Pavlo Skoropadskyi, Symon Petliura, Yevhen Konovalets in newsreels
Pavlo Skoropadskyi, Symon Petliura, and Yevhen Konovalets—three figures who became symbols of the struggle for an independent Ukraine. Today, they can be seen in restored historical footage, a restoration presented for the first time on the website of the Central State Archive of Audiovisual and Electronic Documents of Ukraine. This unique material is the result of our digital 4K processing of the film, done for the first time since 1991.
The project aims not only to revive Ukrainian cinematic heritage: we have not only restored the images but also return to viewers the living historythat Soviet propaganda tried to turn into an ideological tool. The restoration was carried out for the "Generation of freedom"the first Ukrainian historical documentary 3D film. A year ago, we already presented the restored 1917 film Ukrainian Movement. The material we are offering now is the third and fourth parts of the Soviet-edited 1928 VUFKU film Documents of the Erapreserved in the Central State Archive of Audiovisual and Electronic Documents of Ukraine.
The Dual Nature of the Film: Propaganda That Saved the Archive
The historical fragments we restored come from a film created in 1928 by the All-Ukrainian Photo Cinema Administration (VUFKU). Its purpose was a propagandistic reinterpretation of the events of 1917–1921 in the spirit of Soviet ideology. Yet, it is precisely because of this function that the archival films were preserved. The Soviet authorities kept them as “evidence of the revolutionary struggle,” portraying leaders of the Ukrainian movement as enemies of the people. Despite the Soviet subtitles and context, the priceless footage of Pavlo Skoropadskyi, Symon Petliura, and Yevhen Konovalets—the true leaders of the Ukrainian liberation movement—speaks for itself.
Thus, propaganda became an unexpected guardian of memory: it allowed these documentary shots to survive bans, censorship, and decades of neglect.
The Only Footage of Hetman Skoropadskyi
The third part of the restored material contains the only known film footage of Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi. This priceless fragment documents one of the most controversial, yet crucial, figures of Ukrainian statehood in 1918.
The footage captures the period of the Hetmanate—a time of brief stability, when Ukraine had centralized authority, its own administration, and international recognition. These shots allow us to see Skoropadskyi not as a mythical figure but as a real historical person present in the midst of events.
Symon Petliura and Yevhen Konovalets—The Return of the Directorate
The fourth part depicts events at the end of 1918—the entry of the Directorate’s forces into Kyiv after the fall of the Hetmanate. On screen is Symon Petliura along with senior officers, among whom can be recognized Yevhen Konovalets, commander of the Sich Riflemen, Andriy Melnyk, Yuriy Otmarshtein, and others. This is a living testimony of the revival of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, captured through the lens of eyewitnesses.
Despite later Soviet interpretations attempting to present these events as a “transitional phase” toward Bolshevik rule, the footage retains its documentary power—it shows the real participants in the national liberation struggle, not distorted ideological images.
Our Path to Digital Revival
Our restoration began in 2016 and lasted nine years. We conducted the first 4K scan of this archival film in the history of independent Ukraine, carried out cleaning, image stabilization, frame rate and film texture restoration. The process was complex, but the result exceeded our expectations—every fragment was restored with maximum accuracy and respect for the original. The restoration reveals many important details previously unnoticed by researchers. For example: the armband of Symon Petliura is not white, as some researchers claimed, but two colors—yellow and blue. The officers of the Sich Riflemen all wear identical daggers.
The goal was not only technical renewal but the revival of historical memory. We aimed for contemporary viewers to feel the spirit of the time and see Pavlo Skoropadskyi, Symon Petliura, and Yevhen Konovalets in real archival footage that speaks without words.
Revival That Continues
Today, this footage has become part of a shared heritage—accessible to researchers, filmmakers, and anyone interested in Ukrainian history. Restoration in 4K is not only a technological achievement but a symbol of returning Ukrainian history to the people.
You can watch the video on our YouTube channel kilok.art, as well as on the official archive website:
🎞️ Watch the video:
📎 Publication of the Central State Archive of Audiovisual and Electronic Documents of Ukraine
We continue to work on restoring additional films from the period 1917–1920.
The previous restoration of the 1917 film Ukrainian Movement:
Want to support the project? It’s simple: purchase the novel Tsingtao-Wien-Kyiv by Ivan Kanivets or English-language e-books about the struggle for Ukraine's freedom.
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