Kharkov during the First World War - retro photo

After the Peace of Brest, Kharkov was liberated from the Bolsheviks. Under the hetman’s rule, the governor’s warden in the city was Peter Zalessky. In 1918, among others, a gymnasium named after Boris Grinchenko was created, many schools were Ukrainized. The government closed the opposition newspaper Narodnoye Delo.

In early 1919, the Bolsheviks again captured the city. The Soviet government of Ukraine operated here, when the city was occupied by the troops of General A. Denikin.

After the Red victory over the whites, the Ukrainian Soviet government returned to Kharkov, and the city became the capital of the Ukrainian SSR.