Ukrainian Insurgent Army Research Articles

The Silent Unseen and Underground Soldiers: Polish–Ukrainian Conflicts and Collaboration in Amanda McCrina’s Second World War Fiction

The memory of the Second World War remains a bone of contention between Poland and Ukraine. The countries’ mnemonic discourses differ significantly, especially regarding the legacy of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Most local children’s and young adult authors avoid discussing historical nuances and offer their readers simple narratives about victims and oppressors. Thus, it is remarkable that in the last few years descriptions of the difficult Polish–Ukrainian relations have appeared in fiction written by Anglophone authors. This article considers the representations of the complex Ukrainian–Polish/Polish–Ukrainian dynamics in Amanda McCrina’s Traitor (2020) and The Silent Unseen (2022), two young adult novels set in Second World War eastern Poland/western Ukraine. McCrina, an American of Polish descent, introduces teenage protagonists with liminal identities and agency limited by their historical circumstances. This article underscores the importance of McCrina’s literary techniques – especially her use of alternation of perspectives – that highlight the complexity of history and challenge the discourse of morality typical of young adult historical fiction. Moreover, it argues that the minor simplifications introduced by McCrina are necessary for Anglophone young readers to grasp the entanglements of the history of what Timothy Snyder termed the ‘Bloodlands’. Thus, her approach to addressing multifaceted and problematic topics exceeds morality plots based on the victim–oppressor binary.

Український інтермедіальний резистанс у мілітарному світі

This article explores the historical persistence and motivation behind the intermedial practice of transforming verbal texts into musical ones, particularly focusing on Ukrainian embaterias and songs inspired by the russia-ukraine war, rich in motives from the heroics of the rank to the lyrical and tragic experiences of the resistance personality. It examines the dynamic synthesis of poetic and musical texts, tracing back to the practices of poets, composers, and singers from the Legion of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (Ukrainski Sichovi striltsi, USS). Drawing on the experience of Cossack and Opryshky songs, folklore, and early modernism, these artists created a unique repertoire that documents the artistic and freedom-loving nature of Ukrainians, tested by the harsh realities of war. Their works, reflecting the soul of the people, have become an integral part of Ukrainian folk songs. Similarly, poets’ works of Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainska Povstanska Armiia, UPA) during and after World War II, set to music, provided an adequate response to the brutal realities of their time. This tradition has been preserved and gained new significance during the Russia-Ukraine war, declared by the Moscow State Duma of Ukraine on March 1, 2014, full-scale after February 24, 2022. Among the poets whose words have been set to music are graduates of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, participants in military operations within the Ukrainian Armed Forces (such as Dmytro Luniaka) and the territorial defense (Ihor Astapenko). Academician Rostyslav Radyshevskyi has also actively contributed to these embaterias. Many songs are performed by serviceman Taras Kompanichenko. These texts, resembling pieces of a puzzle, will eventually form a coherent picture of intermedial creativity during the war, viewed through the historical dynamics of the genre.

Evolution of political traditions and mentality of Ukrainian society

The article analyzes the processes of formation and evolution of political traditions and mentality of Ukrainian society, their impact on public sentiment and political decision-making, which can be both supportive and legitimate foundation, as well as rejection and denial, and an obstacle to political and economic development. Due to the peculiarities of its historical development and geopolitical location, Ukraine has strong ties with European countries and shares similar values, and is geographically part of Europe. Ukrainian political traditions are based on support for democratic principles and freedoms, rejection of dictatorial authoritarian practices, the ability of Ukrainian society to self-organize and build effective horizontal ties, and individualism. Ukrainians, like Europeans, consider the dignity of the human person as a fundamental value, and violence as unacceptable and humiliating. During national revolutions and in times of war, Ukrainians bravely defend the Motherland, protecting their freedom even at the cost of their lives. These fundamental features of the Ukrainian political mentality contributed to the formation of the Ukrainian political nation, and in combination with Cossack military traditions, the experience of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and a number of patriotic organizations, they influence the heroic military confrontation with Russia today. However, the long stay of Ukrainian lands as part of other state entities, the imposition of different models of seeing the world, values, beliefs, the extermination of the political elite and patriotic activists and their families, etc. also reflected in the political traditions, moods, preferences, patterns of behavioral reactions of Ukrainian society. Especially destructive was the influence of Russian state entities, the period of being part of the USSR, which shaped the consciousness of homo soveticus – a cog in a totalitarian state system with limited rights and opportunities.

