Full biography of Stepan Bandera

On January 1, 1909 in the village of Stary Ugryniv onterritory of Galicia Stepan Andreevich Bandera was born - an ideologist and one of the founders of the nationalist movement of Ukraine. His activities still cause heated debates, although more than 56 years have passed since the murder of the politician. To help understand the secret of the attractiveness of his ideology for some, Stepan Bandera's biography may be.

A family

His parents were sincere believers andclosely associated with the Greek Catholic (Uniate) Church. Stepan's father, Andrei Mikhailovich, served as a village priest and actively propagated the ideas of Ukrainian nationalism. In 1919 he was even elected to the National Council of the ZUNR, and then he fought in the troops of Denikin. After the Civil War, Andrei Mikhailovich returned to his native village and continued his service as a village priest.

Mother Stepan - Miroslava Vladimirovna - alsocame from the clergyman's family. That is why the children, and there were six of them, were brought up in the spirit of values ​​important for the parents and devotion to the ideas of Ukrainian nationalism.

Biography of Stepan Bandera: childhood

The family lived in a small house, which theyprovided the leadership of the church. According to the testimony of contemporaries, who are familiar with the biography of Stepan Bandera, he grew up obedient and devout boy. At the same time, in the gymnasium, he tried to form a strong-willed quality, for example, drenching with cold water in the winter, than he earned a joint disease for the rest of his life.

To enter the gymnasium, Stepan is quite earlyleft the house of his parents and moved to the city of Stryi to his grandparents. It was there that he acquired the first experience of political activity and showed himself as a man with excellent organizational skills. Thus, Bandera participated in the activities of various political organizations, including the Union of Ukrainian Nationalist Youth.

After graduating from high school, Stepan returned to Ugryniv, started organizing young nationalists and even created a local choir.

Becoming the leader of the nationalist movement

Entering in 1929 in the Polytechnic School of the city of Lviv, Stepan Bender continues his political activities.

It was a difficult period. As the dissatisfaction with the Polish authorities grows in the radical part of society, the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists is more and more active. She is engaged in terrorist acts, her militants attack postal trains and liquidate political opponents. And, as a response to the terror and protest actions, massive repression of the authorities begins.

In the 1930s, Bandera, who had previouslythe main propaganda, becomes one of the most active leaders of the OUN. He is repeatedly subjected to short-term arrests, mainly for the dissemination of anti-Polish literature. By the way, the biography of Stepan Bandera during this period also contains many dark pages. In particular, according to some sources, in 1932 he under the guidance of German specialists was trained in a special intelligence school in Danzig.

However, the work of Bandera at important posts in the OUNwas relatively short-lived. In 1934, he was arrested, and then sentenced to hanging for the preparation of the murder of Bronislaw Peracki - Polish Interior Minister. True, the death penalty was later replaced with a life imprisonment.

Activities during the German occupation

In 1939, after Poland was capturedGermany, Bandera Stepan, whose biography continues to arouse the interest of researchers of the history of Eastern Europe in the 20th century, escapes from prison. He seeks to restore his influence in the leadership of the OUN and continue the struggle for the ideals of Ukrainian nationalism, but faces a number of problems.

As you know, Galicia and Volhynia, which were originallythe centers of struggle for the creation of a sovereign Ukraine, at that time found themselves in the USSR, and nationalist activity there became difficult. Moreover, there was no unity at the top of the OUN. Supporters of one of its leaders, Andrei Miller, advocated an alliance with fascist Germany.

Such a possibility categorically rejects Bandera, who understands that the political leadership of the invaders will never agree to the sovereignty of Ukraine.

Disagreements reach open clashes. Confrontation between the factions of the OUN encourages Bender to start recruiting armed groups. Relying on them, he at the rally in Lviv in 1941 proclaims the creation of an independent state of Ukraine.

