Author: Fredy Rotman

In 1927, the State Publishing House of Ukraine published the book "The Tragedy of Ukrainian Jewry." This book is unique not only because its author was a former minister of the Ukrainian People's Republic, but also for its candid preface.

"The author of the following articles-memoirs... recognized Soviet power and returned to Ukraine. But this did not stop him from being a nationalist and petit bourgeois," – the publisher immediately reminds the Soviet reader that the author of "The Tragedy of Ukrainian Jewry," although he criticizes the policy of Petliura's followers toward Jews, is himself a bourgeois Jewish nationalist, a secret supporter of independent Ukraine.

The author of this sensational publication was Pinkhas (in some documents – Pinkhus or Pinkhos) Abramovich Krasny. He was born in 1881 in the village of Sofievka in Kanev district of Kiev province. His father owned a kerosene warehouse in Kazatin.

During the First Russian Revolution, Pinkhas Krasny joined the Jewish socialist party "Bund" in Kazatin. In 1906, as a promising activist, he moved to Odessa, where until 1907 he was a member of the local "Bund" committee. Then, hiding from persecution by the authorities, the young man was forced to move to Berdichev.

In 1908 in Berdichev, the police tracked down Krasny. He was arrested for storing anti-government proclamations and sentenced to four months in prison. After serving his sentence, Pinkhas Abramovich returned to Kazatin, where until 1917 he lived quietly with his parents, engaging in self-education. During this period, Krasny completely withdrew from political activity.

But after the victory of the February Revolution, he threw himself headlong into public activity. As a convinced supporter of the Jewish socialist movement and a person well-known in the district, Krasny was elected as a deputy to the Berdichev district and Kiev provincial zemstvos, and later became deputy chairman of the Berdichev district zemstvo board. In these positions, Pinkhas Krasny actively engaged in organizing various cooperatives, opening Jewish schools, and helping the Jewish population that had suffered during the war.

When the Ukrainian Central Rada, which served as Ukraine's highest legislative body, promised full equality to minorities in its First Universal (political-legal act) in June 1917, Pinkhas Krasny lived in Berdichev, where he headed the Jewish public council. Responding to the Ukrainian call, Krasny began passionately promoting the idea of "Jewish autonomism." Critical of Zionism, the autonomists believed that Jews could achieve full equality in the place where they lived, and their interests would be represented by corresponding national councils and democratically elected representatives. Together with activists from Jewish parties such as "Bund," "Poalei Zion," and "Fareynikte," Pinkhas Krasny, who was a member of the central committee of the "Idishe folks-partey" ("Jewish People's Party"), began active agitation for national-personal autonomy of the Jewish population.

At that time, representatives of both Zionist and left-wing Jewish parties were attracted not only by the idea of Jewish community autonomy, but also by the autonomy of all of Ukraine. This was greatly facilitated by the organization of the first-of-its-kind ministry for Jewish minorities – the "vice-secretariat for Jewish affairs" under the Central Rada – which was headed by Moisey Zilberfarb, a representative of the "Fareynikte" party.

When the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd in October 1917, the matter of recognizing national-personal autonomy for Ukraine's Jewish population proceeded more quickly. Counting on the loyalty of Jewish parties and organizations, the Ukrainian Central Rada enshrined it in special law. Every Jew could, regardless of which part of Ukraine they lived in, register as a national representative and participate in electing national legislative institutions.

However, not all Jewish organizations supported the idea of Ukrainian independence proclaimed in January 1918. Among them was the "Bund." One of the reasons was that the young Ukrainian government was unable to counteract the wave of Jewish pogroms that had begun. After the turbulent events related to the change from the pro-German regime of Hetman Skoropadsky and the transfer of power to Directory leader Simon Petliura, a significant part of the Jewish population definitively turned away from the Ukrainian government. Anti-Petliura sentiments intensified especially after the Berdichev and Zhitomir pogroms in January 1919, which claimed the lives of at least 300 people.

