The Kiev Arsenal January Uprising (), sometimes simply called the January Uprising or the January Rebellion, was a

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

-organized workers' armed revolt that started on 1918, at the

Arsenal Factory Arsenal Special Device Production State Enterprise (), also known as the Arsenal Factory, is one of the oldest factory, factories in Kyiv. History Pre-1918 The factory was established in 1764 as a repair and production facility of the Imperia ...

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

during the

Ukrainian–Soviet War The Ukrainian–Soviet War () is the term commonly used in post-Soviet Ukraine for the events taking place between 1917 and 1921, nowadays regarded essentially as a war between the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Bolsheviks (Russian SFSR a ...

. The goal of the uprising was to sabotage the ongoing elections to the

Ukrainian Constituent Assembly The Ukrainian Constituent Assembly () was a planned All-National Congress which was supposed to confirm the Constitution of the Ukrainian People's Republic and establish a new political system. The Assembly was supposed to be the supreme state p ...

and to support the advancing

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. The forces of the

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) was a short-lived state in Eastern Europe. Prior to its proclamation, the Central Council of Ukraine was elected in March 1917 Ukraine after the Russian Revolution, as a result of the February Revolution, ...

(UPR) managed to quell the uprising by 1918.

The beginning

January events in Russia and Ukraine

The long-anticipated 1918

election was to be held on 9 January 1918, where the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

won only 10% of the total votes, but the elections were suspended due to the ongoing Ukrainian-Soviet War as practically all of

left-bank Ukraine The Left-bank Ukraine is a historic name of the part of Ukraine on the left (east) bank of the Dnieper River, comprising the modern-day oblasts of Chernihiv, Poltava and Sumy as well as the eastern parts of Kyiv and Cherkasy. Left-bank Ukrain ...

was occupied by the Soviet forces headed by

Vladimir Antonov-Ovseyenko Vladimir Alexandrovich Antonov-Ovseenko (; ; 9 March 1883 – 10 February 1938), real surname Ovseenko, party aliases 'Bayonet' () and 'Nikita' (), literary pseudonym A. Galsky (), was a prominent Bolshevik leader, Soviet statesman, mili ...

. According to the Third Declaration (Universal), the Constituent Assembly was planned to meet on 22 January, but this was postponed until the end of military conflict. On 19 January, the Soviet government dissolved the

Russian Constituent Assembly The All Russian Constituent Assembly () was a constituent assembly convened in Russia after the February Revolution of 1917. It met for 13 hours, from 4 p.m. to 5 a.m., , whereupon it was dissolved by the Bolshevik-led All-Russian Central Ex ...

, while just a day prior, the government state security forces (

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...

) opened fire on a peace demonstration in support of the constituent assembly. On 22 January, another peace demonstration in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

was dispersed by gunfire as well.

Preceding revolutionary events

The Kievan Bolsheviks decided not to waste any more time and were planning for a revolt to support the invading Soviet forces in the Soviet–Ukrainian War. They decided to initiate it once the Soviet forces started to approach the city in order to draw away some of the Ukrainian military forces from the front lines and help the Red Army to advance. The Bolsheviks had used this tactic in other Ukrainian cities, such as Katerynoslav (current Dnipro),

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...

, and

Yelizavetgrad Kropyvnytskyi (, ) is a city in central Ukraine, situated on the Inhul River. It serves as the administrative center of Kirovohrad Oblast. Population: Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement was k ...

(current Kropyvnytskyi). The

was chosen to be the center of the riot. To prevent any riots on 18 January, a few platoons of the

Free Cossacks Free Cossacks () were Ukrainian Cossacks that were organized as volunteer militia units in the spring of 1917 in the Ukrainian People's Republic. The Free Cossacks are seen as precursors of the modern Ukrainian national law enforcement organiz ...

confiscated a great amount of weaponry from the factory and arrested several Communist activists. The Kievan Bolsheviks' propaganda newspaper, ''Golos Sotsial-Demokrata'', was shut down. Later it was decided to confiscate the coal ore to completely shut down the factory.

