THE AMBIGUITIES OF SOVIET “PIEDMONTS”: SOVIET BORDERLAND POLICIES IN THE UKRAINIAN SSR AND THE MOLDOVAN ASSR, 1922-1934 Alexandr Voronovici A DISSERTATION in History Presented to the Faculties of the Central European University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Budapest, Hungary 2016 CEU eTD Collection Supervisor: Professor Alexei Miller ii Copyright in the text of this dissertation rests with the author. Copies by any process, either in full or part, may be made only in accordance with the instructions given by the Author and lodged in the Central European Library. Details may be obtained by the librarian. This page must form a part of any such copied made. Further copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the written permission of the Author. I hereby declare that this dissertation contains no materials accepted for any other degrees and no materials previously written and/or published by another person unless otherwise noted. CEU eTD Collection iii Abstract The dissertation analyzes Soviet borderland policies in the Ukrainian SSR and the Moldovan ASSR in the 1920s and early 1930s. Adopting the situational approach, I explore the Soviet struggle for borderlands on the Western border and the role of the cross-border cultural ties in it. The dissertation argues that the negotiations, different interpretations and the interplay between actors on both sides of the Soviet Western border influenced and framed the evolution of borderland policies in the Ukrainian SSR and the Moldovan ASSR in 1920s. Although, the Soviet Union was a centralized state with a disciplined party, there was still considerable space for conflicting interpretations of Moscow's directives and the promotion of personal agenda by Soviet leaders and activists. The thesis focuses on different understandings of Soviet borderland policies and suggested alternatives, attempting to explain the choice in favor of one of them. The dissertation demonstrates, how in the process of the elaboration and implementation of Soviet borderland policies such categories as “Ukrainian,” “Russian,” “Moldovan,” and “Romanian” were defined and redefined by the Bolsheviks. CEU eTD Collection iv Acknowledgements I was extremely fortunate to meet many wonderful people, who helped, taught, and inspired me along the way to this dissertation. I am extremely grateful to my supervisor, Alexei Miller. His ability to find a quick and practical solution to any problem was indispensable. During these years he became a true mentor to me, ready to provide advice and support in any matter, not only those, related strictly to the dissertation. His contribution to my academic and personal development is hard to overestimate. It is impossible to name all the people, whom I encountered in Hungary, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Canada, and Great Britain and who shaped my academic development and the realization of this project. The research-oriented University “High Anthropological School” in my home country gave me first taste of academic work and inspired me to continue along this way. The CEU History Department with its open, diverse, and outstanding faculty was an amazing environment for the realization of my academic projects. I cannot thank all the CEU people enough. The Department of World History at “Ion Creanga” State Pedagogical University had kindly give me the possibility to share my academic knowledge in teaching with Moldovan students. Our Moldovan- Canadian clique was a perfect setting to look at the history of Moldvova from a CEU eTD Collection comparative and entangled perspective. The faculty and staff of the University of Toronto, the University of Manchester, the German Historical Institute Moscow, and the Kyiv- Mohyla Academy made my visits there most pleasant and productive. Remarkable people v in all these places provided their kindest support in my endeavors. The librarians and archivists in all the places, which I visited, did their best to make my research process smooth and comfortable. A number of organizations financed various stages of this research. I would like to express my gratitude to CEU, the Open Society Foundations, The German Historical Institute Moscow, the Petro Jacyk Program for the Study of Ukraine, The Holodomor Research and Education Consortium, and the International Visegrad Fund for their generous support of my research. I would like to thank all my friends. Their support and company gave me new energy to tackle all the difficult issues, encountered on my way to the completion of this thesis. Finally, I am extremely grateful to my family, to my parents and grandparents. Their unwavering belief in me was a source of inspiration and motivation all these years. CEU eTD Collection vi Table of Contents Introduction........................................................................................................................1 Main Arguments..........................................................................................................9 Historiography..........................................................................................................19 Structure of the Thesis..............................................................................................38 Sources......................................................................................................................42 Chapter 1. Defining the Principles of Soviet National Statehood: Soviet Ukraine from the Civil War to the Establishment of the Soviet Union......................................43 1. 1. Between Poles and Whites................................................................................49 1. 2. Soviet Ukrainian Diplomacy in the Early 1920s: Filling Form with Content..61 1. 3. The Relations between the RSFSR and the Ukrainian SSR and the Creation of the Soviet Union.......................................................................................................80 1. 4. Conclusions.....................................................................................................104 Chapter 2. Choosing Allies in Soviet Ukraine: Bolshevik Relations with Ukrainian Socialist Parties...............................................................................................................106 2.1. Changes in the Bolshevik Approach in Ukraine in 1919.................................108 2. 2. The Case of the “TsK UPSR”.........................................................................116 2. 3. An Enforced Fusion: The Borotbists...............................................................123 2. 4. The UKP.........................................................................................................138 2. 5. Conclusions.....................................................................................................146 Chapter 3. The Establishment of the Moldovan ASSR and the Struggle for Power in the Moldovan “Piedmont”.............................................................................................148 3.1. The Bessarabian Question in the Soviet Union before 1924...........................149 3. 2. The Process of the Establishment of the Moldovan ASSR and the Ukrainian Factor......................................................................................................................155 3. 3. The Forming of the Moldovan Regional Party Committee and the Choice of the Directions of Nationality Policies in the Moldovan ASSR...............................168 3. 4. Conclusions.....................................................................................................191 Chapter 4. Testing the Limits of Korenizatsiia: The Shumsky-Kaganovich Struggle, 1925-1926.........................................................................................................................193 4. 1. Kaganovich's Arrival and the Intensification of the Ukrainianization Campaign .................................................................................................................................195 4. 2. Mykola Khvyl'ovyi and the Literary Discussion in Soviet Ukraine...............208 CEU eTD Collection 4. 3. Shumsky's Visit to Stalin and Its Outcomes...................................................217 4. 4. Kaganovich's “Compromise”..........................................................................228 2. 5. The June Plenum of TsK KP(b)U: “Malorossy” against Shumsky.................238 2. 6. Conclusions.....................................................................................................249 Chapter 5. The Warsaw-Western Ukraine-Kharkiv Triangle and Soviet Borderland Policies before and after the May Coup.......................................................................253 vii 5. 1. Polish Borderland Policies and the Promethean Movement...........................254 5. 2. Soviet Reactions to Pilsudski's Coup and Its Impact on Shumsky's Affair....265 5. 3. From Subversion and Insurrection to the Party Politics: Soviet Policies in the Border Regions of Poland and Romania.................................................................275 5. 4. The “Communist Ukrainian International”.....................................................284 5. 5. The KPZU Split..............................................................................................296 5. 6. Conclusions.....................................................................................................300 Chapter 6. Skrypnyk's Experiment: