Юрій Киричук: життєвий шлях і наукові інтереси історика

Abstract

historian, the researcher of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the period of the 1920s – 1950s and Ukrainian national movement of the 1940s – 1950s. The article also focuses on Yuriy Kyrychuk’s researches and political interests. In 1974 Yuriy Kyrychuk entered Lviv University. Having graduated from the University with honors he started his postgraduate studies in 1980. Yuriy Kyrychuk was doing his research under the supervision of Stepan Marchuk at the Department of the History of the USSR. On December 27, 1983 at the age of 27 he presented his thesis and received the PhD degree. Yuriy Kyrychuk dedicated twenty years of his creative life to Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. He started his career as a lecturer then he was promoted to the Docent of the Department of the Contemporary History of Ukraine. Yuriy Kyrychuk published four monographs and more than a hundred of scientific and popular scientific articles on the history of Ukrainian liberation movement in the 20th century. He was one of the first in Ukraine to research the history of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and dissidents and human rights movement. His monograph “Ukrainian National Movement of the 1940s – 1950s: Ideology and Practice” was prepared to be presented as a Doctoral thesis. The presentation was scheduled on the beginning of 2003. The aforementioned monograph shows the holistic picture of Ukrainians’ national struggle during WWII and postwar period on Ukrainian ethnic territories when Ukrainian national parties and movements were very active. Yuriy Kyrychuk also researched reasons why Ukrainian politicians were at first oriented to Germany at the beginning of WWII as well as their motives to break their collaboration with the Hitlerites. He described the process of shaping the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and focused on the struggle against Nazi occupants, Polish armed forces as well as Soviet regime. In his research Yuriy Kyrychuk highlighted forms and methods of communist punitive and repressive practices against Banderites’ resistance movement in the Western region of Ukraine. In 2003 the collected materials were published as a separate book by Yuriy Kyrychuk’s wife Lessia, who has a degree in History. Yuriy Kyrychuk was always interested in politics. In 1994 and 1998 he participated in the election as a candidate for the People’s Deputy. Unfortunately on October 1, 2002 at the age of 46 Yuriy Kyrychuk tragically died. On his way to the conference dedicated to the activity of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in Western Ukraine during WWII he got hit by a car. Yuriy Kyrychuk was buried at Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv.