On January 1, 1909, in the village of Stary Ugryniv on the territory of Galicia, Stepan Andreevich Bandera was born - an ideologist and one of the founders of the nationalist movement of Ukraine. His activities still cause fierce debate, although more than 56 years have passed since the politician’s murder. The biography of Stepan Bandera can help to understand what is the secret of the attractiveness of his ideology for some.
A family
His parents were sincere believers and closely associated with the Greek Catholic (Uniate) church. Stepan's father, Andrei Mikhailovich, served as a village priest and was actively involved in the propaganda of the ideas of Ukrainian nationalism. In 1919 he was even elected to the ZUNR National Council, and then he fought in Denikin’s troops. After the Civil War, Andrei Mikhailovich returned to his native village and continued his service as a village priest.
Stepan's mother - Miroslava Vladimirovna - also came from the family of a clergyman. That is why the children, and there were six of them, were brought up in the spirit of values ​​important for parents and devotion to the ideas of Ukrainian nationalism.
Biography of Stepan Bandera: childhood
The family lived in a small house, which they provided the leadership of the church. According to contemporaries, who are familiar with the biography of Stepan Bandera, he grew up an obedient and pious boy. Moreover, already in the gymnasium, he tried to form strong-willed qualities in himself, for example, dousing himself with cold water in the winter, which earned him a joint disease for the rest of his life.
To enter the gymnasium, Stepan left his parents' house quite early and moved to the city of Stry with his grandparents. It was there that he gained his first experience of political activity and proved to be a person with excellent organizational skills. So, Bandera participated in the activities of various political organizations, including the Union of Ukrainian Nationalist Youth.
After graduating from high school, Stepan returned to Ugryniv, began organizing young nationalists and even created a local choir.
Becoming the leader of the nationalist movement
Having entered the Polytechnic School of the city of Lviv in 1929, Stepan Bendera continues his political activities.
It was a difficult period. As dissatisfaction with the Polish authorities grows in the radical part of society, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists is more and more active. She is engaged in terrorist acts, her militants attack mail trains and eliminate political opponents. And, as a response to terror and protests, massive repressions of the authorities begin.
In the 30s, Bandera, previously engaged in mainly propaganda, became one of the most active leaders of the OUN. He is repeatedly subjected to short arrests, mainly for distributing anti-Polish literature. By the way, the biography of Stepan Bandera during this period also contains many dark pages. In particular, according to some sources, in 1932, under the guidance of German specialists, he was trained at a special intelligence school in Danzig.
However, Bandera’s work at important posts in the OUN was relatively short-lived. In 1934 he was arrested and then sentenced to hanging for preparing the murder of Bronislaw Peratsky, the Polish Minister of the Interior. True, the death sentence was later replaced by life imprisonment.
Activities during the German occupation
In 1939, after Poland was captured by Germany, Bandera Stepan, whose biography continues to be of interest to researchers of the history of Eastern Europe in the 20th century, escapes from prison. He seeks to regain his influence in the leadership of the OUN and continue the struggle for the ideals of Ukrainian nationalism, but he faces a number of problems.
As you know, Galicia and Volyn, which were originally centers of the struggle for the creation of sovereign Ukraine, at that time were part of the USSR, and nationalist activity there became difficult. Moreover, there was no unity at the top of the OUN. Supporters of one of its leaders, Andrei Melnik, advocated an alliance with Nazi Germany.
Such an opportunity is categorically rejected by Bandera, who understands that the political leadership of the invaders will never agree to the sovereignty of Ukraine.
Disagreements reach open clashes. The confrontation between the OUN factions prompts Bender to engage in the recruitment of armed units. Based on them, at a rally in Lviv in 1941 he proclaims the creation of an independent state of Ukraine.
