Mykola Mikhnovsky

Mykola Ivanovych Mikhnovskyi (; – 3 May 1924) was a Ukrainian independence activist, lawyer and journalist who was one of the early leaders of the Ukrainian nationalist movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mikhnovsky was the author of the pamphlet Independent Ukraine, one of the organisers of the Ukrainian People's Army, and co-founder of the first political party in eastern Ukraine, the Revolutionary Ukrainian Party, as well as the co-founder and leader of various other parties, including the Ukrainian People's Party, the Ukrainian Democratic Party, and the Brotherhood for Self-Determination.

Early life and education Mykola Mikhnovsky was born in the village of Turivka on 31 March 1873. The son of a priest, Mikhnovsky's family was primarily Cossack, with roots going back to the 17th century.

Student independence activism The growth of Ukrainian national consciousness in the late 19th century led to a rift among the Ukrainian intelligentsia. The older generation approached the "Ukrainian question" through culture and education, limiting their demands to moderate reforms that would have abolished the national-cultural restrictions for Ukrainian within the Russian Empire. The younger generation, however, were attracted to socialist ideals. They believed that national liberation could be achieved through a common struggle with other nations against the existing social order in Russia. In the early 1890s, a new trend developed. It was started by a Mikhnovsky, a student who openly declared the state independence of the Ukrainian nation. He began to preach boldly, that the only way to gain state independence was through armed conflict and that this was the only path for the Ukrainian people.

As a freshman at the Kyiv University, Mikhnovsky joined the Ukrainian national movement and became a member of the "Young community". However, cultural and apolitical activities did not satisfy him. As a radical-minded young man, in 1891 he formed a secret student organization. The first Ukrainian national organization with a clearly political purpose was founded by a group of students from Kharkiv and Kyiv Universities, which in summer 1891 took the oath of allegiance to Ukraine, and founded a secret political society, named the "Taras Fraternity" in honour of Ukrainian national leader Taras Shevchenko. The Ukrainian People's Party did not become popular, and existed for 5 years before dissolving.

On 20 May 2024 the Poltava city council renamed a street in its city in honour of Mikhnovsky.