Ukrainian assistance to refugees during the First World War1

Abstract

The Ukrainian lands became an epicentre of the movement of refugees who were assisted by a range of organisations. This chapter considers the role of governmental bodies in the Russian Empire and the new entities that appeared on Ukrainian territory following the February 1917 Revolution: the Ukrainian Central Rada, and the Ukrainian National Republic (UNR). It discusses the developing framework and implementation of public policy in relation to refugees, the activity of local government and non-governmental organisations which supported refugees. The chapter considers refugees’ life in Ukraine in 1914-18. During the peace negotiations in Brest-Litovsk in February 1918, Ukrainian delegates took the initiative in organizing the re-evacuation of refugees; the agreement between Ukraine and Austro- Hungarian, German, Polish and Russian representatives concerning repatriation was an early example of inter-governmental regulation of a new humanitarian problem.