The war that changed the world began on June 28, 1914, with a single shot in Sarajevo, when Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. This act was the catalyst for events that engulfed much of the world in the devastating conflict known as First World War I.
At the beginning of the 20th century Europe was the arena of complex political and territorial contradictions. Great powers developed their colonial empires, military and economic potential and ambitions. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy formed the Triple Alliance, while Great Britain, France, and Russia joined the Entente. These alliances fueled tensions that eventually led to war.
The irreconcilable antagonism between Germany and Great Britain, especially in the naval sphere and the struggle for colonies, as well as Franco-German disputes over the lands taken from France after the Franco-Prussian War, created the prerequisites for the conflict. The Balkans became another focus of tension: Germany and Austria-Hungary sought to expand their influence, and Russia sought to protect its interests.
The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was the immediate reason for the start of the war. Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany, declared war on Serbia. Russia, the guarantor of Serbia's independence, announced mobilization, prompting a German response. Great Britain and France also entered the war. The first hostilities began in the Balkans, but soon the war spread to the Eastern and Western Fronts, the Middle East and Africa.
First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict that involved 38 countries and involved more than 1.5 billion people. In this bloody clash, two blocs of the largest world powers of that time clashed. This conflict left a deep impression on all participants, in particular on Ukraine, which was at the center of hostilities.
The Ukrainian lands, divided between the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires, became the scene of brutal battles from the very beginning of the war. Already in the summer of 1914, Galicia, Volhynia and partly Central Ukraine turned into one of the main theaters of military operations in Eastern Europe. The front line passed here, which until 1918 remained a place of constant battles and maneuvers. Ukraine's natural and human resources made it strategically important for both warring parties - Germany and Austria-Hungary on the one hand, and the Russian Empire on the other. Ukrainian soldiers fought on both sides of the front: about 3.5 million Ukrainians served in the Russian army, and about 300,000 in the Austro-Hungarian.
During the hostilities, Ukrainian lands suffered significant destruction and losses. More than 1.5 million soldiers took part in the Battle of Galicia in 1914, one of the most successful for the Russian army. Russian troops occupied Galicia, Bukovina and part of Poland, inflicting huge losses on the Austro-Hungarian troops. At the same time, the Russian occupation administration launched a broad campaign against Ukrainianism, in particular persecuting the Greek-Catholic clergy.
The war had a devastating effect on the economy of Ukraine. The mobilization of the able-bodied population led to a reduction in cultivated areas and a decrease in yields. Industry also suffered significant losses: more than 1,400 enterprises closed, which worsened the socio-economic situation in the region.
Political events in Ukraine during the war took on a new meaning. In October 1917, the October Revolution took place in Petrograd, which led to the creation of the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR). The General Secretariat of the Ukrainian Central Council decided to unite the South-Western and Romanian Fronts into the Ukrainian Front and began negotiations on ending the war. On February 9, 1918, in Brest-Litovsk UNR signed a peace treaty with Germany, becoming the first country to withdraw from the war.
The political consequences of the war were colossal. Old regimes fell, and new political systems arose in their place. In Russia, the tsarist autocracy was replaced by a communist dictatorship, which had a huge impact on the further development of world history. The German Empire faced revolutionary events that led to the abdication of Emperor Wilhelm II and the declaration of the Weimar Republic.
For Ukraine, the war was not only a catastrophe, but also an opportunity for political mobilization. The creation of the Ukrainian People's Republic and the signing of the peace treaty with Germany in 1918 opened a new stage in the history of the Ukrainian people, but also gave rise to new challenges and problems. The war also caused large-scale human losses and social changes that affected the further development of countries, and its consequences affected geopolitical, economic and socio-cultural processes in the world for decades to come.
The author is Anastasia Kryvoshey,
2nd year student of the University of Customs and Finance,
who underwent training at the Museum
Editors – Iryna Piskaryova, Maryna Strilchuk