How the ukrainian peasants were made warriors (to socio-cultural and military aspects of revolution 1917-1921)

The article deals with the features of militarization of the Ukrainian peasantry as part of their emancipation in the conditions of the modernization process. It is indicated that the traditional peasant outlook a priori had a non-militaristic character. The modern day brought about significant changes, which concerned not only the worldview, but also the social role of the peasantry. The idea of the decisive role of the events of the First World War, during which there was a radical transformation of the peasant outlook, which already found the appropriate place for weapons and military affairs, and the value of human life was significantly underestimated, was substantiated. During the war, Ukrainian peasants also formed a contingent of non-commissioned officers, who will play a key role in the development of the rebel movement. It is alleged that with the beginning of the 1917 revolution, the social status, role and behavior of the “peasant with a gun” changed. An armed peasant became an important political factor in the deployment of revolutionary events. On the one hand, a significant part of the peasantry has joined the process of “expropriation of expropriators” – the appropriation of land and property. On the other hand, voluntary movement of self-defense (Free Cossacks) was initiated in the peasant environment from internal disorder and external threats. In the end, it was the peasantry militarization that determined their leading role in the events of the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917-1921, including the deployment of the rebel movement, peasant war, spread of the otamanshchyna, etc. The specificity of peasants' participation in the regular military formations of the revolutionary era – the Effective Army of the UNR, the Red Army, and the ZSPR (Armed Forces of the South of Russia). It is stated that the development of revolutionary events and formation of national statehood depended directly on the position of the Ukrainian peasantry, primarily on their military activity. However, the state elements in the consciousness of a large part of the Ukrainian peasantry, despite their considerable growth, still remained rather weak.