{"id":1396684,"date":"2026-05-23T19:18:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/god-given-and-true-leader-how-soviet-secret-services-eliminated-the-creator-of-the-oun-yevhen-konovalets\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T19:18:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:18:44","slug":"god-given-and-true-leader-how-soviet-secret-services-eliminated-the-creator-of-the-oun-yevhen-konovalets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/god-given-and-true-leader-how-soviet-secret-services-eliminated-the-creator-of-the-oun-yevhen-konovalets\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cGod-given and true leader\u201d: how Soviet secret services eliminated the creator of the OUN, Yevhen Konovalets"},"content":{"rendered":"

On May 23, 1938, in Rotterdam (Netherlands), Soviet special services assassinated Yevhen Konovalets, a colonel in the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, founder and first head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). This event became one of the most high-profile political assassinations of the 20th century.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yevhen Konovalets was born on June 14, 1891 in the Lviv region, in the village of Zashkiv. His grandfather was a village priest, and his father was the director of the local public school, which Yevhen graduated from in 1901. He then continued his education at the Lviv Academic Gymnasium. It was there that his main traits \u2013 Ukrainian national consciousness and activism \u2013 were clearly manifested.<\/p>\n

“Ukrainians must be good students, they must acquire knowledge as best as possible, as fundamentally as possible, as much as possible, in order to make up for what slavery robbed us of,” he told his brothers, confirming his exactingness by his own example. In addition to studying gymnasium courses, Yevhen constantly attended student circles that were engaged in the dissemination of political knowledge. But the main sources of Ukrainian political thought for the young Konovalets were Shevchenko’s poems and Mikhnovsky’s brochure “Independent Ukraine”.<\/p>\n

His passion for politics was not without purpose<\/strong> – he was looking for a way out of the Polish captivity in which the Ukrainians of Galicia were. At the same time, Konovalets felt the threat of Muscoviteism, to which, in contrast to Polish chauvinism, some Galicians were inclined. Therefore, even in his high school years, he actively participated in the development of Ukrainian national life. Thanks to his activity, the “Prosvita” branches “revived”, a consumer and credit cooperative was founded in Zashkov, a strong branch of the “Sokil” sports society was created, and the first Shevchenko Academy was established in Lviv.<\/p>\n

Along with his cultural activities, Konovalets actively participated in the political struggle.<\/strong> As a student representative in the Central Committee of the Ukrainian National Democratic Party, he involved young people throughout the Lviv region in political life. His extraordinary activity and high authority among Ukrainians quickly made Konovalets dangerous for the Poles.<\/p>\n

“The newest haidamaka”<\/strong> – that’s what they called young Konovalets. Once the Poles managed to arrest him, however, the Austrian court issued an acquittal – and Konovalets’ authority among Ukrainians grew even more. In 1909, Konovalets entered the law faculty of Lviv University. There he encountered brutal Polish chauvinism from the Polish students and professors. It is not surprising that during the student unrest of 1910, Konovalets was not only one of the leaders of Ukrainian students, but also a direct participant in clashes with the Poles.<\/p>\n

But even at the trial against the Ukrainian students, he managed to avoid imprisonment – witnesses refuted the accusations of the Polish side. The fame of the “newest haidamaka” became even stronger for Konovalets. After graduating from the officers’ school, Konovalets decided that Ukrainians should massively receive military training and, in the event of an Austro-Russian war, act as an independent force. To this end, he organized a student military group “Sich Riflemen”. The idea of military training for young people was picked up by the sports societies “Sokil” and “Sich” – and soon Konovalets’s idea spread throughout Galicia. Ukrainians began to militarize.<\/p>\n

With the outbreak of World War I, Konovalets was mobilized into the Austrian army<\/strong> , into the “Homeland Defense” regiment – the so-called “Landver”. At the same time, the legion of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen was being formed, into which young people trained according to Konovalets’ plan poured en masse. But the military leadership did not allow Konovalets to join the “Sichovych”. In 1915, Yevhen Konovalets with his “Landver” held positions next to the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen on Mount Makvitsa in the Carpathians.<\/p>\n