Archival source of memory of liaison to Commander-in-Chief of Ukrainian Insurgent Army Roman Shukhevych: on occasion of centenary of Daria Husiak

Archival source of memory of liaison to Commander-in-Chief of Ukrainian Insurgent Army Roman Shukhevych: on occasion of centenary of Daria Husiak

Absencja usprawiedliwiona? O kilku wątkach nieobecnych na wystawie Ukraina. Wzajemne spojrzenia

The aim of this article is to analyse the content of the exhibition Ukraine. A different angle on neighbourhood, presented in Cracow from September 2021 to January 2022, aimed at identifying exemplary themes that would have significantly enriched the educational and informational dimension of this exhibition, but for various reasons did not make it into it. Exemplary absences included the regional differentiation of Ukraine, the historical-independence status of Galicia, the demographic decline of Poland’s neighbours from across the river Bug, the importance of the Cossacks in the context of the 17th-century problems of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the place of the “Vistula” action in the consciousness of Poles. A separate point is devoted to the absence of the motif of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Volhynian massacre from the exhibition, indicating – also through references to the declarations of people involved in the creation of the exhibition – why this motif was to be expected, and proposing a way in which this motif could have been creatively presented. Although the essence of the considerations is to indicate points which would enrich the school knowledge of the primarily Polish audience of the exhibition in relation to the framework of Ukrainian identity (identities) and the Polish-Ukrainian neighbourhood, in its essence the article does not prejudge the necessity to take up the aforementioned motifs, nor does it constitute a closed list of topoi which would be crucial in determining such a framework.

DISCIPLINARY RESPONSIBILITY AND TRIAL IN THE UKRAINIAN INSURGENT ARMY (1943 – 1947)

The purpose of the article is to study the peculiarities of the formation of the basic principles of disciplinary responsibility and the organization of judicial proceedings in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (1943 – 1947). The research methodology is based on the principles of scientificity, systematicity, general scientific (analysis, synthesis) and special-historical (historical-typological, historical-systemic, historical-comparative) methods and methods of criticism of historical sources. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that, on the basis of unknown and little-known sources, a comprehensive study of judicial and disciplinary practice in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (1943 – 1947) was conducted. Conclusions. Thus, the Principles of Judicial and Disciplinary Practice in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army were initiated in the summer of 1943 in the territories of Volyn and Western Polissia. At the end of the same year, the insurgent judiciary spread to Galicia and the neighboring territories of eastern Poland and Slovakia. The main judicial and disciplinary bodies in the units of the UPA were “Field Courts”. If necessary, they convened at every hundred. It was assumed that one of the three judges of the “Field Court” would hold a position not lower than the level of centurion, the second – squad leader. Sentences were handed down on the basis of the “UPA Disciplinary Statute”. In it, crimes were divided into light and serious. The latter included: treason, vandalism, failure to comply with an order that led to significant losses, repeated desertion. Those accused of serious crimes were mostly executed. The commander of the relevant rebel unit approved the verdict of the “Field Court”. “Cossack courts” usually dealt with minor crimes. They were summoned by the commanders of insurgent units in case of: drunkenness, failure to comply with an order without serious consequences, minor thefts. The sentences were: sending to the “penal departments”, “criminal arrest”, “shompoling” in front of the line, “standing under the gun” or “falling of fates” on command. In case of repeated prosecution, the punishment was increased up to and including execution

