When and how was Kharkov proclaimed the capital of the Ukrainian SSR?
The question of Kharkov as a possible capital of Soviet Ukraine first appeared in the winter of 1919, when it was captured a month earlier than Kiev. It was in Kharkov that the government of Soviet Ukraine was housed in January 1919 after moving from Sudzha.
But after the intervention of the Kremlin, the issue was resolved in favor of Kiev. On March 6, 1919, this decision was approved by the Decree of the Third All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets and in the second half of March the transfer of the highest power structures to Kiev took place.
At the end of 1919 - the beginning of 1920, the situation repeated itself - Soviet power was established first in Kharkov, and then in Kiev. On the night of January 17-18, the politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) finally granted the request of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) one month ago, accepting "the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, the All-Ukrainian Revolutionary Committee and the headquarters of the South-Western Front to be transferred to Kharkov." After that, Kharkov became the de facto capital of the Ukrainian SSR. But this time, the request for the speedy transfer of the capital to Kiev was not satisfied.
However, such a refusal did not mean assigning the capital status to Kharkov. In various kinds of instructions and speeches by leading Bolshevik figures, the capital of Soviet Ukraine was often called Kiev. The situation has changed dramatically after the XII Congress of the RCP (B). The Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (B) U on June 1, 1923 considered the issue "Kharkiv is the capital of Ukraine."
In the preamble of the decision it was noted: “Kharkiv should remain the capital of Ukraine [...] for a long time to consider it necessary to concentrate all the main Ukrainian cultural centers in it, such as: Ukrainian Academy, Scientific Committee, etc. First of all, the Academy of Sciences needs to be translated. Suggest to the Council of People's Commissars and Narcotics Education to develop the question of translation.”
The question of turning Kharkov into the full capital of Ukraine was transferred to a practical political plane and transferred to Soviet bodies. The Izvestia VUZIK newspaper dated July 17, 20 and 26 in the Chronicle section published the decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR and the Presidium of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee, which actually duplicated the said decree of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
On July 20, 1923, the content of the publication was very short, and, as it might seem, unambiguous: “KHARKOV is the capital of the Ukrainian SSR. The Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee approved the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars on the announcement of the city of Kharkov the capital of Ukraine.”
But after the intervention of the Kremlin, the issue was resolved in favor of Kiev. On March 6, 1919, this decision was approved by the Decree of the Third All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets and in the second half of March the transfer of the highest power structures to Kiev took place.
At the end of 1919 - the beginning of 1920, the situation repeated itself - Soviet power was established first in Kharkov, and then in Kiev. On the night of January 17-18, the politburo of the Central Committee of the RCP (b) finally granted the request of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) one month ago, accepting "the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, the All-Ukrainian Revolutionary Committee and the headquarters of the South-Western Front to be transferred to Kharkov." After that, Kharkov became the de facto capital of the Ukrainian SSR. But this time, the request for the speedy transfer of the capital to Kiev was not satisfied.
Photo © jnsm.com.ua
However, such a refusal did not mean assigning the capital status to Kharkov. In various kinds of instructions and speeches by leading Bolshevik figures, the capital of Soviet Ukraine was often called Kiev. The situation has changed dramatically after the XII Congress of the RCP (B). The Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (B) U on June 1, 1923 considered the issue "Kharkiv is the capital of Ukraine."
In the preamble of the decision it was noted: “Kharkiv should remain the capital of Ukraine [...] for a long time to consider it necessary to concentrate all the main Ukrainian cultural centers in it, such as: Ukrainian Academy, Scientific Committee, etc. First of all, the Academy of Sciences needs to be translated. Suggest to the Council of People's Commissars and Narcotics Education to develop the question of translation.”
The question of turning Kharkov into the full capital of Ukraine was transferred to a practical political plane and transferred to Soviet bodies. The Izvestia VUZIK newspaper dated July 17, 20 and 26 in the Chronicle section published the decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR and the Presidium of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee, which actually duplicated the said decree of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
On July 20, 1923, the content of the publication was very short, and, as it might seem, unambiguous: “KHARKOV is the capital of the Ukrainian SSR. The Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee approved the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars on the announcement of the city of Kharkov the capital of Ukraine.”
