Pavlo Skoropadskyi

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Petrovych and the family name is Skoropadskyi.
Pavlo Skoropadskyi
Павло Скоропадський
Skoropadskyi in 1920, colourized
Hetman of all Ukraine
In office
29 April 1918 – 14 December 1918
Preceded byMykhailo Hrushevsky (as President of Central Rada)
Succeeded byVolodymyr Vynnychenko (Chairman of the Directory)
Personal details
Born(1873-05-15)15 May 1873
Wiesbaden, Hesse-Nassau, Prussia, German Empire
Died26 April 1945(1945-04-26) (aged 71)
Metten, Bavaria, Nazi Germany
Political partyUkrainian People's Assembly [uk]
SpouseOleksandra Skoropadska
ChildrenDanylo Skoropadskyi
Maria
Yelyzaveta
Olena Skoropadska-Ott
RelativesSkoropadsky family
AwardsOrder of St. George (1914)
Order of St. Vladimir
Order of St. Anna
Order of St. Stanislaus
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Russian Empire (1891–1917)
 Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1918)
Years of service1891–1918
RankLieutenant General
Battles/wars
Second World War

Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi (Ukrainian: Павло Петрович Скоропадський; 15 May [O.S. 3 May] 1873 – 26 April 1945) was a Ukrainian[1] aristocrat, military and state leader,[2] who served as the hetman of the Ukrainian State throughout 1918 following a coup d'état in April 29 of the same year.

Born the son of a nobleman, he attended the Page Corps from which he came out an officer. After his service in the Russo-Japanese War, he was promoted to the rank of colonel, later in command of the 20th Finnish Dragoon Regiment in 1910. Skoropadskyi would be promoted to major general and aide-de-camp of Nicholas II in 1912. During the First World War, he became a lieutenant general in charge of the 34th Army Corps.

After the February Revolution which saw the emergence of the Central Rada, Skoropadskyi would begin to Ukrainize his 34th Army Corps, later known as the 1st Ukrainian Corps. With the help of the German Empire, Skoropadskyi would overthrow the Ukrainian People's Republic and establish the Ukrainian State. During his rule, he gave the occupying Austrian and German forces greater control over Ukraine[3] while also appealing to the interests of predominately Russian landowners.[4] Skoropadskyi's government also improved Ukrainian education, foreign affairs, and the organization of the Ukrainian army.[5]

  1. ^ Pritsak, Omeljan (1938). "Book" (PDF) (in Ukrainian). Lviv. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-11.
  2. ^ "СКОРОПАДСКИЙ, ПАВЕЛ ПЕТРОВИЧ – Энциклопедия Кругосвет" [SKOROPADSKY, PAVEL PETROVICH – Encyclopedia Around the World]. www.krugosvet.ru (in Russian).
  3. ^ Hunczak, Taras; T. Von der Heide, John (1977). The Ukraine, 1917–1921:A Study in Revolution. Harvard University Press. p. 71. ISBN 9780674920095.
  4. ^ Hunczak, Taras; T. Von der Heide, John (1977). The Ukraine, 1917–1921:A Study in Revolution. Harvard University Press. pp. 65–66. ISBN 9780674920095.
  5. ^ Hunczak, Taras; T. Von der Heide, John (1977). The Ukraine, 1917–1921:A Study in Revolution. Harvard University Press. p. 74. ISBN 9780674920095.