Petr GARCHEV
Doctor of historical sciences
Professor of Simferopol State University (SSU).

KURULTAY AND CENTRAL COUNCIL

The Ukrainian socialist parties, the Central Council, and its chairman -the prominent scientist and politician, Mikhaylo Grushevskii, at the beginning of July 1917, obtained from the Provisional Government the revival of Ukrainian statehood in the form of political autonomy within the composition of democratic Russia.

The Ukrainian leaders developed propaganda for the transformation of multinational Russia into a federation of peoples having equal rights with full internal independence and participation in the supreme bodies of authority of this federation.

They established links (connections) with the leaders of the national liberation movements of the Baltic States, Moldova, Transcaucasia, and other regions and pushed them to revive their statehood in resistance to the all-Russian parties and Provisional Governments.

In 1917 the Central Council and its branches in Simferopol, Sevastopol, and other Crimean cities promoted the development of the Crimean Tatar National Movement in every possible way.

Following the example of Ukrainian organizations, which were forming Ukrainian units in Simferopol, Sevastopol, Feodosiya, and Kerch, the Moslem Executive Committee in Crimea, began to create Crimean Tatar battalions (1).

The decision of the Ukrainian National Congress in April 1917 to convoke in Kiev the "Congress of Peoples" was an important event for the development of the national liberation movement in Russia, including the Crimean Tatar movement.

They developed a plan for the conversion of the Russian centralized state into a federation of independent, democratic republics and areas.

The Central Council and its chairman, M. S. Grushevskii, could begin to carry out this decision only at the end of summer, 1917.

The managing bodies and leaders of the national movements received an invitation to the "Congress of Peoples" in Kiev.

On 20 August the Moslem Executive Committee in Simferopol received a telegram from the Central Council about the convocation of the "Congress of Peoples" in Kiev on 10 September.

The Moslem Executive Committee was offered the opportunity to put forward a demand for autonomy of the Crimean Tatars and to send their own delegation of 10 persons to Kiev (3).

Up to this time the Moslem Executive Committee and leaders of the Crimean Tatar Movement were afraid to put forward demands about autonomy for their own people.

The reduction of prestige (loss of prestige) of the Provisional Government, and its weakness in power, after the rebellion of General Kornilov, enabled the Moslem Committee to send a delegation of 10 persons headed by D. Seydamet and A. Ozenbashli to the "Congress of Peoples" in Kiev.(4).

The "Congress of Peoples" was held in Kyiv on September 8-15 with participation by delegations from Ukraine, Latvia, Crimean Tatars, Jews (by 10 persons), Lithuania (9 persons), Poland, Byelorussia, Moldavia (6 persons), Estonia (4 persons), Georgia (2 persons), Cossack regions (11 persons), members of the Socialist Revolutionary Party (3 persons), and one representative of the Provisional Government, (M.  A. Slavinskii).

The Chairman of the Central Council, Professor M. S. Grushevskii, was unanimously elected honorary chairman of the congress.

The protocols of this congress, including 12 resolutions it adopted, and the news of this unique forum published in the contemporary Mass Media related to the statements of Mikhaylo Grushevskii and other delegates, all of which are kept in the archives in Kyiv, testify to the beginning of the trenchant struggle of the peoples for the reorganization of Russia into a federation of independent, national states and districts. (6).

Amet Ozenbashly spoke in the congress about the Crimean Tatar Movement. The two women in the Crimean delegation, Emine Shabarova and Ayshe Iskhakova, also took the floor.

The congress supported the Crimean Tatar National Movement, declared for the territorial autonomy of Crimea, and that Crimea belonged to the Crimeans.(7).

During the congress, Amet Ozenbashli and Dzhafer Seydamet met with the leaders of the Central Council and its chairman, S. Grushevskii, and they promised them all support of national self-determination for the Crimean Tatar People.

The congress decided to create a plenipotentiary body, "Council of Peoples", in Kyiv to develop a plan for a nationally and regionally independent, federative system and "for organization of a Council of Peoples" of Russia.

It was created on the basis of equal footing for every people (nationality) OR - It was created with equality for every people (nationality) including the Crimean Tatar People, who had four representatives (8).

A. Ozenbashki and D. Seydamet presented their reports at a session of the Moslem Executive Committee after the Crimean Tatar delegation returned from Kyiv.

As its newspaper, "The Voice of Tatars", informed on September 23, 1917, the Moslem Executive Committee expressed solidarity with the struggle of the Ukrainian people for self - determination and delegated (appointed)  its representatives to the Central Council.

Inspired by the support of the Central Council and its successful opposition to the Provisional Government, the leaders of the Moslem Executive Committee prepared and conducted a Congress of Crimean Tatars in Simferopol on October 1-2, 1917. Its organizers and leaders were N. Chelebi-Dzhikhan, D.Seydamet, A.Ozenbashli etc.