Organisation of the revolt

On 28 January, the Bolsheviks instigated a protest and decided to resist further developments against the factory. With the help of some of the soldiers from the Shevchenko Regiment that were guarding the warehouse of weapons confiscated earlier, they managed to retrieve them back to the factory. After a brief gathering, it was decided to start the revolt immediately. The leaders of the revolutionaries were Syla Mishchenko (commandant), Oleksandr Horwits, Mykola Kostyuk, and Ipolit Fialek. The city's Bolsheviks Jan Hamarnyk, Andriy Ivanov, Isaac Kreisberg, and others, who had been planning to delay the uprising until the Red Army would come closer to Kiev, had no other choice but to follow it. The headquarters of the revolt were established at 47 Velyka Vasylkivska Street. The same night on 28 January, several factories, together with some of soldiers from the Bohdaniv Regiment, Shevchenko Regiment, and Sahaydachny Regiment, joined the Arsenal workers in the January Uprising. The goal of the uprising was to encircle the building of the

Central Rada The Central Rada of Ukraine, also called the Central Council (), was the All-Ukrainian council that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputies as well as few members of political, public, cultural and professional organizations o ...

(today the Pedagogical museum) and then force the members of the Rada to resign. Along the way, they were joined by other

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

of Podil and Shulyavka, led by Arkadiy Dzedzievski (Left SR) with Makola Patlakh (Bolshevik) and Vasyl Bozhenko at Demiivka.

Participants

Bolsheviks

* 1st battalion (kurin) of Sahaidachny Regiment (Syla Mishchenko) * Several units of Bohdaniv battalion (kurin) (Kysel) * Units of Shevchenko Regiment (

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...

A. Port) *

units of Arsenal Factory *

units of Demiivka artillery factory (Vasyl Bozhenko)

Central Rada

Sich Riflemen The Sich Riflemen Halych-Bukovyna Kurin () was one of the first regular military units of the Ukrainian People's Army. The unit operated from 1917 to 1919 and was formed from Ukrainian soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army (Ukrainian Sich Riflem ...

battalion (kurin) (Yevhen Konovalets) ** 2nd platoon (sotnia) – 200 soldiers ** Machine-gun platoon (sotnia) – 150 soldiers ** Reserve platoon (sotnia) – 100 soldiers ** Artillery battery – 12 guns *

units * Haidamaka Brigade of Sloboda Ukraine (kish) (Symon Petlyura) ** Black Haidamaka Battalion (kurin) ** Red Haidamaka Battalion (kurin), also known as 3rd Haidamaka Regiment ( Omelian Volokh) ** 1st platoon (of Sich Riflemen battalion) – 200 soldiers * Hordiyenko Regiment ( Vsevolod Petriv) * Some armored trains

Revolt

On the morning of 29 January, the representative of the Kievan council of worker and soldier deputies handed over an ultimatum to the

Tsentralna Rada The Central Rada of Ukraine, also called the Central Council (), was the All-Ukrainian council that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputies as well as few members of political, public, cultural and professional organizations o ...

to surrender. In return, the Rada requested immediate capitulation of the revolutionaries, and by evening the city was engulfed in a series of skirmishes. The main forces of the mutineers were concentrated around the factory, although a few separate centers existed in the Shuliavka neighborhood (based on the recently liquidated Shuliavka Republic), Demiivka, and

Podil Podil ( ) or Podol ( ), also known in English as the Lower City,Ivankin, H., Vortman, D. Podil (ПОДІЛ)'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. is a historic neighborhood in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is located on a floodplain terrace ...

. The revolutionaries managed to overtake the railroad freight station Kiev-Tovarniy and were moving towards the center of the city through

Khreschatyk Khreshchatyk (, ) is the main street of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. The street is long, and runs in a northeast-southwest direction from European Square through the Maidan to Bessarabska Square and the Besarabsky Market. The offices ...

