БОРОТЬБА РЕПРЕСИВНО-КАРАЛЬНИХ ОРГАНІВ РАДЯНСЬКОЇ ДЕРЖАВИ З УКРАЇНСЬКИМ ПОВСТАНСЬКИМ РУХОМ (1945 - СЕРЕДИНА 1950-Х РР.)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the struggle of the repressive and punitive bodies of the Soviet state against the Ukrainian insurgent movement in the first post war decade. After the end of World War II, Ukrainian insurgents continued their armed struggle against the Soviet totalitarian regime. But punitive actions by the Soviet regime did not stop the insurgents. Simultaneously with the communist election campaign, the Ukrainian armed underground distributed its leaflets, carried out attacks by agitation and propaganda groups, and polling stations. One of the most insidious methods used by the punitive and repressive authorities of the Soviet state was the creation and operation of special groups that operated under the guise of UPA units or OUN Security Service militants. New forms of struggle also provided for operations by small shunting units of the MGB against specific insurgent formations, or individual underground activists, primarily district, district and regional OUN leaders, whose location was identified by the agency or special groups. In general, the repressive authorities chieved some results. The Soviet government gave a significant place in the fight against the OUN-UPA to fighter battalions from the local population, the formation of which began in 1944, and special groups that included former insurgents. The government's hopes for the rapid and complete destruction of the liberation movement did not materialize, as it enjoyed the support of the population and, in turn, chose the optimal model of functioning in the relevant period. That is why the repressive and punitive apparatus changed its own tasks during the struggle against Ukrainian nationalists. These changes gave the Soviet security forces the opportunity, acting in small groups, with accurate intelligence data, to cover a larger area and eliminate the remaining nationalists. In the mid-1950s, the Soviet state was able to destroy the main centers of the Ukrainian insurgent movement and establish a totalitarian regime throughout Ukraine.