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SERIES 1
VOLUME 9
This second book of Litopys UPA relating to the Supreme Ukrainian
Liberation Council (UHVR) comprises documents, articles and materials
from 1946-48. The major documents known to exist from that period were
published underground in the following UHVR publications - Samostiynist,
No. 1, 1946, and three UHVR bulletins entitled Information Bureau of
the Supreme Ukrainian Liberation Council (UHVR), Nos. 1-3, April,
August and September, 1948. The materials contained in these
publications are were reprinted in full, in their original order. Also
reprinted here are three major articles by the underground publicists
P. Poltava, Osyp Hornovyi (Osyp Diakiv) and U. Kuzhil. These articles
are being reprinted because they deal with the whole of the Ukrainian
liberation movement. We are also including the appeal "To the Whole
Civilized World: An Open Letter From Ukrainians Living Behind the
Curzon Line."
In the first issue of the bulletin Information Bureau we find a notice explaining why the editors ceased publication of the much larger journal, Samostiynist (which consisted of about 200 pages) and chose instead to issue a small bulletin. Just as the second volume of Samostiynist was ready for print, it fell into the hands of the MVD, who had made a sudden attack on April 7, 1948. furthermore, it took a good deal of time and effort to put together much a large volume. And, given the conditions of operating underground, distributing such a large volume was an added difficulty. For these reasons it was decided that the documents and other materials of the UHVR should be published in a bulletin of a smaller format, which would come out more often and reach readers more quickly. The first three issues of Information Bureau consist mainly of the official documents and materials (those relating to 1947) which were to be included in the second volume of Samostiynist. However, not all the articles slated for publication in Samostiynist were printed in the bulletins. The contents of the articles that did not appear are not known in the West. Their titles are as follows: I) Vol., "Active Armed Struggle Against the Occupying Forces- The Only Correct Road to National Liberation (on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the UPA)"; 2) P. Poltava, "A False and Dangerous Notion: The Consequences of Basing Policy Upon It (concerning the idea of peaceful co-existence and co-operation between the two systems); 3) "Not in 'the Cellars of Munich', but in the Forests and Plains of Ukraine (a response to the false notice in the journal Novoe vremia regarding the authors of the brochure 'Will the Atom Bomb Save England?')."
***
The one volume of Samostiynist that appeared in print was republished in the West in 1949 by the Foreign Representation of the Supreme Ukrainian Liberation Council (ZP UHVR). But it has long been out of print. Furthermore, it had no index of the names (or pseudonyms) of individuals or places, and thus was not very useful for research purposes. For these reasons, as well as in order to bring all the publications of the UHVR together in one place, we have decided to reprint Samostiynist in this volume of Litopys UPA. The journal includes a good deal of informational material about the Ukrainian liberation movement, and in particular, about the struggle waged by the UPA.
Samostiynist contains only a few UHVR documents. Among them are an appeal from the UHVR to the population of Ukraine, two UHVR resolutions concerning decorations of UPA soldiers with Crosses of Merit and promotions in the ranks, and two notices about deaths of UHVR members - Rostyslav Voloshyn and Iosyp Pozychaniuk. The volume also includes two general theoretical articles, one by O. Honcharuk The UPA - Herald of the Ideas of Liberation and Friendship Between Nations," and another by O. Hornovyi, "Regarding Freedom of the Press in the USSR." In fact, both these works were written by the same author, for the two names are pseudonyms used by Osyp Diakiv. The first article takes a general view of UPA attempts to institute friendly relations and co-operation with Ukraine's neighbours and other nations of the USSR in the battle for liberation. The second article demonstrates how in the USSR the party totally controls the press and has transformed it into a means of propaganda.
