"Death to Ukrainians": The Day Muravyov’s army stormed Kyiv

The Russians spread throughout the city, looting, committing acts of violence, and executing civilians en masse—a campaign of "Red Terror," as Gazeta.ua recalls.  

The city itself lay in ruins. In the preceding days, it had been shelled with artillery, with estimates ranging from 5,000 to 15,000 shells fired. Nearly all historical buildings and churches sustained damage. The defenders of the capital retreated toward Zhytomyr, followed by members of the Central Rada.  

Mikhail Muravyov ordered his troops to "ruthlessly eliminate officers, cadets, Haidamaks, monarchists, and all enemies of the revolution" who remained in Kyiv. Soldiers and sailors stormed officers’ homes, killing them on the spot, executing them in the streets, or taking them to the former Tsar’s palace. But their brutality extended even further. They arrested and executed anyone deemed "suspicious." One method of identification was examining people’s hands—if they showed no signs of physical labor, the person was labeled an "enemy of the revolution and the proletariat" and executed.  

"People were shot for speaking Ukrainian or even for having 'Little Russian' mustaches. Local Red Guard units that had helped capture Kyiv were disarmed and eliminated. Even Mykola Skrypnyk, head of the Soviet Ukrainian government, was nearly executed for carrying a Ukrainian identification document. He began to suspect that the crackdown was not just against enemies of the revolution but against Ukrainians as a whole. An armored vehicle roamed the streets with the slogan 'Death to Ukrainians!' painted on its side," Gazeta.ua reports.

"Kyiv drowned in blood. Besides the executions, Muravyov brought with him a spirit of looting, plundering, and condoned drunkenness. In Kyiv, I did not see a single executed person who remained dressed. There were known cases of bourgeois being shot just for their coats," later recalled revolutionary Natalia Lisovska.

"Take, loot, everything is yours," Muravyov told the invaders.

His commanders also joined in the plundering. They broke into the homes of Kyiv residents, took everything of value, and then boasted about their spoils to their acquaintances. They ripped portraits of Taras Shevchenko from the walls and trampled on them. They looted freight trains and carriages filled with household items and goods.

Kyiv suffered immense material and human losses. Estimates suggest that between 2,000 and 6,000 people were killed by the "Red" forces. After that, many "revolutionaries" refused to support the Bolsheviks. Just a week earlier, the occupiers, at great cost, had passed the railway station at Kruty.

"We carry this power from the far north on the tips of our bayonets," Muravyov.

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