In their reports to the congress they proved the necessity for transformation of Russia into a federation of republics and regions, for autonomy of Crimea, and for the creation of a Crimean Tatar Parliament - Kurultay.

N Chelebi-Dzhikhan and A. Ozenbashki formulated the basic tasks of the Kurultay; publishing laws for Crimean Tatars, and participation in the creation of territorial autonomy for Crimea.

The congress approved this program and selected a commission for calling a Kurultay, to be headed by N. Chelebi-Dzhikhan, A. Ozenbashki and D. Seydamet.

The decision on this question was postponed until the calling of the All-Russian Constitutional Assembly. The Congress ran D. Seydamet, A.Ozenbashli, A. Ayvazov, A. Badaninskii, S. Khattatov as candidates for the deputies of this Assembly (9).

The Central Council (in Kyiv?) proclaimed the creation of the Ukrainian People's Republic and established its power over Ukraine, including the northern districts of Tavride Province, after the Bolshevik upheaval in Petrograd and overthrow of the Provisional Government.

It supported the creation of regional autonomy in Crimea, since the peninsula had lost its economic and political links with Russia and its municipal dumas and councils did not recognize the power of Lenin or the Bolshevik Council of People's Commissars.

In provincial and municipal revolutionary committees in Crimea the representatives of Ukrainian organizations including the Central Council acted in complete solidarity with the delegates of the Moslem Executive Committee.

At the beginning of November, due to the support of the Ukrainian leaders, the Moslem Executive Committee achieved the transfer of the Khan's palace in Bakhchisarai, where they planned to call a Kurultay.

The Head of the Ukrainian Province Council, Andrievskii, promised all support by the Ukrainian organizations for restoration of the Crimean Tatar People's rights to hold celebrations and meetings in Bakhshisarai.

He stated that the creation of an independent government of Crimea, in many respects, depended on the firm actions of the Crimean Tatars.

The Moslem Executive Committee did not keep itself waiting a long time, and on 15 November spoke "On power in Crimea".

On its own initiative it spoke on the creation of independent power in the peninsula "without supremacy of any people over another" under the slogan "Crimea for Crimeans".

The leaders of the Executive Committee denied the charges about a separation of Crimea from Russia. D. Seydamet stated to the press: "We, Tatars of Crimea, are the federalists and our fond dream is the creation of the Russian Federative Republic". (10)

He said that the decision of the question on Crimean autonomy was within the competency of the Crimean Constitutional Assembly and Kurultay of the Crimean Tatar People (11).

"Anti-Bolshevik government of Tavricheskii province - is the Council of the National Representatives, which at the congress of the delegates of municipal dumas, local committees with participation of national organizations, including Ukrainian ones and Moslem Executive Committee, was created in Simferopol, on November 20-22, 1917.

The congress did not recognize the Lenin government and expressed its desire for cooperation with the Central Council, including on the decision of the vexed question of the northern districts of Tavride Province.

Representatives of all the national organizations in the province, including the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar ones, were elected to the presidium of the "Regional government".

P. Bianki, A. Ozenbashli, and V. Polivanov joined the managing executive board of this government, including its "Commissariat" (12).

This was the situation in November 1917 when the Moslem Executive Committee and its urban and district committees conducted elections to the Kurultay of the Crimean Tatar People.

The sessions of the Kurultay in the Khan's Palace in Bakhchisarai began on 28 November and continued into December.

The Moslem Executive Committee passed its full powers to the Kurultay, - the Parliament of the Crimean Tatar People - whose leaders were Ch. Chelbi-Dzhikan, D. Seydamet, A. Ozenbashli, A. Ayvazov and others. The Kyiv Central Council welcomed the creation of the Kurultay by telegram (14).

The Kurultay declared for the calling of an All-Crimean Constitutional Assembly and the creation of a democratic republic within the peninsula. It did not pretend to control of other ethnic groups in Crimea. D. Seydamet explained: "The Kurultay gives up entirely decisions about land, political, military, and financial questions to the compentency of the All-Crimean Constitutional Assembly" (15). On 14 December the Kurultay published "Crimean Tatar basis laws", in fact the first Crimean Tatar Constitution.

It stipulated the equality of all ethnic groups in the Crimean People's Republic, which should be created, and the election of a Crimean parliament - the All-Crimean Constitutional Assembly.  This body should decide the general political, land, and financial questions for the whole population (16).