The rest of the volume is made up of informational material and articles about the liberation movement, UPA actions and the general situation existing in Ukraine. A large amount of space is given over to descriptions of UPA actions that took place "in Ukraine" from January 1 to July 1, 1947 and 'behind the Curzon Line" from February 1 to July 27, 1946. Short descriptions of about three to ten lines of print, are given concerning various actions waged by UPA units and members of the armed underground against the MVD. These descriptions are based on reports from the sites of battle. Also included in the journal are a number of informational articles. "The Terror Waged by NKVD Garrisons" looks at the long winter blockade by NKVD troops of UPA territory in the winter of 1946. "Electoral Tragicomedy" speaks of the boycott of the "elections" to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR that were held on February 10, 1946 and tells how the Soviets ran that election and falsified its results. "A New Famine" discusses the artificial famine imposed by the Soviets on collective farms in Ukraine in 1946. "The Attitude of the Ukrainian Masses Towards the Soviet Occupation" describes the resistance of people living in areas of UPA activity. "From Ukrainian Territories Behind the Curzon Line" speaks of the situation existing on Ukrainian territories under Poland, of the forced deportation of Ukrainians of the resistance waged by the population and the like. In general these articles are structured in the following manner: the author begins with a general overview of a certain issue; he then backs up his assertions with facts gathered by the underground. Thus for example, one author first describes how the NKVD confiscated grain obtained by starving peasants from Western Ukraine. He then lists a whole series of facts, telling us when, where and how those seizures took place. The longest article of this type is entitled "The Shame of the Twentieth Century." It gives a broad overview of the methods used by the Soviets in their battle with the Ukrainian liberation movement. The word "shame" is not used for mere dramatic effect. Even those who know of the barbarism of Soviet prisons and concentration camps are shocked by the descriptions of the crimes and atrocities committed by the forces of law and justice in that totalitarian state.
The first issue of the bulletin Information Bureau of the Supreme Ukrainian Liberation Council contains resolutions of the UHVR, the decree issued by the UPA Supreme Command on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the UPA, the declaration of October 14, the Feast of Mary the Protectress, as the official feast day of the UPA and a declaration by the UPA Supreme Command, which speaks of the UPA's non-partisan character, the role of the UHVR as the leading body of the UPA and the contribution made by the OUN in organizing the UPA. The second issue of the bulletin contains UHVR documents, an article by Gen. Roman Shukhevych, "The Origin of the Supreme Ukrainian Liberation Council," and an interview, "With the Chairman of the General Secretariat of the UHVR, R. Lozovskyi," which deals with a number of current topics The interview ranges over such subjects as the raids carried out by UPA units from the Zakerzon region into Western Europe, the mass deportations of about 150,000 Ukrainians to Siberia in October, 1947, and the character of the future Ukrainian state as a democratic regime. The third issue of the bulletin, which is the largest of the three, is given over to a chronicle of the actions waged by the UPA in Ukraine and the Zakerzon region during the last half of 1946 and 1947.
In the chapter entitled "Articles and Materials," the main article is one
by Major P. Poltava - "The Concept of an Independent Ukraine and
Present Political Trends in the World." Poltava analyses the existing
international situation and comes to the conclusion that the present
age is one of emancipation of nations, in which empires will give way
to individual national states. He also presents the theoretical basis
of the program of the future Ukrainian state and explains why it
should have a democratic, socially progressive regime. This article is
the key to understanding the theoretical positions and pro~ram of the
Ukrainian liberation movement. In another article, "Our Attitude
Towards the Russians," Captain Osyp Hornovyi (whose real name is Osyp
Diakiv) deals with the basic problems of Russian-Ukrainian relations.
This article is also of key significance to researchers of the Ukrainian
liberation movement, for it explains the movement's position
towards the Russians. U. Kuzhil's article, "The Paths of Russian
Imperialism" describes the violent growth of the Russian Empire from
the time of Tsar Ivan III to the present. It also shows how those
imperialistic conquests are being whitewashed by the Soviets. The
appeal "To the Whole Civilized World: An Open Letter From Ukrainians
Living Behind the Curzon Line" tells of the forced deportation of
Ukrainians from Poland and of the violence committed against them by
Polish and Soviet authorities; it asks international organizations to
come to their defence. The appeal was published in October, 1945 and
is signed by "representatives of all strata of the Ukrainian
population behind the Curzon Line." It is not known who wrote the
appeal; we do know, however, that it was translated by the Ukrainian
underground in Poland into several languages and disseminated both in
Poland and abroad.
***
All the materials in this volume are reprinted without any omissions. Materials taken from Samostiynist and the bulletins information Bureau of the Supreme Ukrainian Liberation Council (UHVR) are left in the same order as in the original publications. Only printing errors, orthographical faults and the most serious linguistic mistakes have been corrected.
The materials and photographs used in this volume were obtained from the Archives of the ZP UHVR (Foreign Representation of the Supreme Ukrainian Liberation Council). The editors sincerely thank the directors of the Archives and all those who helped prepare this volume of Litopys UPA. In particular we extend our thanks to the following persons: Mykola Lebed, for his assistance in gathering materials and information; Antin Ivakhniuk, for correction of texts; Volodymyr Makar, for help in proofreading; Zonia Keywan, for doing the translations; Stephan Szpak, for compiling the index and Hanna Malyk for re-typing often illegible texts.
Yevhen Shtendera
Petro J. Potichnyj
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