There he was captured by the Russians<\/strong> and was transported to the prisoner of war camp in Chorny Yar, and then to Tsaritsyno. In the camp, Konovalets, together with other captured Galicians, met the Russian revolution. It was clear: no matter what power came to power in Russia, it would not grant independence to Ukraine. It was necessary to create a Ukrainian army.<\/p>\n

All the captured Galicians wanted to join the army of an independent Ukrainian state<\/strong> , but there was no possibility of a mass escape from the camps. Only the direct intervention of the Central Rada, the then Ukrainian government, could help free the captured Ukrainians.<\/p>\n

Konovalets bombarded the Central Rada with appeals and letters, but received no answers. Therefore, in July 1917, he escaped from the camp and headed for Kyiv.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1917, Kyiv, decayed by socialism and anarchy, was a sad sight. In this “typhoid barrack” of leftism and disorder, Konovalets managed to find Mykola Mikhnovsky<\/strong> , a one-hundred-percent independentist, authoritative among the Ukrainian military. Mikhnovsky was happy to hear about the mood among the captured Galicians and plans to create a Ukrainian army and advised Konovalets to seek the consent of the Central Rada at all costs. But the Central Rada was chaired at that time by Volodymyr Vynnychenko, a pathologically indecisive person.<\/p>\n

The atmosphere of disorder terribly oppressed Konovalets. Therefore, he decided to distance himself from inter-party strife and in every way contribute to the development of the Ukrainian armed forces. A few months later, he visited the prisoner-of-war camps again and was convinced that the desire of the Galicians to join the Ukrainian army remained unwavering. However, the Central Rada responded by ordering the Ukrainian military units not to accept Galicians and to release those who had already been accepted. In response, Konovalets convened a council of Galicians in Kyiv, which put forward a strict demand to the Central Rada – not to prevent the Galicians from creating military units. And the Central Rada made a concession. Recruitment to the Sich Riflemen’s kuren began.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new military formation grew rapidly.<\/strong> Konovalets joined Kuren as an ordinary rifleman and, having enlisted the support of like-minded people, began the fight against decay and demoralization. Successes were not long in coming \u2013 soon the main sources of socialist agitation and anarchy were extinguished, and he himself became the commandant of Kuren. Soon Konovalets’ Sichkovs had to prove themselves in the fight against Bolshevism.<\/p>\n

On January 18, 1918, the Red Hordes began their offensive on Ukraine. With their approach, the Kiev Bolsheviks also became more active – on the night of January 29, the Bolsheviks of the Arsenal factory rebelled. And the already shaky Ukrainian statehood shook even more. The corruption by leftism, which was openly condoned by all sorts of Vinnytsia, made itself felt: the military units of the Central Rada declared their neutrality and refused to fight the Bolsheviks. The core of the anti-Bolshevik resistance was the Sich Riflemen. History has preserved the words of Vynnytsia: “The hopeless situation of the Ukrainian People’s Republic was saved by Yevhen Konovalets with his Sich Riflemen.”<\/p>\n

And if it weren’t for pathological indecision, there would have been no Hetman’s coup – Konovalets and his Sichovka were ready to nip the rebellion in the bud, but the leaders of the Central Rada tied Konovalets hand and foot. The Sich Riflemen refused to recognize the government of Pavlo Skoropadsky and disbanded.<\/p>\n

However, Konovalets managed to get the Hetman to restore the Kuren Sich Riflemen, setting a demand – “if it will defend an independent and from no one independent Ukrainian statehood.” Skoropadsky accepted Konovalets’ proposal and the Sich soldiers enthusiastically resumed military training. But on November 14, 1918, the “Hetman’s Charter” was issued on the “reunification” of Ukraine with Russia. Konovalets could not stand this and set a number of demands for Skoropadsky, the main ones of which were the revocation of the “Charter” and the disbandment of Russian military formations. Skoropadsky’s refusal opened a gap between them and Konovalets sent his riflemen against the Hetmanate.<\/p>\n

It was an uprising<\/strong> . The Ukrainian units formed by Skoropadsky refused to act against the Sichkovs, and on November 18, 1918, in the battles near Motovylivka, the Sichkovs killed not their Ukrainian brothers, but Russian Black Hundreds volunteers. After the capture of Kyiv, the Ukrainian military joined the Sichkovs en masse, and a whole Corps of Sich Riflemen was created – the most powerful Ukrainian independent military force. But with the fall of the Hetmanate, the same socialist anarchy arose.<\/p>\n

