During his rule, he gave the occupying Austrian and German forces greater control over Ukraine[3] while also appealing to the interests of predominately Russian landowners.

Skoropadskyi's father Petro Skoropadsky (1834–1885) was a Cavalry Guard Colonel and a veteran of the Caucasian War (Subjugation of Circassia, 1863).

His paternal grandfather Ivan Mikhailovich Skoropadskyi (30 January 1804 – 8 February 1887) also served as a speaker for the Pryluky County (1844–1847) and Poltava Governorate (1847–1852) councils.

[citation needed] In 1893, Skoropadsky graduated from the Page Corps and was assigned as a cornet (meaning the 2LT in cavalry) to the Chevalier Guard regiment where he was given command of a squadron.

On 4 September 1910 Colonel Skoropadsky was commissioned as the commander of the 20th Finnish Dragoon Regiment still continuing to be a Fliegel-Adjutant of the H. I. M. Retinue.

On 6 August 1914 his regiment distinguished itself in battles near Kraupishken as part of the Russian invasion of East Prussia.

Despite these criticisms, by contrast with the earlier Central Rada, his government was given credit in certain circles for forming an effective administrative organization, establishing diplomatic ties with many countries, concluding a peace treaty with Soviet Russia, and founding many schools and universities, including the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

On 11 November 1918, Germany signed an armistice with the Entente – this left the Hetmanate's military and international support in doubt.

In the same month an uprising led by the social democrat Symon Petliura started to take power in Ukraine.

The uprising nominally restored the Ukrainian People's Republic, but power was vested in the Directoria, a provisional government of five directors[6] chaired by Volodymyr Vynnychenko.

In the final weeks of World War II in Europe, Skoropadskyi fled from advancing Soviet forces with the retreating German army.

His movement continued into the early 1980s, influencing a Ukrainian monarchist program based on the Cossack State model.

Skoropadsky's daughter, Olena Skoropadska-Ott (died 2014), resided in Switzerland, visited Ukraine several times, and was honoured for her historical writings.

In 2023 the National Bank of Ukraine released a 2 hryvni coin to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Pavlo Skoropadskyi.