VIKTOR REINBOT – MINISTER OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE UKRAINIAN STATE IN THE PERIOD OF THE HETMANAT OF PAVLO SKOROPADSKYI

Abstract

The life and activities of the well-known lawyer Viktor Reinbot (1869–1956) is described in the article. Since August till December of 1918 he was the member of the governments of the Ukrainian State. First, he was the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. In the Government of F. Lizogub he became the Minister of Internal Affairs and in the Government of S. Gerbel he was appointed the Minister of Justice, who was responsible for the reforms and legislative support of the prison system.

1. Reinbot was born on June, 13 (1) 1869 in the noble Russified German family. In 1890 he graduated from the Imperial School of Law and was appointed to serve at the Ministry of Justice. He worked at the district courts of the Poltava and Kharkiv provinces. Then he served as the deputy prosecutor of the Moscow and St. Petersburg district courts.

In summer of 1918 V. Reinbot arrived to Ukraine. The Minister of Internal Affairs I. Kistiakivskyi offered him to be the Deputy Minister. On August 12, 1918 he was officially appointed to that post. V. Reinbot was engaged in the general affairs of the Ministry and in managing the police departments.

After the resignation of I. Kistiakivsky he became the Minister of Internal Affairs in the Government of F. Lizogub. On November 14, 1918 V. Reinbot became the Minister of Justice in the Government of S. Gerbel. At the same time he was the General Prosecutor of the Ukrainian State. On November 28, 1918 the important departmental legislative act was adopted, namely the «Law on the staff list of the provincial prison inspections and the Mykolayiv prison inspection, as well as the staff list of the prison departments of Ukraine». The law approved the system and staffing of the penal establishments. It assigned to allocate the necessary funds for the prison staff’s salary and for some other expenses. Besides, the Resolution of the Council of Ministers on the increased pensions to former employees and their families of the Central Department on Prisons was adopted.

In summer of 1920 V. Reinbot with his wife left the country. In exile he lived in the south of France. He died on June 6, 1956.