FORMATION OF THE PERSONALITY OF THE UPA COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF VASYL KUK (1913–1941)

Abstract

The study investigates the formation of the personality of Vasyl Kuk (1913–2007) – the leader of the OUN armed forces and the UPA Commander-in-Chief (1950–1954), a social and political activist of independent Ukraine. Based on unpublished sources and various published materials, the first stage of the future leader's life and the organizational path was recreated. It chronologically covers the period from his birth until 1941, when he joined the OUN Wire, thus becoming one of the leaders of the Ukrainian liberation movement of that period. Particular attention is paid to the family environment in which V. Kuk grew up. Almost all members of his family, close and distant relatives, were somehow engaged by the nationalist movement, were repeatedly repressed by the police of Poland, the Bolshevik USSR, and Nazi Germany, and eventually, two of his brothers were killed by Poles. His participation in the socio-political life of the region, in particular, in the societies "Prosvita" and "Plast," which he joined in 1927, was recreated. The author also outlined V. Kuk's educational path firstly as a graduate of Zolochiv private classical gymnasium of Ukrainian Pedagogical Society "Ridna Shkola" and then as a student in the Faculty of Law at the Catholic University of Lublin. Extensive coverage is given to the entry of the future leader of the national liberation movement into the OUN, repression by the Polish occupation authorities, the way of promoting him along the organizational vertical and the functional responsibilities within the Zolochiv county executive committee of the OUN, areas of his work in the underground since May 1937. The character traits and professional abilities of V. Kuk, which contributed to his progressive entry into the top leadership of the Ukrainian liberation movement in the mid-20th century, are considered. Keywords Vasyl Kuk, Plast, Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, County Executive, Polish Police, expropriation action, Zolochiv region, Pidhaitsi region, armed uprising, emigration, military intelligence service.