. The most dangerous were activities in

, when the mutineers managed to take the ''Starokiev'' police precinct and the hotel ''Prague'' (today 36 Volodymyr Street), which were close to the building of the

. The next day on 30 January, the whole city was paralyzed and went on strike, stopping utility services and the city's transportation. The Rada had no influence over most of the military units, many of which decided not to intrude. The Ukrainian government was supported only by the separate platoons of the Bohdaniv Regiment, Polubotko Regiment, Bohun Regiment, a

kurin Kurin () has two definitions: a military and administrative unit of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, Black Sea Cossack Host, and others; and of a type of housing (see below). In the administrative definition, a kurin usually consisted of a few hundred ...

, and the

Storming the Arsenal

On 1 February, the Rada announced that it had full control of the city and asked the workers to end the strike, as it harmed the civil population. It promised to come up with several socioeconomic reforms in the immediate future. The next day, the Sloboda Ukraine Kish (Haidamaky) of

Symon Petliura Symon Vasyliovych Petliura (; – 25 May 1926) was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He was the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian People's Army (UNA) and led the Ukrainian People's Republic during the Ukrainian War of Independence, a pa ...

entered the city, withdrawing from the attacks of the Colonel Muravyov. Also the Hordiyenko Regiment of

Vsevolod Petrov Vsevolod Petriv (, January 12, 1883 – July 10, 1948) was a colonel of the Imperial Russian Army, General and Head of the Staff of the Ukrainian People's Army (or Ukrainian National Army), publicist, historian, and teacher. He is known as a mili ...

was brought to the city from the north front. On 2 February, most of the revolt was extinguished except for its main center – the Arsenal Factory. On the morning of 4 February, the forces of

occupied the factory after a bloody assault that cost the lives of several kish soldiers and workers of Arsenal. Later, Soviets would claim that the Petliura forces killed 300 of the Arsenal's defenders in the yard of the factory. Afterwards, Petliura's resistance was weakened greatly against the besieging Bolsheviks, who entered the city on 4 February (occupying the Darnytsia neighborhood) and captured the town on 7 February (although sporadic fighting continued for several days afterwards).Arsenal (1929): Ukraine in Revolution

Legacy

This event is generally regarded as "

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

-motivated" by historians, similar to other workers' movements in the post-October Revolution period. To commemorate the event, the historic defensive wall of the Arsenal Factory bearing the traces of shelling was preserved by

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

authorities on the city's Moscow Street (near the Arsenalna metro station). The nearby street named for the event during

times carried the name "January Uprising Street" until 2007. The uprising is the subject of ''

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

'' (1929), a Soviet war film by the Ukrainian director

Oleksandr Dovzhenko Alexander Petrovich Dovzhenko, also Oleksandr Petrovych Dovzhenko (, ; November 25, 1956), was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Ukrainian origin. He is often cited as one of the most important early Soviet filmmakers, alongside Sergei ...

Notes

References

External links

Arsenal (1929): Ukraine in Revolution
— Kyiv-Lviv, 1996. *Manchuk, A.
The January Uprising. The role of boys. (Січневе повстання. "Роля хлопчаків")
''.

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' is a Ukrainian socio-political online media outlet founded by Heorhii Gongadze in April 2000. After Gongadze’s death in September 2000, the editorial team was led by co-founder Olena Prytula, who remained the editor-in ...

(Istorychna Pravda). 29 January 2011. *Derevyany, I.
Sich Riflemen during the January Uprising ("Січові стрільці під час Січневого повстання")
'.

(Istorychna Pravda). 6 April 2012. *Zdorov, A.
Who raised the armed revolt in Kiev in January of 1918
'.

(Istorychna Pravda). 18 October 2010.
Kiev January Armed Uprising in 1918
at the

Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia'' () was a multi-purpose encyclopedia of Ukraine, issued in the USSR. First attempt Following the publication of the first volume of the in Lviv, then in Poland, in 1930, the ''Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia ...

{{coord missing, Ukraine 1910s in Kyiv 1918 in Ukraine Military operations of the Russian Civil War in 1918 Bolshevik uprisings Communism in Ukraine Kiev in the Russian Civil War January 1918 February 1918 Battles involving the Ukrainian People's Republic