OUN's anti-Soviet resistance and the activities of Ukrainians from Eastern Galicia to preserve national foundations in Lemkivshchyna in 1939–1941

Abstract

The article outlines events that are indirectly and directly related to the OUN and the activities of the intelligentsia from Eastern Galicia in the territory of Lemkivshchyna during the first Sovietization of Western Ukraine. The outbreak of World War II became a new test for the population of the Ukrainian-Polish-Slovak borderlands in the context of the ethno-national transformations of Central and Eastern Europe. The methodological basis is a comprehensive approach to the analysis of this problem. Since the beginning of the Sovietization of Galicia in 1939 the authorities have resorted to increased propaganda among the Lemkos for their departure to the USSR while taking advantage of the deplorable social situation of the locals and their low level of self-consciousness. Simultaneously, the most active figures of the region together with the local representatives of the OUN underground tried in various ways, from agitation to deliberately provoked false calls, to prevent the Lemkos from departure to the USSR. In the study based on source materials revealed the peculiarities of counteraction of local representatives of the nationalist underground to the Bolshevik propaganda in Lemkivshchyna of the departure to the Ukrainian SSR. At the same time the article reveals the nature of the activity of the intelligentsia from Eastern Galicia among the Lemkos. It is emphasized that immediately since the beginning of the World War ІІ considering the Bilshovyks occupation of Eastern Galicia, conscious and committed Ukrainians, began to arrive in Galician Lemkivschyna. They led an active public activity among Lemkos in schools, cooperatives, in cultural and educational institutions. It has been proved that the emigrants-refugees of the local intelligentsia from Eastern Galicia, despite the short stay in the Lemkos territories, played an important role in consolidating the region's national forces, actively working to raise the level of self-consciousness of the population of the region, thereby affirming the strong national foundations of the Lemkos region. The prospects of further research are to find out how the Soviet regime prepared the ground for violent deportation, initially through voluntary resettlement of Lemkos. The lessons and consequences of this event show that important state-building processes require thorough preparation and unity of all national forces. Keywords Lemkivshchyna, Lemkos, OUN, Sovietization, resettlement, national-cultural movement, intelligentsia, Lemkivshchyna, Lemkos, Eastern Galicia, Bolshevik propaganda.