SOCIAL PROTECTION ISSUES OF MILITARY SERVICEMEN IN SUPREME AUTHORITIES ACTIVITIES OF THE UNR (DECEMBER OF 1918 – NOVEMBER OF 1920)

Abstract

The Purpose of the Research. The organization of an effective social protection of servicemen is an important component of the state policy in the military service formation sphere. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to elucidate the highest authorities activities of the Ukrainian
People’s Republic (the UNR) during the Directory period. The research methodology is based on the
principles of historicism, logic, scientific objectivity in assessing the past, a critical approach to the
sources, including the highest authorities official legislation of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, the
research works of participants and eyewitnesses. The scientific novelty of the article consists in the fact that the social protection issue of servicemen of the UNR Army, although it occupied one of the key places in the activities of the highest authorities of the UNR – the Directory and the government – the Council of People’s Ministers, was not the subject of a separate scientific study. The social protection issue was presented in the context of a military policy and military formation in general, or in the aspect of the state social policy. The Conclusion. The social protection issues of servicemen were constantly in the field of view of the highest state authorities of the Ukrainian People’s Republic during the Directory period. By means of relevant laws adoption, the state tried to make service in the army prestigious, to increase the status of a soldier in the society not only materially but also socially. However, the unfavorable situation on the fronts, the critical domestic and foreign policy situation of the state did not allow to implement the adopted bills. After the final defeat of the Ukrainian People’s Republic in the war with Soviet Russia and the
retreat of the Ukrainian army on November 21, 1920, to the territory of Poland, the government tried to support its troops during the year. However, the depletion of funds put an end to the functioning of social care for them. The military had to adapt to the new realities of an emigrant life on their own.

Key words: Ukraine, the UNR Directory, Active Army, social protection of servicemen.