Symon Petliura

Symon Petliura
Petliura (1919)
Born	(1879-05-22)22 May 1879 Poltava, Russian Empire
Died	25 May 1926(1926-05-25) (aged 47) Paris, France
Nationality	Ukrainian

Symon Petliura (1879–1926) was a Ukrainian politician. He was the leader of the Ukrainian People's Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian People's Army (UPA) during the Russian Civil War.

Petliura was born into a Cossack family in Poltava. He became involved in socialist and nationalist politics at a young age. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Petliura was elected as head of the Ukrainian military. When Ukraine was invaded by the German Empire, Petliura organised a resistance movement. He established a new Ukrainian government in 1919. The Red Army then invaded Ukraine and Petliura retreated west. He formed an alliance with the Polish leader Józef Piłsudski. Poland won the Polish–Soviet War but Ukraine was kept by the Bolsheviks.

Petliura went into exile, first in Poland, then in France. There he was assassinated by Sholem Schwarzbard, who held him responsible for pogroms in Ukraine.