In Germany

The reaction of the occupation authorities did not force itselfto wait. Stepan Bandera, whose brief biography is familiar to every Ukrainian student, along with his comrade-in-arms Yaroslav Stetsko, was arrested by the Gestapo, and they were sent to Berlin. Employees of the German special services offered the OUN leader cooperation and support. In exchange for this, he had to abandon the propaganda of Ukrainian independence. He did not accept this proposal and ended up in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where he stayed until 1944.

However, in fairness it must be said thatthere he was in fairly comfortable conditions and even had the opportunity to meet with his wife. Moreover, Bandera, while in Sachsenhausen, wrote and sent home articles and documents of political content. For example, he is the author of the brochure "The Struggle and Activities of the OUN (B) during the War," in which he pays attention to the role of acts of violence, including ethnic violence.

According to some historians, the biography of StepanBandera between 1939 and 1945 requires more careful study. In particular, according to some sources, he actively collaborated with the Abwehr and was engaged in the preparation of reconnaissance groups, without refusing, however, his ideological convictions.

After the war

After the defeat of fascism Bandera Stepan, biographywho was repeatedly subjected to "rewriting" to please certain political forces, stayed in West Germany and settled in Munich, where his wife and children also arrived. He continued active political activity as one of the leaders of the OUN, many of whose members also moved to Germany or were released from the camps. Bandera's supporters declared that it was necessary to elect him as the lifelong leader of the organization. However, those who believed that the activities of nationalist-minded associations should be directed on the territory of Ukraine did not agree with this. As the main argument in favor of their position, they pointed out that, only being on the spot, one can soberly assess the situation that has radically changed during the war years.

In an effort to expand the number of his supporters, Stepan Bandera (the biography is briefly presented above) became the initiator of the organization ABN - the Anti-Bolshevik Peoples' Bloc headed by Jaroslav Stetsko.

In 1947, the nationalists completely disowned the OUN, and he was elected its leader.

Death

It's time to tell about the last page,which culminated in the biography of Stepan Bandera. According to the most widespread version, he was killed by an employee of the NKVD Bogdan Stashinsky. It happened in 1959, on October 15. The murderer was waiting for the politician in the entrance of the house and shot him in the face with a pistol with a syringe containing cyanide potassium. Bender died in an ambulance, caused by neighbors, and did not regain consciousness.

Other Versions of Murder

But is it really Stepan Bandera (biography,photo of which is presented above) was killed by an agent of Soviet special services? There are many versions. Firstly, on the day of the murder of Bandera, for some reason, he released his bodyguards. Secondly, from the point of view of its importance at this time, Bandera was no longer a danger as a political figure. At least for the USSR. And the NKVD did not need the martyrdom of a prominent nationalist in the past. Thirdly, Stashinsky was sentenced to a fairly mild punishment - 8 years in prison. By the way, having gone to freedom, he disappeared.

According to a lesser known version, Bandera was killed by someone from his former associates or a representative of the Western special services, which is most likely.

The fate of family members

Father Stepan Bandera was arrested by the NKVD on May 221941 and shot two weeks after the attack of the Nazis on the Soviet Union. His brother Alexander lived in Italy for a long time. At the beginning of the war, he came to Lvov, was arrested by the Gestapo and died in the concentration camp of Auschwitz. Another brother of Stepan Bandera - Vasily - also was an active figure in the Ukrainian nationalist movement. In 1942, he was sent to Auschwitz by German occupation forces and killed by Polish keeper.

Crimes

Today in Ukraine there are a lot of people whorevere Stepan Bandera almost as a saint. The desire for independence of their homeland is a noble business, however nationalism never stops at praising its people. He always needs to prove his superiority by humiliating his neighbor, or worse, by destroying him physically. In particular, many European and Russian historians consider the facts of Bandera's involvement in the Volyn massacre to be proven, when thousands of Poles and Catholic Armenians, whom the Bandera people considered "second Jews", were killed.

Bandera Stepan, biography, crimes and proceedingswhich require serious study - the person is ambiguous, but, undoubtedly, not ordinary. His name now continues to be a symbol of the nationalist movement and inspires some hot and, let's say, not quite smart heads to commit such terrible acts as shooting at residential areas of their own cities.