UKRAINIAN POSTCOLONIAL NOVEL AS A NATIONAL NARRATIVE: “THE MUSEUM OF ABANDONED SECRETS” BY O. ZABUZHKO AND “THE BEECH LAND” BY M. MATIOS

The article examines the seminal novels of Ukrainian women writers from the first and second decades of the 21st century, namely “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” (“Музей покинутих секретів”, 2009) by O. Zabuzhko and “The Beech Land” (“Букова земля”, 2019) by M. Matios. The selected works are analyzed through the lens of postcolonial criticism, that is, from the point of view of the historical experience of the statelessness of the Ukrainian community and its reflection in literary texts. The main attention is paid to the narrative features of the works, namely the tendency to broad narrative, integrity, and narrative completeness. The purpose of the study is to highlight the postcolonial content of the narrative strategies implemented in the selected novels by O. Zabuzhko and M. Matios. Given that “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” and “The Beech Land” represent different periods and ideological and aesthetic paradigms, namely postmodernism and metamodernism, one of the tasks of the study is to assert the relevance of postcolonialism in the context of metamodernism. The article aims to highlight the peculiarities of the artistic realization of “postcolonial” narrativity in postmodern and metamodern texts. Additionally, the narrative features of the selected novels are compared. The stated purpose necessitates the application of hermeneutic (interpretation of a literary text), comparative (identification of common and distinctive features of the selected works) methods, as well as the method of structural analysis (examining the narrative structure of the texts). As a result of the study, it is established that postcolonialism, inherent in Ukrainian postmodern prose, remains relevant in the second decade of the twenty-first century. The postcolonial orientation of the novels “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” and “The Beech Land” is manifested in their intention to affirm the continuity of Ukrainian history by building a panoramic narrative that covers different historical periods and establishes a hereditary connection between them. The study identified the following features common to both novels: the intertwining of family genealogy with national history; the development of narratives at different generational levels – children, parents, grandparents, etc.; the theme of the perpetual war for independence that continues to this day; the image of God as a transcendent guardian of history, capable of seeing the intertwining of human destinies in their entirety. The defining theme shared by both novels is the anti-colonial struggle, particularly the military campaign of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. This theme necessitates depicting the tragic consequences of imperial oppression. In “The Beech Land”, these are devastation and turmoil, fratricide, ruptured familial ties, the destruction of the Bukovynian “utopia”. In “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets”, these repercussions are shown through the lens of postmodern hypertextuality – as “burnt manuscripts”, irretrievably lost archives, fragmented stories. In addition, the selected novels exhibit an inclination to transcend the boundaries of realistic storytelling. Employing the montage technique, “The Museum of Abandoned Secrets” incorporates a mystical discourse of dreams that operates as a parallel reality, recounting events of the past. The oneiric discourse resonates with the image of an endless virtual archive storing memories of everything that has ever happened in the world. In “The Beech Land”, the departure from realistic historiography occurs through metamodern fantastisation, where the historical panorama is framed by the story of the “Heavenly Chancellery” – a celestial archive inhabited by the Creator and the Angels. The appeal to mystical and imaginative discourses is interpreted as a manifestation of postcolonial longing for lost integrity and completeness. The images of endless imaginary repositories of information complement the incompleteness of history, aiding in overcoming its fragmentary nature and opacity.

