On a hot spring day in 1926, a decently dressed monsieur stood on a Parisian sidewalk, looking through the glass at the books on display. Another gentleman approached him and called him softly, giving his name and surname. The lover of literature turned around, and immediately shots rang out, they rattled until the barrel of the revolver made a full turn. The gendarmes came running, they cautiously approached the killer, and he calmly gave them the weapon and surrendered.
Thus, in 1926, on May 26, ended the biography of Petlyura Simon Vasilyevich, one of the most famous fighters for Ukrainian independence, a forced emigrant and a staunch anti-Semite. He was only forty-seven years old, but he managed to become famous and become the object of hunting for Soviet Chekists. The first suspicions fell on them. A carefully conducted investigation confirmed the veracity of the words of Samuil Schwartzbad (that was the name of the shooter), who claimed that what he had done was revenge for a family of fifteen killed by the Petliurists in Ukraine, and he himself was not a Bolshevik agent, but a simple Jew.
Jury fully acquittedShvartsbad, recognizing that Petlyura Simon Vasilyevich was to blame for the death of his relatives. The biography presented to the court rejected all doubts that the murdered man initiated numerous ethnic cleansings carried out against both the Jewish and Russian populations.
On May 17, 1879, a boy was born in a Poltava large poor family, who was christened Simon. His father was a cab driver, the young man could get an education only in the seminary, which he entered. Ideas about what the future of Ukraine should be were formed by a young man within the walls of this educational institution, where in 1900 he became a member of the Revolutionary Ukrainian Party, a political organization of a nationalist persuasion. The young man's hobbies were varied, he loved music and read Marx. In those years, there were many Jews among his friends, from which we can conclude that he became an anti-Semite for political reasons.
Simon was expelled from the seminary (1901) for protest actions and insolence, and two years later he was arrested. Not for long, the fighter for the freedom of Ukraine languished in the dungeons, a year later he was released on bail, after which he got a job as an accountant of the Rossiya insurance company, not forgetting about underground party work. In 1914, the seditious did not get to the front line, his service was not burdensome, he held the position of deputy representative of the Union of Zemstvos.
Petliura's active political biography began after the February Revolution. He immediately becamehead of the General Military Committee under the Central Rada. The political situation made it possible to declare the state sovereignty of Ukraine, which was immediately done. After the October coup, the armed forces of the independent republic were reorganized. Military ranks sounded like a song for any nationalist patriot: “Kurenny ataman”, “Kosh ataman”, “cornet”…
The Ukrainian army must speak Ukrainian, and the Russian army must leave the Nenko, those were the first orders. Independence, however, turned out to be more sham than real, after the conclusion of the Brest Peace, the Minister of War came under the control of the German General Staff, along with the divisions of the “bluecoats” under his control. The Germans soon preferred to deal with Hetman Skoropadsky. Biography of Petlyura during this period consists of continuous tortuous maneuvers. He promises factories to the workers, land to the peasants, Ukraine to the Ukrainians and who knows what to the Germans and French.
Of all these tempting offers, the most real was the opportunity to rob with impunity. Of course, it was forbidden to requisition the property of Ukrainians, but in such confusion, how can you make out who is a Jew and who is a “Moskal”…
By 1919, the situation in Ukraine was completely confused. The Reds fought with the Whites, the Entente sent in troops, the Poles were not at a loss either, Nestor Makhno controlled large territories, and the Petliurists joined everyone who agreed to form a temporary alliance with them. The Reds and Denikin refused such help, and the Germans and French demanded too high a price.for your intercession.
Petliura's political biography ended in 1921. If he was needed by someone, then the Bolsheviks, in order to shoot him. From Poland, whose leadership was increasingly inclined towards a decision on extradition, they had to flee to Hungary, then to Austria, and finally to Paris. Here, Stepan Mogila (aka Symon Vasilyevich Petlyura) edits the Trident magazine, the print organ of Ukrainian nationalists, in which articles are full of the word “Jew” and all its derivatives.
This went on for a couple more years. It all ended in 1926. The funeral took place at the Cemetery de Montparnasse in Paris.
Today, in independent Ukraine, Petlyura is remembered much less often than Mazepa or Bandera. It is not clear why this is so, because the methods of all three are so similar…