Instead of a disciplined army, highly politicized detachments of autocratic chieftains operated, and the state leadership was in disarray. The threat of losing statehood once again loomed over Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Konovalets decided not to delay. After consulting with the Sichovites, he proposed to Vynnychenko to take full power into his own hands with the full support of the Sichov Riflemen. The only requirement was made to Vynnychenko – the defense of Ukrainian statehood. But Vynnychenko did not accept this proposal. Even then, politics hung on him like a terrible burden – he preferred to write novels, not to govern the state. Petliura did not accept a similar proposal. Then Konovalets and the Sichovites put forward the idea of a triumvirate – the rule of Petliura, Konovalets and Melnyk, but the socialists drowned this idea in the swamp of “democratic discussion.”<\/p>\n

Instead of concentrating power in a smaller circle of people, they offered Konovalets the position of sixth (!) member of the Directory<\/strong> . Konovalets, of course, refused this absurdity. Soon, as a result of the chaotic political steps of the Directory, the Sich Riflemen Corps was disbanded. And a year later, the Directory itself ceased to exist.<\/p>\n

Konovalets found himself in a prisoner-of-war camp again \u2013 this time in a Polish one. Konovalets’ first liberation and statehood campaign began and ended in the camp.<\/p>\n

The defeat of the First Liberation War did not break Yevhen Konovalets.<\/p>\n

“We did not know how long our internment would last and what Poland intended to do with us next. While thinking about the means by which we could gain freedom, we never forgot our goal: further organized active struggle,” he later recalled.<\/p>\n

As a result of regular negotiations between the dying Directory and Poland, in 1920 some of the riflemen were released from the camps.<\/p>\n

The \u00e9migr\u00e9 environment in which Konovalets found himself put almost as much effort into the mutual struggle as against the enemy. Konovalets’ plans to continue the armed struggle were stifled, and he himself was showered with reproaches and accusations from all sides.<\/p>\n

But the struggle had to continue. Konovalets understood that the historical situation had changed and it was necessary to look for new means of resistance under the Polish-Bolshevik occupation. Thus was born the idea of a fighting underground, which was called the Ukrainian Military Organization \u2013 UVO.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Konovalets’ idea was picked up by former rifle officers and work began again. In the summer of 1921, Konovalets returned to Galicia to personally lead the newly created organization. Already in the fall, Galicia was stirred up by the first action of the Ukrainian Revolutionary Army – in Lviv, an attempt was made on Marshal Pilsudski and the Voivode Grabowski was killed. Active sabotage activities against the Polish oppressors began: military warehouses were burned, communications were destroyed, and the police were constantly attacked.<\/p>\n

In Ternopil, the estates of Polish colonists were massively burned, Polish gendarmes, “snitches” and collaborators were punished by death. A widespread expropriation campaign was launched. The UVO militants attacked Polish bank branches and the post office, depriving the Polish occupation regime of huge funds. The money obtained was completely used to finance the organization and continue the struggle.<\/p>\n

The actions of the Western Ukrainian People’s Army became increasingly bold and loud. For example, in 1926 the editorial office of the newspaper “Slovo Polske” – a nasty anti-Ukrainian paper – was blown up, in 1929 several bombs were detonated at the “Targy vskhodne” trade exhibition. And the anniversary of the proclamation of the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic was marked by the fighters of the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic with a massive shootout with the Polish police…<\/p>\n

The Polish authorities could do nothing about the Ukrainian underground: instead of the arrested militants, new ones instantly arrived and responded with even more daring actions. The joy of the Poles about the conquest of Ukrainian lands was gradually replaced by panic.<\/p>\n

“The period of the UVO was almost a pure revolution of rank, without a sufficient programmatic and political completion, but the weight of this period is extraordinary. The roots of the entire modern Ukrainian upheaval lie in it. A new type of Ukrainian nationalist was born here, ideologically and emotionally… The response to the Organization’s revolutionary action was so strong that it long ago turned into a socio-political movement. The leader believed that the time had come for the change in the psyche of the citizenry, accomplished by revolutionary and combat work, to take shape ideologically and programmatically. The revolution must define itself ideologically and politically” – this is how Oleg Olzhych described this period.<\/p>\n