(Ne)baigtas Antrasis pasaulinis karas Ukrainoje

The text examines one of the most difficult periods in the history of people of Ukraine – the events of the World War II. The purpose of this survey is to show the existential nature of the largest armed conflict in the history of mankind for Ukrainians, which was determined by the real threat of de­population, as well as the deprivation of their natural right to self-determination. Not only great and influential, but also smaller actors of international arena had their own inter­ests in Ukrainian territories, raw materials, and industrial and human resources. Howev­er, Moscow considered Ukraine to be the sphere of its undivided domination and used all means to solve the “Ukrainian question” according to its own scenarios. The first Sovieti­sation unequivocally confirmed the Kremlin’s intentions to implement the Bolshevik pro­ject in the Ukrainian regions annexed in 1939–1940. Under the collision of two totalitarian systems – Soviet and Nazi – Ukrainian political independence-oriented forces managed to organise themselves for resistance and protection of the indigenous interests of the people of Ukraine. The organisation of Ukrainian nationalists, as well as representatives of other political groups created their own armed formations – such as “Poliska Sich”, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, self-defence units – which launched a struggle against the German and Soviet occupational forces and administration. This asymmetric confronta­tion had great political and moral-psychological significance, affirming the vitality of the “Ukrainian idea” and the continuity of the struggle for the restoration of Ukrainian state­hood. The Stalinist regime needed more than 10 years to suppress the national liberation movement in Ukraine. Yet Ukrainians did not come to terms with communist tyranny and resisted it until the fall of the Soviet Union. In the current confrontation with the Russian aggression, Ukraine is finally breaking with its imperial past and establishing it as an in­dependent, democratic state.

The (Un)Finished Ukrainian World War II

The text examines one of the most difficult periods in the history of people of Ukraine – the events of the World War II. The purpose of this survey is to show the existential nature of the largest armed conflict in the history of mankind for Ukrainians, which was determined by the real threat of de­population, as well as the deprivation of their natural right to self-determination. Not only great and influential, but also smaller actors of international arena had their own inter­ests in Ukrainian territories, raw materials, and industrial and human resources. Howev­er, Moscow considered Ukraine to be the sphere of its undivided domination and used all means to solve the “Ukrainian question” according to its own scenarios. The first Sovieti­sation unequivocally confirmed the Kremlin’s intentions to implement the Bolshevik pro­ject in the Ukrainian regions annexed in 1939–1940. Under the collision of two totalitarian systems – Soviet and Nazi – Ukrainian political independence-oriented forces managed to organise themselves for resistance and protection of the indigenous interests of the people of Ukraine. The organisation of Ukrainian nationalists, as well as representatives of other political groups created their own armed formations – such as “Poliska Sich”, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, self-defence units – which launched a struggle against the German and Soviet occupational forces and administration. This asymmetric confronta­tion had great political and moral-psychological significance, affirming the vitality of the “Ukrainian idea” and the continuity of the struggle for the restoration of Ukrainian state­hood. The Stalinist regime needed more than 10 years to suppress the national liberation movement in Ukraine. Yet Ukrainians did not come to terms with communist tyranny and resisted it until the fall of the Soviet Union. In the current confrontation with the Russian aggression, Ukraine is finally breaking with its imperial past and establishing it as an in­dependent, democratic state.

Stalin’s Empire in the Fight Against the Ukrainian Insurgent Movement at the Final Stage of the Second World War 1944–1945): The Role of the Red Army

This article, based on a wide array of archival documents, presents the anal­ysis of military confrontation between the Stalinist Empire and the Ukrainian insurgent movement in Western Ukraine. Special attention is paid to the role of the Red Army, which, in addition to joint military punitive operations together with the NKVD itself resorted to organising anti-insurgency military measures and took an active part in such activi­ties aimed at destroying the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukraiinska povstanska armia – hereafter UPA) and the underground Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (hereafter – OUN) using such measures as deportation and resettlement of the local population from the front-line zone, military mobilisations and repressions against the families of UPA members. The author concludes that the war of the Red Empire against the Ukrainian na­tional liberation movement embroiled significant masses of civilian population into its merciless millstones, which led to its barbarisation, so this war by its nature and devas­tating consequences can be considered in essence as the genocidal extermination of the Ukrainian people.

Stalino imperijos kova su Ukrainos sukilėlių judėjimu paskutiniajame Antrojo pasaulinio karo etape (1944–1945): Raudonosios armijos vaidmuo

This article, based on a wide array of archival documents, presents the anal­ysis of military confrontation between the Stalinist Empire and the Ukrainian insurgent movement in Western Ukraine. Special attention is paid to the role of the Red Army, which, in addition to joint military punitive operations together with the NKVD itself resorted to organising anti-insurgency military measures and took an active part in such activi­ties aimed at destroying the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukraiinska povstanska armia – hereafter UPA) and the underground Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (hereafter – OUN) using such measures as deportation and resettlement of the local population from the front-line zone, military mobilisations and repressions against the families of UPA members. The author concludes that the war of the Red Empire against the Ukrainian na­tional liberation movement embroiled significant masses of civilian population into its merciless millstones, which led to its barbarisation, so this war by its nature and devas­tating consequences can be considered in essence as the genocidal extermination of the Ukrainian people.

MEMORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN CONTEMPORARY KHARKIV

The proposed article examines the place of commemoration of the Second World War in the urban space of modern Kharkiv on the example of memorials and monuments. In the Soviet and post-Soviet period, the memory of the war was reflected in the names of streets, memorials, monuments and other "places of memory". In particular, they are devoted to the war as a whole, as well as to its various events. They are dedicated to the heroism of Soviet soldiers, the tragedy of Polish officers and other victims of Soviet totalitarianism, the tragedy of the Jewish people – the Holocaust, the Ukrainian liberation movement – the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, etc. The article analyzes the changes that took place in the commemoration of the war after Ukraine gained independence. It is assumed that the modern Russian war will also have an impact on the memory of the Second World War in Ukraine and Kharkiv, in particular.

Military Women in Museum Exhibitions in Lviv (Ukraine): Past Experience and Modernity

Ukrainian women received military experience during the First and Second World Wars and in the contemporary Russian-Ukrainian War in services such as the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (USS), the Ukrainian Galician Army (UGA), the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the Soviet Army, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF). This paper analyzes the representations of Ukrainian women's military experiences during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries in museum exhibitions in Lviv (a city in Western Ukraine). The authors conclude that the experiences of women veterans of the First and Second World Wars frequently remain neglected, creating an incomplete picture of the past and continuing to shape representations of women’s roles in the current Russian-Ukrainian War.

Військова присяга в Україні

The article considers the military oath as a manifestation of the promise of loyalty to one’s own people represented by a government, ruler, representative or bearer of supreme state power, known since the ancient times. Examples of Ukrainian historical military oaths are given. Among them: the Oath of the Ukrainian Sich riflemen in 1914, the Military Oath of loyalty to the Ukrainian State in 1918, the Oath of a soldier of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in 1944. The text of the Military Oath, approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on December 6, 1991, is analyzed. The first military personnel began to take this Oath in December 1991 - January 1992. The text of the Oath contained in the law – the Statute of the Internal Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, approved in 1999, with certain editorial changes, is used today. In Ukraine, servicemen take the Oath in a festive, celebratory atmosphere, like a holiday; there is a parade, in full uniform, the Battle Flag of the military unit is raised, the National Anthem is played, distinguished guests, relatives of servicemen are invited. During martial law, the Oath is taken in a less solemn setting and in the absence of guests, as the location of the military unit must be kept secret. Foreigners or stateless persons, who are accepted for military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the first time, do not take an Oath of loyalty to the Ukrainian people, but undertake an official obligation to strictly adhere to the Constitution and laws of Ukraine and to faithfully perform the duties of military service. The text of the obligation, in contrast to the Oath, contains an obligation to act in accordance with the generally recognized principles and norms of international humanitarian law in conditions of martial law or hostilities.

