Haidamaka Units of the Army of the UNR

Haidamaka Units of the Army of the UNR. Military formations that arose in 1917 either as a result of the officially sanctioned Ukrainianization of certain units of the Russian army, or in a spontaneous, revolutionary manner, against the will of the Russian commanders. Most of the haidamaka units disintegrated with the collapse of the Russian army. Others—such as the haidamaka battalions in Katerynoslav and Odesa, the haidamaka companies in Uman and Oleksandrivske, and the haidamaka company formed in the Finland Division of the Russian army—took part in battles with Bolshevik forces in December 1917. They were routed with heavy losses and ceased to exist. Only two haidamaka formations were incorporated within the regular Army of the Ukrainian National Republic in February 1918: the Haidamaka Battalion of Slobidska Ukraine and the (K. Hordiienko) Haidamaka Cavalry Regiment.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 2 (1988).]