Kiev Bolshevik Uprising

Ukrainian theatre, part of the October Revolution

Date	November 8, 1917 – November 13, 1917 (Kiev Bolshevik Uprising)
Location	city of Kiev
Result	Victory of the Kievan revolutionary committee, defeat of the Kiev Military District

Belligerents

Kievan Committee of the Bolshevik Party

Tsentralna Rada

Kiev Military District

Commanders and leaders

Georgiy Pyatakov
Jan Hamarnyk
Volodymyr Zatonsky
others

Lieutenant-General Kvetsinsky

Strength

6,000 (Bolshevik supporters)
8,000 (Central Rada supporters)

10,000

Casualties and losses

Military dead:
Military wounded:
Military missing:
Total:

The Kiev Bolshevik Uprising (November 8–13 (October 26–31 by old style), 1917) was a military struggle for power in Kiev after the fall of the Russian Provisional Government due to the October Revolution. It ended in victory for the Kievan Committee of the Bolshevik Party and the Central Rada.

On November 7, 1917 the news about the anti-tsarist, revolutionary activities in Petrograd that day caused questions to be asked regarding the political control in the city and Ukraine in general. In order to gain control over Ukraine, three major factions competed with each other, they were the following: the Ukrainian Central Rada, the headquarters of the Kiev Military District (KMD), and the Kievan Committee of the Russian Social-Democratic Worker's Party (Bolsheviks) 10 members of which joined the Central Rada previously. The best chances that the Central Rada was that it consisted of representatives from 19 political parties including the Bolsheviks. The last one did not have a wide influence in Ukraine with about 10% of support from the total population. Prior to such turmoil, the Central Rada was in a conflict with the Provisional Government from which it was requesting a full autonomy of Ukraine as part of the Russian State. That was the reason for it to take the actions using the circumstances of political chaos which engulfed the city.

On November 8 with the initiative of the Central Council of Ukraine the Regional Committee in Protection of Revolution in Ukraine was created which was intended to be a temporary government in Kiev. It consisted of representatives from different political parties, councils, and the city Duma. The Committee was meeting in the building of the Pedagogical museum. The headquarters of the KMD was supporting the Russian Provisional Government and did not trust the State Committee as it included the Bolsheviks. On November 9 the Central Rada finally defined its negative position in relation to the Petrograd coup, condemned the Bolshevik's actions, and declared that "it will decisively fight against all attempts to support such uprising in Ukraine. Rada expressed its agreement for the creation in Russia homogeneous socialist government with the representatives of all socialist parties.

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