Ukrainization of the Western Polissia: Stages and Factors

The course of Ukrainization of the inhabitants of Western Polissia (the north of modern Volyn and Rivne regions, as well as the south of Brest region) is analyzed. The main stages of this process are highlighted. The first is the Liberation War of 1917–1921, the second is the interwar period, the third is from the beginning of World War II to the creation of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). It was clarified that the majority of local Orthodox priests had moskvophilic views and were hostile to Ukrainization. They were wary of revolutionary changes and tried to conserve within themselves the remnants of the ideology of the no longer existing Russian Empire. However, some local Orthodox priests supported Ukrainization and helped to build the OUN network. From 1942 to 1944, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) played an important role in this process. It established close cooperation with the OUN in the means of promotional work and managed to take hold in the region. In particular, UAOC priests carried out the Ukrainization of worship and built their own church network. Often in their sermons, they glorified the struggle of the OUN and honoured the heroes who died for an Independent Ukraine. In return, the OUN tried to support pro-Ukrainian priests, primarily through protection and authority. Pressure was exerted on the actively moskvophilic clergy (threats, beatings, and, in exceptional cases, executions). The specified active position managed to change the situation. On the large territory, nationally conscious priests and Ounivites managed to Ukrainianize the population. It was the foundation on which in the fall of 1942, the first units of the UPA were created on the territory of Western Polissia by Ostap Kachynskyi («Samson»), who was a military officer of the OUN Regional Directorate. On the contrary, the moskvophile clergy controlled the territories which were not supervised by the OUN underground. Under its influence, the local population lost its national identity and became part of the Belarusian people.

Udział 12 Szczecińskiej Dywizji Piechoty w akcji „Wisła”. Z warsztatów badawczych

Operation Vistula was one of the largest military and repressive operations carried out after the war by the Polish Army. It was attended, among others, by 12th Combined Infantry Regiment, which was formed on the basis of the 12th Szczecin Infantry Division. The 12th Combined Infantry Regiment was a military reserve of the Vistula Operational Group and from the first days of its operation it was used mainly against the Ukrainian Insurgent Army units manoeuvring in the field. The moderate successes achieved by the regiment compared to other units focusing on the displacement of civilians made the commander of the Vistula Operational Group, General S. Mossor, present this tactical unit as a model for other units. The source analysis carried out by the author forces us to revise this analysis of events. Compared with those of other units, the successes of the 12 Combined Infantry Regiment were not as great as Mossor claims, particularly when we consider that this unit was released from a time-consuming deportation action. The 12th division of the Polish Armed Forces is stationed in Western Pomerania to this day, continuing the tradition of the 12th Infantry Division of the Polish People’s Army. It is important to remember that participation in the largest repressive operation of Stalinist Poland brought no glory to this unit.

Genocide in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia 1943–1944

Ukrainian nationalists tried to de-polonize the South-Eastern Borderlands by means of mass genocide and they achieved this goal to a great extent. That, however, puts them on a par with the criminal regimes of Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. The author of this article describes the genocide of Polish inhabitants in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia committed by the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (Orhanizatsiya Ukrayins’kykh Natsionalistiv, OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrainska Povstanska Armiya, UPA) between 1943 and 1944. These events in European history are not well-known.

UNR MEMBERS IN THE UPA IN VOLYN

The circumstances of joining to the Ukrainian insurgent army of former participants of the Ukrainian National Democratic Revolution of 1917–1921, soldiers of the Army of the Ukrainian Peopleʼs Republic, who in the interwar period became political emigrants and lived in the Volyn Voivodeship, were analyzed. Some of them did not stop fighting until the middle 1920s , trying to support the anti-Bolshevik movement in the Soviet Ukraine. A new chance to compete for the Ukrainian state appeared during the Second World War. Through the involvement of archival and criminal case materials, memories, periodicals of the time, it was possible to fi nd out their names and partially trace their fate activists of the revolution. The reasons for the small number of such soldiers were explained. It was emphasized that these were mostly elderly people, burdened by old wounds and diseases. It was proved that the UPR community suffered signifi cant repression during the period of the first Sovietization (September 17, 1939 – June 22, 1941), which led to its dispersal. Some of these people saved their lives by leaving for Nazi-controlled territory. It was emphasized 94 Руслана Давидюк that the members of the Ukrainian National Peopleʼs Republic remained loyal to the idea of Ukraine’s independence during the Second World War, two of them, Leonid Stupnytskyi and Ivan Treiko, were awarded the rank of corporal general of the UPA (posthumously). The contribution of UPR political emigrants to the insurgent struggle as founders of intelligence, priests, and initiators of the reorganization of the UPA was clarified. Attention was drawn to a significant percentage of children of former Petlyurians in the ranks of the UPR Army, which is due to parental upbringing during the formation of their personality. It has been proven that the participation of the soldiers of the UPR Army in the UIA, where they shared their experience and military skills, testifies to the continuity and persistence of the struggle of Ukrainians for national independence. Keywords Ukrainian People’s Republic, Ukrainian political emigrants, Ukrainian insurgent army, Volyn, liberation struggle.