In Germany
The reaction of the occupation authorities was not long in coming. Stepan Bandera, whose brief biography is familiar to every Ukrainian schoolchild, was arrested by the Gestapo together with his associate Yaroslav Stetsko, and they were sent to Berlin. German intelligence officials offered the leader of the OUN cooperation and support. In exchange for this, he had to abandon the propaganda of Ukrainian independence. He did not accept this offer and ended up in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he stayed until 1944.
However, in fairness, I must say that there he was in fairly comfortable conditions and even had the opportunity to meet with his wife. Moreover, Bandera, while in Sachsenhausen, wrote and sent articles and documents of a political nature to his homeland. For example, he is the author of the pamphlet “The Struggle and Activities of the OUN (b) during the War,” in which he pays attention to the role of acts of violence, including ethnic violence.
According to some historians, the biography of Stepan Bandera from 1939 to 1945 requires a more careful study. In particular, according to some sources, he actively collaborated with the Abwehr and was engaged in the preparation of reconnaissance groups, without, however, abandoning his ideological convictions.
After the war
After the defeat of fascism, Bandera Stepan, whose biography was repeatedly "rewritten" for the sake of one or another political force, remained in West Germany and settled in Munich, where his wife and children arrived. He continued his active political activity as one of the leaders of the OUN, many of whose members also moved to Germany or were released from the camps. Supporters of Bandera announced the need to elect him as the life leader of the organization. However, those who did not agree with this were that they should lead the activities of nationalist-minded associations on the territory of Ukraine. As the main argument in favor of their position, they pointed out that only being in place can one soberly assess the situation, which has radically changed over the years of the war.
In an effort to expand the number of his supporters, Stepan Bandera (the biography is briefly presented above) initiated the organization of the ABN - the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Peoples, which was headed by Yaroslav Stetsko.
In 1947, nationalists finally disagreed with the OUN, and the nationalists disagreed with his position, and he was elected its leader.
Death
It is time to talk about the last page, which ended the biography of Stepan Bandera. According to the most common version, he was killed by an employee of the NKVD Bogdan Stashinsky. It happened in 1959, October 15th. The killer was waiting for the politician at the entrance of the house and shot him in the face with a pistol with a syringe containing potassium cyanide. Bendera died in an ambulance caused by his neighbors without regaining consciousness.
Other kill versions
But was Stepan Bandera (a biography, photos of which are presented above) really killed by an agent of the Soviet special services? There are many versions. Firstly, on the day of the murder of Bandera, for some reason, he released his bodyguards. Secondly, from the point of view of its significance at that time, Bandera was no longer a danger as a political figure. At least for the USSR. And the NKVD did not at all need the martyrdom of a prominent nationalist in the past. Thirdly, Stashinsky was sentenced to a rather mild sentence - 8 years in prison. By the way, having been released, he disappeared.
According to a lesser-known version, Bandera was killed by one of his former associates or a representative of Western intelligence agencies, which is most likely.
The fate of family members
Stepan Bandera's father was arrested by the NKVD on May 22, 1941 and shot two weeks after the Nazi attack on the Soviet Union. His brother Alexander lived in Italy for a long time. At the beginning of the war, he came to Lviv, was arrested by the Gestapo and died in the Auschwitz concentration camp. Another brother of Stepan Bandera - Vasily - was also an active member of the Ukrainian nationalist movement. In 1942, he was sent to Auschwitz by the German occupation forces and killed by Polish rangers.
Crime
Today in Ukraine there are many people who revere Stepan Bandera almost as a saint. The desire for independence of their homeland is a noble cause, but nationalism never stops at praising its people. He always needs to prove his superiority by humiliating his neighbor or, worse, physically destroying him. In particular, many European and Russian historians consider Bandera’s involvement in the Volyn massacre to be proven when thousands of Poles and Catholic Armenians, who were considered “second Jews” by Bandera, were killed.
Bandera Stepan, whose biography, crimes and works of which require serious study, is an ambiguous personality, but certainly an extraordinary one. His name currently continues to be a symbol of the nationalist movement and inspires some hot and, so to say, not quite smart heads to commit such terrible acts as shelling residential areas of their own cities.