At the same time, the "Crimean Tatar basic laws" defined the path (route) to democratization and further political, socio-economic, and cultural development of the Crimean Tatar People.  On 18 December, the Kurultay formed its Board of Directors - a Crimean Tatar government consisting of 5 "directors": N. Chelebi-Dzhikan (chairman), D. Seydamet (external and military affairs), A. Ozenbashki (education), S. Khattatov (finance), and A. Shukri (religion) to put into practice (implement ??) the "basic laws".

The Board of Directors undertook the management of all affairs of the Crimean Tatar People and gave its full support to the regional government - the Council of National Representatives.  They condemned the war being waged by Lenin's Council of People's Commissars against the socialist Central Council, with the use of Anarcho-Bolshevik detachments of sailors from Sevastopol.

On 19 December the Board of Directors and the Council of National Representatives formed a joint Crimean Headquarters headed by D. Seydamet and Colonel A. G. Makukhin for the struggle with Bolshevism on the peninsula. The Central Council gave its support and recognized it as the Supreme Military Body on the Crimean Peninsula.

On December 10-14 the well-armed Anarcho-Bolshevik detachments that had been fighting against the Kalidin forces in Rostov and the Gaidamaks of the Central Council and Crimean Tatar Squadron in Aleksandrovsk (now Zaporozhye), returned to Sevastopol. During the night of 16 December, they dissolved the Sevastopol Council of Working and Military Deputies. The Headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet arrested and shot  many of their leaders. The Bolshevik Military-Revolutionary Committee was created in Sevastopol. On instructions from the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party and Council of People's Commissars of Russia, it sent warships, and detachments of sailors, who launched a war against the Kurultay and the Council of National Representatives, at Kerch, Feodosiya, Yalta, Evpatoria and other cities, From 1 to 15 January 1918, stubborn battles were fought throughout Crimea (18).

Two mounted and one infantry Crimean Tatar regiments, and detachments of Russian and Ukrainian officers (less than a thousand persons), having no artillery or machine gun units, ended their resistance after stubborn battles.

Since at that time the army of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR occupied most of Ukraine, the Central Council in Kyiv could not give military assistance to the Kurultay and Council of National Representatives in Crimea.  From January of 1918 the Anarcho-Bolshevik "revolutionary committees' of Crimea solidified their power in the peninsula by means of terror against their political opponents. The Sevastopol Military-Revolutionary Committee announced in its own 'Declaration" that "The Council of National Representatives in Simferopol and the Tartar Parliament or Kurultay are dissolved" (19).

Thus history is repeated: at the end of the XVIII century the Tsarist Government of Russia liquidated Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar statehood, in 1917-18 the Bolshevik Government of Russia did not even grant self-determination for Ukrainians or Crimean Tatars.  Currently there are significant forces acting to create a reunified Union and thorough Russification of the peoples living in Russia, Byelorussia, Ukraine and Crimea. The failure of their plans, in many respects, depends on the unity of actions of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars.

SOURCES AND LITERATURE:

1. Garchev P.I. National movement of Crimean Tatars in March - October 1917. // The issues of history of National - liberation Movement for period of feudalism and capitalism in Ukraine. Documents of republican scientific-theoretical conference on 8-10 January 1991. - Kyiv - Zaporozhye, 1991. - pp.13-14.

2. Koval I.V., Kulchinskii S.V., Kurnosov Yu.I. History of Ukraine - Kyiv, 1992.-pp.44.

3. //The Voice of Tatars 1917, 23 September. - 1 9.

4. // The Voice of Tatars 1917, 14 October. - 1 12.

5. Central state archive of supreme bodies of management and state power of Ukraine, f. 1115, op. 1, d.7, l. 1.

6. Ibidem l. 2-6.

7. //The Voice of Tatars on 14 October 1917, - 1 12.

8. Central state archive of supreme bodies of management and state power of Ukraine, f.1115, op.1, d.7, l.2-5.

9. //The Voice of Tatars 1917, 14 October. - 1 12. Yu./Tavricheskii Golos 1917, 17 November.

11. // Tavricheskii Golos 1917, 18 November.

12. // Tavricheskii Golos 1917, 23 November; // Free South, 7 November 1917.

13. Korolev V.I. Tavricheskii province in revolutions of 1917-Sevastopol, 1994.-p.38.

14. Garchev P.I., Kononenko L.L., Maksimenko M.I. Republic of Tavrida. - Kyiv., 1990.-p.27.

15 Korolev V.I. Tavricheskii province in revolutions of 1917-Sevastopol, 1994. - p.42.

16 Ibidem 17 G.

17 L.I., Kononenko L.P., Maksimenko I.I. Republic of Tavrida. - Eyiv., 1990.-pp. 27-28.

18 Ibidem- pp. 28-34.

19. // Tavricheskaya Pravda 1918, 24 January. - 1 1.