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PROKOPCHUK V. S. The tragedy of colonel P.F. Bolbochan (To the 100th anniversary of the execution on Balin station).

    The article is devoted to the activity of the commander of Zaporizhzhya corps of the Effective army of UNR Petro Fedorovych Bolbochan in the years of liberation competitions and to the last tragic pages of his life. It is well-proven that at all stages of war – at the periods of the Central Rada, Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi’s rule and the Directory, - he took Ukraine – supporting position and defended the independence of Ukraine. In December 1917 he began the process of Ukrainianization of 5th army corps in Proskuriv on Podillia, and despite the counteraction of the Russian cabinet – type command and Russia – supporting adjusted cabinet-typesoldier's committee, drove the detachment formed by him to Kyiv, resisted to the attack of M. Muraviov. Afterwards being a part of Zaporizhzhian division he gave orders to the regiment. Scince April, 9, 1918 he was the commander of the 1th division of Zaporizhzhian corps and liberated Kharkiv. He conducted a successful military operation of the liberation of the Crimea with the especially distinguished group of troops and on April, 24 took Simferopol. During the Hetman’s rule he became famous for the fights in Chernihiv oblast, got the rank of colonel. He contested against the occupation of Ukraine by the Austrian – German troops, supported the revolt led by the Directory. As a commander of front in the rank of ataman Petro Bolbochan resisted to the Russian and German troops in difficult condition on the Left-bank territory, but due to the lack of support he was forced to step back first from Kharkiv and then from Poltava. On January, 22 1919 being arrested by close to Symon Petliura Sotnyk O. Volokh he was under a housearrest till the day of execution.
   It is set that there is not still any unity in the estimation of reasons of the arrest and shooting of prominent military leader: the guidance of that time, inparticular, the head of the government Іvan Маzepa and others considered Petro Bolbochan to be a rebel, a representative of the right forces who with his help wanted to take power in the hands. Most authors of researches and memoirs saw the reason in unfriendly attitude toward to orectilineal military man the Chief ataman Symon Petliura. In the years of independence he returned to his contemporaries as a patriot, irreconcilable defender of the Ukrainian state system and the national independence.
   Keywords: the Effective army of UNR, the Chief ataman, Government controller, Order ataman, Emergency martial court, the Society of the Zaporozhian cossacks named after colonel Petro Bolbochan.