Page:The New Europe - Volume 4.djvu/195

Rh the Ukrainian delegates. Prince Lvov made it clear that the Provisional Government could not agree to Ukrainian claims before the Constituent Assembly met, on the ground that the autonomy of the Ukraine was a matter for the whole Russian people. If the Ukrainians proclaimed their autonomy before the Constituent Assembly met, there was danger that the latter might not agree to it.

Thus the differences between the Rada and the Provisional Government were partly military and partly political, and in both cases attempts were made at a compromise. The military demands of the Ukrainian Army Meeting had the support of the Rada, but thanks to the moderation of Hruševski and Vinničenko a compromise was reached by which Kerenski permitted several reserve brigades to be formed into the nucleus of a Ukrainian army, provided that no attempts were made to interfere with those regiments already at the front. The political compromise was more difficult, and raised such a storm in Petrograd that the events which led up to it must be discussed at greater length.

The failure of the delegation that went to Petrograd in the middle of June merely stiffened the attitude of the Rada.

On 17 June, after several days of secret session, the Rada passed a resolution declaring that the Provisional Government had acted against the interests of the Ukrainian people, and explaining that it would itself publish a manifesto setting forth the demands of the Ukrainian democracy. Before giving the substance of the manifesto that appeared a few days later, a word must be said about the extreme Separatists (or Samostinniki). On 18 June they held a meeting at Kiev which was chiefly attended by soldiers who had come to Kiev for the Army Meeting. This meeting resolved to form in the Ukraine a democratic republic with the sovereignty of the Ukrainian nation guaranteed. This republic would be able to make free alliances with other nations and would be represented at the Peace Conference. The Samostinniki were no doubt supported by enemy agents in Kiev and elsewhere, but received very little support from the Ukrainian people, who preferred the moderate counsels of their leaders, Hruševski and Vinničenko. They cannot be ignored, however, as no doubt their violence