In February 1919, the Directory government was based in Vinnytsia. Having arrived there as part of a delegation from the Jewish communities of Berdychiv and Zhytomyr, Pinkhas Krasny became convinced that Petliura's government showed complete helplessness and even unwillingness to fight against pogromists. Particularly characteristic was an incident when Krasny observed at the Vinnytsia railway station two haidamaks who were enthusiastically telling Ukrainian servicemen gathered on the platform about the Proskurov massacre they had carried out on February 15, 1919. A day after the failure of the Bolshevik uprising, Ivan Semesenko, commander of the Zaporizhzhia Cossack Brigade of the UNR forces, organized a terrible pogrom in Proskurov, accusing the Jewish population of supporting the Bolsheviks. In the crowd of listeners, Pinkhas Abramovich spotted UNR Justice Minister Andrey Levitsky himself, whom he immediately approached and demanded the immediate arrest of the war criminals. Levitsky, without batting an eye, began telling Krasny something about the limited jurisdiction of military authorities and his powerlessness to undertake anything. While the matter was being discussed, the pogromists, sensing trouble, disappeared into the crowd and vanished.

The Jewish delegation that came to see Petliura in Vinnytsia was satisfied with information about the arrest of ataman Alexander Palienko, who had organized a pogrom in Zhytomyr. However, imagine the surprise of Krasny and other delegates when, two days after the announcement of Palienko's arrest, they saw him in the office of Minister for Jewish Affairs Avrom Revutsky. Pinkhas Krasny and his companions attempted at this meeting to influence, through Revutsky's mediation, atamans known for their hostile attitude toward the Jewish population. But they failed to awaken the conscience of the atamans, who collectively accused all Jews of supporting Bolshevism.

Protesting against the inaction of the Directory and Petliura personally, Avrom Revutsky resigned and left for Palestine. Only in April 1919 did Petliura publicly speak out against pogroms.

The Jewish population faced an acute question of representation. To somehow counteract the anti-Semitic bacchanalia, Pinkhas Krasny, after consulting with a number of Jewish public figures, decided to head the Jewish ministry. From the bloc of European parties, which united everyone from the "Bund" to the Zionists, Krasny entered Petliura's government and became the 4th Minister for Jewish Affairs in the Council of People's Ministers of the UNR.

On April 12, 1919, the newly appointed Minister Krasny addressed all Jewish public organizations. In a telegram he sent from Rivne, it was stated that the government, command, and Labor Congress of the Ukrainian People's Republic were taking decisive action against pogromists and all those conducting anti-Jewish agitation. The UNR government undertook obligations to bring all those guilty of pogroms before military court. Anti-Jewish demonstrations, aimed at presenting the Ukrainian people to the entire world as savages not yet mature enough for their own state, were called "the work of Black Hundred hands."

At the end of the telegram, Pinkhas Krasny called upon the Jewish population "...to continue helping the Ukrainian people with all their strength in their heroic struggle, so that with united forces we may save the Ukrainian People's Republic, equally dear to both Ukrainian and Jewish peoples."

On June 15, 1919, the Council of People's Ministers of Ukraine, having heard Krasny's report on the spread of pogrom literature, instructed the Minister of Internal Affairs and the War Minister to take measures to ensure tranquility. The next day, it was decided to revise laws punishing pogrom agitation and organization of pogroms, in order to toughen penalties for these crimes. The Ministers of Internal Affairs, War, Justice, Press and Information were tasked with developing a state plan to combat pogrom agitation and immediately implement it. Pinkhas Krasny was granted the right to appoint special representatives to inspectors of Ukrainian army units.

In September 1919, the UNR Minister for Jewish Affairs attempted to implement the idea of national-personal autonomy for the Jewish population by submitting to the Rada a bill on appointing elections to a Jewish Public Council.

Despite Krasny's efforts, all his initiatives essentially remained on paper, and soon ceased to be relevant altogether. By early December 1919, the UNR army had ceased to exist, and its command headed by Symon Petliura was interned by the Poles.

On December 26, 1919, the secret-operational subdivision of the Berdychiv Revolutionary Committee administration reported to the Revolutionary Military Council of the Bolsheviks' 12th Army that on December 20, "former Petliurist minister" Pinkhas Krasny had been detained. The arrest proceeded quite peacefully. The head of the Berdychiv intelligence network, Galsky, learned of the arrival of Krasny and the assistant minister of trade of the UNR, Bundist Grigory Solodar, and established surveillance of the apartment of a local doctor where the visitors had stopped.

