Postcard “Chief Ataman Symon Petliura in 1921”

The front of the postcard features a portrait of Symon Petliura in military uniform with the insignia of the Chief Ataman. Below the portrait are the years of his life, “1879–1926”, and his political status as Head of the Directory of the Ukrainian People’s Republic.

The reverse contains several historically significant elements. It features the patriotic slogan “Держава вище від партій, нація вище від класів!” (“The state is above parties, the nation is above classes!”), attributed to Symon Petliura. The postcard was issued in 1966 to mark the 40th anniversary of Petliura’s death in Paris in 1926. It was published by the Jubilee Committee for Commemorating the Memory of Symon Petliura in America.

The postcard was issued by the Ukrainian diaspora in 1966. During this period, Ukrainian émigré communities, particularly in the United States, Canada, and Europe, organised commemorative activities devoted to figures and events associated with the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917–1921. Such publications formed part of efforts within the diaspora to preserve historical memory of the Ukrainian national movement and the Ukrainian People’s Republic.

Provenance: Donated to the museum by V. Mykhalchuk, director of the Symon Petliura Library in Paris, in 1994.