 27 captured youths to be executed by firing squad. This execution of captured university and high school students shocked all citizens of Ukraine. Executing prisoners went against the rules of war, well known to people of the time, as Russia had been at war since 1914. Moreover, these were not professional soldiers, but youths who barely stopped to be children. Kruty has become a symbol of martyrdom and heroism, and so it remains in the historical memory of the people.
Today, we again have to assert the honor and independence of Ukraine on the barricades. Youths are dying again, but the world has changed. We can now rely not only on our own strength, but also on support of the international community when fighting for independence and European choice.
By Stanislav KULCHYTSKY, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor
Two lessons of Kruty heroes for modern Ukrainians
The fate of Ukraine was in the balance in 1918, when its very existence as an independent state was at stake. Now, we are determining what our country will look like and how will it develop. Bloody lessons of the 1918 Ukraine should be not just absorbed, but taken into account when deciding on modern policies.
The first lesson is that Ukrainians must safeguard their state. Those students (116 in all) and those cadets (450 men) with their 20 officers, commanded by Andrii Omelchenko, were not fanatical adherents of the Central Rada or some party’s policy, because the Central Rada was only learning the ropes of state-building, not understanding many things, for example, the need for an army. However, the Kruty heroes knew that Ukraine was their country and it needed defending. That is, they fought for Ukraine. So, lesson number one is: those who serve Ukraine and Ukrainian politicians alike should care above all about Ukraine, not about their place in it. The Kruty heroes showed both heroism and political wisdom. They immortalized themselves through their deeds. They defended their homeland.
Secondly, the battle itself has an educational value, too. There were, as I said, 450 cadets and 116 high school and university students, and there were no more Ukrainian troops available to fight Mikhail Muravyov’s army, 4,000 to 6,000 strong. This is despite the fact that Nizhyn and Kyiv, and other cities housed many regiments at the time consisting of fully armed WWI veterans. However, these soldiers were holding rallies instead, and when it came to action, to the need to fight for Ukraine, they declared neutrality, talked about peace and land reform, drunk heavily and so on. That is, if those people rose to the country’s defense, there would be no tragedy of Kruty. This suggests that the political elite of Ukraine should forget about their political colors, red or white, blue or yellow, and remember that they are all Ukrainian and Ukraine’s fate is in their hands.
They need to put Ukraine first, as the youths who fought at Kruty did.
By Serhii BUTKO, Research Fellow at the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory
