The Borotbists (Fighters) (1918–1920) was a left-nationalist

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. It is not be associated with its Russian affiliated counterparts - the Ukrainian Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (Borbysts) and the

Ukrainian Communist Party The Ukrainian Communist Party ( uk, Українська Комуністична Партія, ''Ukrayins’ka Komunistychna Partiya'') was an oppositional political party in Soviet Ukraine, from 1920 until 1925. Its followers were known as Ukap ...

(Ukapists). It arose in May 1918 after the split in the

Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary Party Ukrainian Socialist-Revolutionary Party (russian: Украинская партия социалистов-революционеров uk, Українська Партія Соціалістів-Революціонерів) was a political ...

on the basis of supporting

Soviet regime The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a federal single-party soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only party permitted by the Co ...

in Ukraine. The Borotbists are often associated with the Russian party of

Left Socialist-Revolutionaries The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries (russian: Партия левых социалистов-революционеров-интернационалистов) was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Rev ...

who in

also called themselves ''borotbists''. In March 1919 it assumed the name Ukrainian Party of Socialist-Revolutionary-Borotbists (Communists) ( uk, Українська партія соціалістів-революціонерів-боротьбістів (комуністів), ), and in August the same year the name was changed to Ukrainian Communist Party (Borotbists) (, ). Its leaders, among others, were

Vasyl Blakytnyy The name Basil (''royal, kingly'') comes from the male Greek name Vassilios (, female version ), which first appeared during the Hellenistic period. It is derived from "basileus" ( el, βασιλεύς, links=no), of greek origin, meaning "king", ...

, Hryhoriy Hrynko, Ivan Maistrenko and Oleksander Shumskyy. The Borotbists twice applied to the Executive Committee of the

Communist International The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

to be allowed to affiliate with the Communist International. On February 26, 1920, the Communist International by a special decision called on the Borotbists to dissolve their party and merge with the

Communist Party (bolshevik) of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine ( uk, Комуністична Партія України ''Komunistychna Partiya Ukrayiny'', КПУ, ''KPU''; russian: Коммунистическая партия Украины) was the founding and ruling ...

, the CP(b)U. At the Borotbists' conference in the middle of March 1920, a decision was passed to dissolve the party. A decision to admit the Borotbists to membership of the CP(b)U was adopted at the Fourth All-Ukraine Conference of the CP(b)U, which was held in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Ukrainian Communist Party The Ukrainian Communist Party ( uk, Українська Комуністична Партія, ''Ukrayins’ka Komunistychna Partiya'') was an oppositional political party in Soviet Ukraine, from 1920 until 1925. Its followers were known as Ukap ...

(Ukapists), rather than the Bolshevik party which was more closely tied to Moscow. After 1920 the history of the Borotbisty took the form of a struggle between the two trends, the centralist Russophile element, and the ‘universal current’ of Ukrainian communists. Ukrainization heralded an unprecedented national renaissance in the 1920s. The Ukrainian communists, including prominent ex-Borotbisty, carried forward Ukrainization, a “weapon of cultural revolution in Ukraine”. Ukrainization meant efforts to assert autonomy and counter ascendant Stalinism. Stalinist centralism and its partner Russian nationalism destroyed senses of equality between the republics. The Ukrainian communists and intelligentsia were annihilated. The Borotbist “co-founders of the Ukrainian SSR” were amongst the last remnants of opposition purged under the guise of the destruction of the fake “Borotbist Center” in 1936. They were still being subjected to official attack in 1938.the commune.co.uk February 20

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References

{{Left-wing parties in Ukraine Borotbists, 1918 establishments in Ukraine 1920 disestablishments in Ukraine Defunct communist parties in Ukraine Nationalist parties in Ukraine Political parties established in 1918 Political parties disestablished in 1920 Political parties of the Russian Revolution Russian Revolution in Ukraine National communism