100 years since the assassination of Symon Petliura

One hundred years ago, on 25 May 1926, fatal shots rang out in Paris: Symon Petliura was killed by a Moscow agent.

Symon Petliura, Head of the Directory of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, is one of the key figures of the Ukrainian national liberation movement. He was a man who developed the idea of Ukrainian statehood and became a symbol of the fight for an independent Ukraine.

For Ukrainians, Petliura became the embodiment of freedom and resilience. For his enemies, he was a symbol of resistance that they had feared for decades. It is no coincidence that the term “petliurivets” (Petliura’s follower) became, in Soviet propaganda, a label applied to anyone who sought an independent Ukraine. Over a century ago, Symon Petliura was acutely aware of the existential threat posed by Moscow, whether tsarist or Bolshevik. He viewed Moscow’s imperialism as the primary danger to the survival of the Ukrainian nation and regarded armed struggle as the only way to preserve independence.

His words, spoken on 22 January 1919, remain relevant today: “Only then will we shout ‘Glory!’ with free hearts, when we have strengthened our power, when peace comes to our land. All of you, as one man, stand shoulder to shoulder to defend our homeland from our enemies.”

Even in exile, Symon Petliura continued to work for an independent Ukraine, uniting the Ukrainian diaspora and supporting the idea of statehood. For this reason, he was a target of the Soviet secret services, who hunted him down until they achieved their goal. They destroyed the person, but they could not destroy the symbol of defiance and struggle that Symon Petliura was and remains for the Ukrainian state.

We honour and remember him. Our fight continues!

Photo: Monument to Symon Petliura in Vinnytsia.

Photo from the ‘Historical Truth’ website.