Disputes about the Territorial Belonging of Part of the Voronezh Province to Russia or Ukraine in 1917–1918

Abstract. Supporters of the Ukrainian national movement included the southern part of the Voronezh province (guberniia) in the general array of the territory inhabited by Ukrainians. While in the 19th–early 20th centuries the theme of ethnic borders existed at the level of constructing images of Ukraine, after the Revolution of 1917 the issue of belonging of four southern counties (uezdy) of the province began to be discussed in practice. Initially, the border dispute occurred within the framework of a single state. Many social forces including the local ones hoped that the issue would be resolved by the Constituent Assembly on the basis of national self-determination and a survey of the local population. In 1918, negotiations were taking place at the interstate level. The population of the province was also involved in the process. In addition to congresses at the provincial and count level, the Soviet authority brought the discussion of accession to the lower levels – volost and village gatherings. In the negotiation process RSFSR used the results of these surveys, but the Ukrainian side also claimed the support of the local population. The article considers the participation of a number of actors in this territorial dispute, their opinions and what influenced their positions. It allows us to reconstruct a more complete picture of the events of those years using the example of a local case.

Кeywords: Voronezh province, Revolution of 1917, the Ukrainian national movement, territorial dispute, surveys.