CHUMACHENKO O. A. Mykyta Shapoval between social-revolutionary positions and political reality (January–April of 1919).

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       The article is about the social and political activities of Mykyta Yukhymovych Shapoval (a member of the Ukrainian Central Rada, head of the Ukrainian National Union, one of the initiators and organizers of antihetman uprising in 1918, the Minister of Lands in the UNR Government, head of Ukrainian Social Revolutionaries in exile in Czechoslovakia) during a short period from January 1919 to April 1919 when he was a Minister of Land Affairs in the V.Chekhivsky Government of UPR (till February 1919) and in the period of the gradual withdrawal of the Directory in West Ukraine due to attack on the Soviet troops.

     The source base of the article is primarily memoirs, diary, work and speech of Mykyta Shapoval, and his manuscripts that are kept in the fund 3563 of the Central State Archives of Higher Authorities in Ukraine (Kyiv); and memories and historical research participants of Ukrainian revolution – V. Vynnychenko, N. Hryhoriyiv, I. Mazepa, V. Andrievskiy, A. Mytsyuk, M. Stakhov, S. Holdelman.

     The article is to highlight social and political activities Shapoval over the period, with special attention paid to political convictions and upholding the principles of the Socialist Revolutionary Shapoval as the socioeconomic policy of the government of UNR, and while in WUNR. Particular attention is paid to M. Shapoval political convictions and upholding the principles of the socioeconomic policy of the UPR government of, while being in Western Ukraine, first of all the laws of the land and forest, which abolished private ownership of all land and forests without compensation and leaving intact only working peasant property not exceeding 16.5 hectares, strongly promoted these laws, as in the Dnieper, and in Western Ukraine.

    It is shown that all M. Shapoval’s attempts to conduct social and political activity in Western Ukraine ended in failure because of his outspoken opposition to the socialist position, especially in land policies that were perceived as the Bolshevik government WUPR that led to his arrest and rapid departure from Ukraine. Working as minister of land affairs in the government of V. Chekhivsky, M. Shapoval took part in the UPR lawmaking. In this process he came up with socialist beliefs, which is reflected in the content of its laws on the ground. Welcoming the Act of Unification of UPR WUPR Shapoval critical of the autonomous status of WUPR as a part of the UPR, believing that it will lead to the inevitable partition.

Keywords: Directory, Ukrainian National Republic, Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (UPSR), the Government of the UPR, the Minister of Land Affairs.