BETWEEN HITLER AND STALIN

JANUARY 22 1918

January 22 1918 is the date of the proclamation by the Central Rada’s Fourth Universal, of full independence of the Ukrainian National Republic. From its inception in November 1917 to January 22 1918, the UNR was in a federation with Russia.

While the UNR lasted less than three years on the territory of Ukraine, January 22 is an extremely important date for Ukrainians, as it was the date on which Ukrainians celebrated Ukrainian statehood. In the diaspora this date was when Ukrainians remembered the struggle for independence; until 1991, when Ukraine declared independence from the USSR, January 22 was the date on which Ukrainians in the free world celebrated statehood.