Dictatorship of the Western Province of the Ukrainian National Republic

Dictatorship of the Western Province of the Ukrainian National Republic. An emergency form of government headed by a dictator. Because of a critical situation in the Western Province of the Ukrainian National Republic, the Ukrainian National Rada and the State Secretariat of the Western Ukrainian National Republic appointed Yevhen Petrushevych dictator on 9 June 1919, giving him ‘the authority to exercise full military and civil power.’ Petrushevych formed the Government of Plenipotentiaries (Uriad Holovnoupovnovazhenykh) and the Military Chancellery. The appointed plenipotentiaries were Sydir Holubovych (internal affairs), Stepan Vytvytsky (foreign affairs), I. Myron (transport), and K. Dolezhal (director of the Military Chancellery). These appointments continued after the government's evacuation to Vienna in November 1919. On 25 July 1920 Petrushevych reorganized the government of the Western Province, forming four departments, each to be headed by a plenipotentiary. Besides these, the Military Chancellery and the Presidium Chancellery continued to function. On 1 August 1920 Petrushevych appointed the following officials to the government: Stepan Vytvytsky (foreign affairs), Volodymyr Singalevych (finance, trade, and industry), Kost Levytsky (press and propaganda), O. Haninchak (internal affairs, judiciary, education, lands, post and telegraph, roads, and public works), Yarosalv Selezinka (director of the Military Chancellery), and Lev Petrushevych (director of the Presidium Chancellery). During 1921 some plenipotentiaries were changed: K. Levytsky took over foreign affairs, O. Nazaruk took charge of press and propaganda, and Roman Perfetsky became responsible for internal affairs. The dictatorship was dissolved in exile when the Conference of Ambassadors decided in March 1923 that eastern Galicia should be incorporated into Poland.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 1 (1984).]