Having raided at night, the Chekists found the former dignitaries sleeping. An indignant Pinkhas declared that the Ukrainian government had been dissolved, and they had voluntarily come to the city with Solodar to negotiate with the Bolsheviks. During the search, Krasny attempted to discreetly discard a passport with the fictitious surname "Bely" (White). The former minister explained to the Chekists that the false documents were needed for him to cross Denikin's positions. Soon the arrested were sent under escort to the local prison.

After the Berdichev prison, the "Petlyurists" were transported to Nezhin. There, on January 11, 1920, an investigator from the Special Department of the 12th Army of the Red Army issued a ruling that the arrested had committed no criminal acts against Soviet power. "Service under Petlyura was not of a political character with negative significance for Soviet power," - so it was written in the document.

Krasny's release was influenced by positive testimonials he received from a number of Soviet officials to whom he had issued protective letters while working in the Petlyurist government. Through this, he saved the lives of many Jewish communists and members of their families. One local resident, Mark Mironovich Blank, wrote to the revolutionary committee that he knew Pinkhas Krasny as an honest public figure who had "worked hard to prevent pogroms in Ukraine" and saved Soviet workers from the hands of the Petlyurist gendarmerie. Representatives of the Berdichev labor society "Friendship" testified that Krasny had joined the Ukrainian ministry exclusively to save the Jewish population, which faced serious danger.

Krasny, released due to lack of proof of crimes, was allowed to obtain travel documents and go to his place of residence – Berdichev. But Krasny did not become a supporter of the Bolsheviks and again joined the government of the UNR (Ukrainian People's Republic), supported by the Poles. And Petlyura began negotiations with Poland. During this period, Krasny, in addition to his activities protecting the rights of the Jewish population, also served on commissions for developing the UNR constitution and preparing the Law "On Temporary Supreme Government and the Order of Legislation in the Ukrainian People's Republic."

At the end of 1920, after the final defeat of Ukrainian formations, Pinkhas Krasny emigrated to Poland together with the UNR government, where he continued to hold the position of Minister for Jewish Affairs. Initially, like the entire composition of the Petlyurist government, Krasny settled in Tarnów, where he dealt with issues of territorial-personal autonomy for the Jewish population of Ukraine. In October 1921, the government in exile allocated a considerable sum of 300 thousand marks to the Ministry of Jewish Affairs, but due to a series of intra-governmental contradictions and the political isolation of the government in exile, Pinkhas Krasny resigned.

At the end of 1921, the former minister moved to Lvov and engaged in literary and journalistic activities there, completely distancing himself from the Petlyurist camp. From the end of 1923, Pinkhas Abramovich began publishing political articles in the press directed against the Polish authorities.

For his criticism, the former Ukrainian minister was arrested in Warsaw in 1925 by the Defensywa (Polish counterintelligence that performed the functions of political police). After spending two months in a Polish prison, Krasny was expelled to the USSR.

Krasny submitted his application for entry into the Soviet Union while already in prison, at the insistence of the Polish side. Apparently, the decision on his expulsion was made at the highest level by agreement with the government of the USSR. After arriving in Kharkiv, Krasny, understanding what expressing his own position would cost him under the Bolsheviks, no longer engaged in politics. He first found work at the "Society for Land Settlement of Jewish Workers" (OZET), then at "Ukrzhilsoyuz." He, of course, did not join the ranks of the VKP(b) [All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)].

In 1927, Pinkhas Abramovich published a series of articles, including in the foreign press. They were devoted to the trial of the Jewish poet and anarchist Samuel Schwarzbard, who shot Simon Petlyura on May 25, 1926, at the corner of Boulevard Saint-Michel and Rue Racine in Paris.

In the book "The Tragedy of Ukrainian Jewry," written based on these articles, Krasny did not dwell particularly on his role in the activities of the UNR, but subjected Petlyura and his associates to merciless criticism. Pinkhas Abramovich recalled that during his conversation with Colonel Freidenberg of the French General Staff, which took place in March 1919 in Odessa, the representative of the Entente spoke to him quite directly: "Petlyura himself is a pogromist, and his troops are nothing but pogrom gangs."

According to Krasny, when he was arrested by Polish authorities in Warsaw in January 1925, a large archive of documents about the crimes of Petlyurist troops against the Jewish population was confiscated from him.

The verdict in Krasny's book was harsh: "We do not know of a single case throughout the pogrom years of 1918-1920 when a court acting under the loud name of the 'Ukrainian People's Republic' punished even one pogromist."