Creation of a Puppet Government and Disguising the Intervention (December 1917 – Early 1918)
Having suffered defeat in Kyiv, the pro-Bolshevik delegates moved to Kharkiv, where they held an alternative congress and created a puppet government — the People's Secretariat. This served as political cover for the start of the First Soviet-Ukrainian War (1917–1918) and allowed Soviet Russia to disguise the direct invasion by its troops as an internal civil war. During the offensive, the aggressor provoked an uprising at the Arsenal plant in Kyiv, while the invasion by regular troops itself was accompanied by heavy fighting for junction stations and the tragic Battle of Kruty (January 1918), where the defense of the state was taken up by youth. In February, the Red troops carried out the Muravyov massacre in captured Kyiv. The campaign was halted by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (February 1918), which brought the UNR international recognition and forced the RSFSR troops to retreat[1][2].
Actors
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| G0013 | Soviet Russia (RSFSR) |
Holding a fake alternative congress in Kharkiv and creating the Moscow-controlled "People's Secretariat" to simulate an internal struggle[1]. |
Techniques Used
| ID | Name | Use | |
|---|---|---|---|
| T0104 | Mass Killings of Civilians |
The Muravyov massacre in February 1918 after the capture of Kyiv by Red troops, which claimed the lives of about 3,000 people[2]. |
|
| T0019 | Military Intervention |
Direct deployment of Red troops under the command of V. Antonov-Ovseenko and M. Muravyov, heavy fighting for railway stations, and the storming of Kyiv, accompanied by the Battle of Kruty (January 1918)[2]. |
|
| T0018 | Proxy War |
Using the Kharkiv government as a formal cover for external aggression, in order to present the military invasion as a civil war within Ukraine[1]. |
|
| T0037 | Puppet Government |
Holding a fake alternative congress in Kharkiv and creating the Moscow-controlled "People's Secretariat" to simulate an internal struggle[1]. |
|
| T0014 | Sponsoring Domestic Extremism and Radicals |
The Bolsheviks' provocation of an uprising of workers at the "Arsenal" plant in Kyiv itself to draw away the reserves of the Ukrainian authorities at the very moment of the Red troops' offensive[2]. |
|
Instruments
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| S0012 | Occupation and Controlled Administrations |
Holding a fake alternative congress in Kharkiv and creating the Moscow-controlled "People's Secretariat" to simulate an internal struggle[1]. |
| S0010 | Regular Army |
Direct deployment of Red troops under the command of V. Antonov-Ovseenko and M. Muravyov, heavy fighting for railway stations, and the storming of Kyiv, accompanied by the Battle of Kruty (January 1918)[2]. |
| S0017 | Secret Police and Security Services |
The Bolsheviks' provocation of an uprising of workers at the "Arsenal" plant in Kyiv itself to draw away the reserves of the Ukrainian authorities at the very moment of the Red troops' offensive[2]. |
References
- Михаил Зыгарь. (2023). Война и наказание: Как Россия уничтожала Украину.