At the First Conference of Ukrainian Nationalists in November 1927, it was decided to create an underground ideological nationalist organization that would unite and coordinate all manifestations of Ukrainian national resistance \u2013 the Leadership of Ukrainian Nationalists. Yevhen Konovalets was elected the leader of the Leadership.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Within a year, the First Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists was prepared and held, at which the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists \u2013 OUN \u2013 a revolutionary underground nationalist organization was created.<\/strong> Konovalets was elected head of the OUN. Given his enormous authority and practical experience of struggle, it could not have been otherwise. Konovalets laid the principle of reliance on one\u2019s own forces in the ideological foundations of the OUN. He saw what the hesitations of the Central Rada had led to and therefore categorically rejected opportunism, compromise and pacifism. He also knew the mood that prevailed among the Ukrainian political emigration.<\/p>\n

The extraordinary tendency of the emigration to mutual hostility and “discussions” could nullify the greatest undertakings. Therefore, Konovalets did everything possible to prevent the newly created OUN from falling into dependence on emigrant circles. At the same time, the OUN did not embark on the path of self-isolation. On the contrary, the OUN’s network of contacts reached Italy, Germany, England, France and other European countries, as well as the United States and Canada. But the goal was not to find a place for Ukrainians in someone else’s camp, but to find ways to use the international situation in Ukrainian interests.<\/p>\n

Konovalets always insisted on the maximum expansion of the OUN underground into Central and Eastern Ukraine<\/strong> , where the Bolsheviks ruled at that time. Despite the extraordinary complexity, he could not refuse to advance to the East – his Ukrainian brothers lived there and they were in an even worse situation than the Ukrainians of Galicia.<\/p>\n

Konovalets personally led the underground network in the Dnieper region – he directly resolved all issues, personally met with liaisons.<\/p>\n

“The employees are against the leader’s extensive contacts with the membership, in particular meetings everywhere with liaisons from there. But the Colonel is incorrigible. He laughs and does things his own way. He wants to know things and life from direct experience, and dangers – didn’t he once have them?” Olzhych would later write.<\/p>\n

The Second World War was approaching<\/strong> – a second chance for Ukrainians to grab their fate by the tail. But on May 23, 1938, a secret agent of the Bolshevik secret services, disguised as a liaison, gave Yevhen Konovalets an explosive hidden in a gift box. When Konovalets was returning from a meeting, an explosion occurred – and his horribly mangled body fell to the pavement. “…<\/p>\n

The grave at the “Kroswick” cemetery in Rotterdam did not enclose Yevhen Konovalets<\/strong> . The figure, who grew out of the state struggle of 1918-19, rose like a pillar of fire over the conquered Ukraine, and his reflection will illuminate a number of future decades. By the will of the leader, a vast nationalist movement unfolded and a strong Organization arose.<\/p>\n

Led by the firm hand of His closest collaborator from the times of Kyiv, Bila Tserkva and Lviv, in the protracted battles and labors of modern times, it constitutes the backbone that simply holds the body of the Ukrainian nation, is its backbone and strength. Heavy clouds lie over our land, winds and storms come from afar, but the Nation knows that with His spirit, with people faithful to His covenant, it will not break in bad weather, but will prevail.”<\/p>\n

Yevhen Konovalets did not leave behind a rich literary legacy. But his words are well-known, and they must be engraved in the heart of every Ukrainian: “If we do not have strength, we will not achieve anything, even if everything is going well for us. If we do have strength, then we will emerge victorious from the worst adversity and obtain everything we need.”<\/p>\n

Also follow \u201cPryamim\u201d<\/strong> on Facebook<\/a> , X<\/a> , Telegram<\/a> , and Instagram.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On May 23, 1938, in Rotterdam (Netherlands), Soviet special services assassinated Yevhen Konovalets, a colonel in the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, founder and first head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). This event became one of the most high-profile political assassinations of the 20th century. Yevhen Konovalets was born on June 14, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":1396674,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76875,76893,76871,76872],"class_list":["post-1396684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-news","category-thoughts","category-news-2","category-news-feed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1396684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1396684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1396684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1396674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1396684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1396684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}