In 1917, the Ukrainian movement in Tavria and Crimea remained weak due to a long-standing policy of Russification that had nullified cultural and political expressions of Ukrainian identity. The February Revolution fundamentally changed the situation: the Ukrainian national movement in the region quickly gained momentum.

As early as March 1917, the first large assembly of Ukrainians took place in Simferopol, bringing together hundreds of soldiers and officers from the local garrison. Subsequently, more than 7,000 servicemen came to the garrison’s congress. In May 1917, the Simferopol Ukrainian Community was founded, headed by Klymchenko, a gymnasium teacher. That same month, the movement made a strong showing: on 17 May, a march of about 15,000 soldiers proceeded through the streets of Simferopol under Ukrainian flags, and on 24 May, during the celebration of Shevchenko Day, the establishment of the 1st Simferopol Ukrainian Regiment named after Hetman Petro Doroshenko was proclaimed.

The culmination was the First Congress of Ukrainians of the Taurida Governorate, held on 25–26 August (12–13 August Old Style) 1917 in Simferopol. It was the first large-scale attempt at political self-organization by Ukrainians in Crimea and Northern Tavria, aligned with the broader Ukrainian national liberation movement.

Those present included intellectuals, teachers, clergy, military personnel, as well as peasants, many of them arriving in soldiers’ greatcoats from the fronts of World War I. The delegates discussed Ukraine’s autonomy, the Ukrainization of education, the creation of Ukrainian schools and a press, and the spread of the Ukrainian idea in the countryside. To this end, they even drafted a special outreach guideline—a practical manual for educational work among the rural population.

Not all forces looked favorably on these efforts. The Provisional Government in Petrograd and the provincial administration of Tavria regarded the Ukrainian movement as an unwelcome threat to the territorial integrity of Russia. Provincial commissioner Mykola Bohdanov took an especially hard line, openly clashing with both Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar activists. He continually obstructed the Ukrainization of military units, banned public events, and voiced distrust toward local educational initiatives. In July 1917, Bohdanov demonstratively refused to take part in a meeting of provincial commissioners organized by the Ukrainian Central Rada.

Today, the memory of the events of August 1917 reminds us that freedom is the result of courage, organization, and unity. The struggle for the Ukrainian language, schools, and land was a worthy cause then and remains just as relevant now.