Пам’ять про історичне минуле в поезії опору

The article examines the memory of the historical past in the poetry of the Resistance. This research contributes to debunking the myths created by Soviet propaganda, restoring historical justice, and overcoming national complexes and traumas. In this regard, the process of forming a culture of historical memory during the years of independence and the contribution of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (established on 31 May 2006) have been analysed. Literature of the unconquered, in particular: Marko Boieslav, Marta Hai, Petro Volosh- Vasylenko - Petro Hetmants, Myroslav Kushnir, Yuriy Lypa, Oleh Olzhych, Olena Teliha, etc., diaries and memoirs of the participants of the events and their families are an inexhaustible source for clarifying the historical truth and restoring the memory of the heroic struggle of the Ukrainian people during the Second World War. The article shows that in Ukrainian literary criticism, the literature of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army participants has several definitions: "poetry of resistance", "Ukrainian poetry of resistance", and "poetry of the unconquered". The article analyses the peculiarity of the interpretation of the past based on the works of Petro Volosh-Vasylenko - Petro Hetmants (My Insurgent Marches), Marko Boieslav (Disobedient Words), and Myroslav Kushnir (Words from the Book of Battle). Historical memory in the poetry of the insurgents is represented by image symbols of the times of Kyiv Rus and the Cossack era. The authors also include the heroic struggle of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army under the leadership of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists in this historical framework. The Ukrainian struggle is also expressed through symbolic traumas, losses that sharpen the collective experience of Ukrainians, help establish the logic of the national liberation struggle and motivate the lyrical hero to armed resistance, which develops into a vigilante revolt for the sake of justice. National traumas are expressed through the voices of people who witnessed the Holodomor and totalitarian repressions. The symbolic function is performed by the image of betrayal, which we have traced at the general and personal levels. The analysis of memoir literature by first-hand participants of the events made it possible to trace the spiritual dimensions of the UIA poets, whose key values are Christian: love for the Motherland, God, and neighbour. Betrayal of the Motherland is equal to betrayal of God. Each of the artists saw their life and social mission in serving God, the Motherland, and the Ukrainian people. That is why all the works are permeated by the motive of performing a certain "duty". The study is of literary, cultural, and historical significance, as it fills a certain gap in understanding the artistic originality of the texts at the level of analysing external and internal factors of influence; it contributes to the disclosure of falsified facts of the past about the insurgency. The study proves that the poetry of the Resistance represents the nation's ability to the collective resistance and refutes the image of a victim nation created by Soviet propaganda. Keywords: historical memory, image, symbol, Resistance literature, Ukrainian Insurgent Army, Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, traumatic memory, totalitarianism.

An Unfinished War: The Historiography of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army Problems

The article analyses the historiographical process related to the history of Ukrainian nationalism, namely the activities of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in the 1930s–1950s. Drawing on the chronological-terri-torial and conceptual-methodological principles, the authors divide the secondary sources into five main groups: writings by authors of the Ukrainian diaspora, works of Soviet scientists and publicists, post-independence Ukrainian historiography, communist and contemporary Polish historiography, Western history writing. Within each group, key publications are examined through the prism of documentary sources, methodologies, and conceptual approaches, as well as the socio-political context in which they were created.