Ukrainian State

The Ukrainian State was the official name of Ukraine between 29 April and 14 December 1918, following the deposition of the Central Rada of the Ukrainian People's Republic. For every day of its existence it was ruled autocratically by Pavlo Skoropadsky, the Hetman of all Ukraine, who took a sharp turn away from the democratic and socialist-leaning policies of the Rada and aligned his government with the interests of large landowners and industrialists, restoring private property and the pre-revolutionary administration. The state arose because the Central Powers were increasingly dissatisfied with the Ukrainian government's failure to deliver the food and raw goods promised at Brest-Litovsk, and in exchange for support Skoropadsky gave them greater control over the country, leaning on German bayonets to hold his capital. Despite that dependency the Ukrainian State pursued a largely independent foreign policy in its few months, before the German collapse and the uprising of the Directorate ended it at the close of 1918.