To the 130th anniversary of Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky

First National, Kyiv, 2003. The news story covers a solemn event on the occasion of the 130th anniversary of the Hetman of the Ukrainian State, Pavlo Skoropadsky.

On the video: archival photographs of Pavlo Skoropadsky; newsreel footage from the 1920s, which depicts, in particular, Mykhailo Hrushevsky; a solemn event organized for the anniversary of the Ukrainian figure.

The Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine (2003–2005), Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the Preparation and Holding of Events to Honor the Memory of the Hetman of Ukraine, Dmytro Tabachnyk, talks about the lessons that can be learned from the history of the period of liberation struggles of the XXth century.

The story was prepared by Olga Skotnikova and Yevhen Gorenko.

Reference: Pavlo Skoropadsky — Ukrainian statesman and military figure, lieutenant general of the Russian Imperial Army; Hetman of the Ukrainian State from April 29 to December 14, 1918. As head of state, he carried out institutional reforms (founding the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, universities, and a network of gymnasiums), relied on an administrative-authoritarian model, and in foreign policy interacted with the states of the Quadruple Alliance. The collapse of the regime was caused by the defeat of Germany and Austria-Hungary, the unresolved agrarian issue, and broad opposition, which led to his abdication on December 14, 1918. In exile, he led the hetman movement and supported the scientific and cultural initiatives of the Ukrainian diaspora.