The Battle of Kiev of January 1918 was a Bolshevik military operation of Petrograd and Moscow Red Guard formations directed to capture the capital of Ukraine. The operation was led by Red Guards commander Mikhail Artemyevich Muravyov as part of the Soviet expeditionary force against Kaledin and the Central Council of Ukraine. The storming of Kiev took place during the ongoing peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk on 5–8 February 1918 (23–26 January in the Julian calendar). The operation resulted in the occupation of the city by Bolshevik troops on 9 February and the evacuation of the Ukrainian government to Zhytomyr.

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (September 2014)

Quick Facts Date, Location ...

Battle of Kiev
Part of Ukrainian-Soviet War (1917-1921)
A squad of Red Guards who fought in Kiev
Date 5–8 February 1918 Location Kiev, Ukrainian People's Republic Result Bolshevik victory
Belligerents
Ukrainian People's Republic	Russian SFSR
Commanders and leaders
Mykhailo Kovenko	Mikhail Muravyov
Units involved
Kiev city garrison	Red Guards
Strength
2,000 3 batteries	7,000 armored train artillery battery

Close

The objective of the 1918 Battle of Kiev was to install Soviet power in Ukraine. During the winter of 1917/18 the revolutionary formations of Russia installed Soviet power in governorates of Kharkov, Yekaterinoslav, and Poltava. Kiev was next. The general command directed onto Kiev was under the command of Mikhail Muravyov. On 27 January 1918 the government of Ukraine announced Kiev under a siege and appointed Mykhailo Kovenko as the military commandant of the city's defence. With the approach of the advancing Soviet forces the city's Bolsheviks instigated an uprising at the Arsenal factory, which was extinguished in seven days on 4 February 1918. The Bolshevik protest in the city greatly eased the advancement of the Soviet forces, drawing several Ukrainian formations out of adjacent provinces. The Kiev garrison was greatly demoralized by Bolshevik propaganda and Soviet advances across the territory of Ukraine. Ukrainian regiments were depleted, and some either announced their neutrality or were eager to side with the Bolsheviks.

Bolshevik forces attacked the city from Bakhmach and Lubny. On 8 February, the Ukrainian government was forced to abandon the city. On 9 February General Muravyov took control of the city and instituted a reign of terror^[1] of brutal reprisals against Kiev's population^[2] that would last twenty days.

On same the day Bolshevik forces captured Kiev, the Central Rada signed a treaty with the Central Powers. Ukrainian People's Army forces under Symon Petliura, along with German and Austro-Hungarian troops, would retake Kiev on 1 March.^[3] The Bolshevik government recognized Ukraine's independence on 3 March. Subsequently, during May to October 1918, peace negotiations were held between Russia and Ukraine.