Odessa Soviet Republic

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TheOdessa Soviet Republic (OSR;Ukrainian:Одеська Радянська Республіка,romanized: Odeska Radianska Respublika;Russian:Одесская Советская Республика) was a short-livedSoviet republic formed on 30 January [O.S. 17 January] 1918 from parts of theKherson andBessarabia Governorates of the formerRussian Empire.

Одесская Советская Республика (Russian)
Одеська Радянська Республіка (Ukrainian)

January–March 1918

Flag

Coat of arms

Area claimed by the Odessa Soviet Republic in March 1918 (in green)^{[citation needed]}

Status

Puppet state ofSoviet Russia

Capital

Odessa

Government

Soviet republic

Chairman

• 1918

Vladimir Yudovsky [ru]

Legislature

Council of the People's Commissars

Historical era

World War I

• Republic proclaimed

17 January 1918

• Disestablished

13 March 1918

Currency

Odessa ruble

Preceded by

Succeeded by

	Ukrainian People's Republic
	Rumcherod

Ukrainian People's Republic
Ukrainian Soviet Republic

Today part of

Ukraine
Moldova

Brief description

edit

See also:Odessa Bolshevik uprising

The republic was proclaimed during theBolshevik invasion of Ukraine immediately beforeBolshevik forces pushed theUkrainian government out ofKiev andSfatul Țării proclaimed the independence of theMoldavian Democratic Republic. The Odessa Soviet's governing body was theRumcherod, formed in May 1917 shortly after theFebruary Revolution. After its Second Congress, the OSR's Soviet was chaired by Vladimir Yudovsky. He had been installed after a pro-Bolshevikcoup d'état organized by theNarkom Nikolai Krylenko.

In January 1918, Yudovsky was appointed Chairman of the localCouncil of the People's Commissars and formed a government that includedBolsheviks,anarchists and members of theSocialist-Revolutionary Party. The government proclaimedOdessa afree city and pledged allegiance to the Bolshevik government inPetrograd. The following month, the government was liquidated byMikhail Muravyov and merged with the regional Central Executive CommitteeRumcherod.^{[citation needed]}

Political instability meant that the OSR was not recognized by any other government, including Russian Bolsheviks, during its brief existence. The Republic failed to stop theRomanian occupation ofBessarabia, a region to which it laid claim. It ceased to exist altogether when it was sacked byGerman andAustro-Hungarian troops on 13 March 1918, two months after its creation, following theTreaty of Brest-Litovsk between theCentral Powers,Ukrainian People's Republic and PetrogradSovnarkom. The government and army evacuated first toNikolayev, then toSevastopol and finally toRostov-on-Don.