For many decades, Ukrainians have been honoring the memory of the heroes who gave their lives in the struggle for Ukraine's freedom and independence.
The idea of the Festival of Heroes originated among Ukrainian nationalists. It was first officially introduced by a resolution of the Second Great Assembly of the OUN, held in April 1941 in Krakow. It was this meeting that determined the path of struggle and political direction of the revolutionary liberation movement of the Ukrainian people for decades to come.
The date of May 23 was not chosen by chance. On May 3, Mykola Mikhnovsky, an ideologue of Ukrainian independence, was killed under controversial circumstances. On May 23 and 25, Soviet agents assassinated the leaders of the Ukrainian liberation movement, Yevhen Konovalets and Symon Petliura.
Later, this date became a symbol of honoring all the fighters for the freedom of Ukraine.
On May 23, we remember the heroes of all times, starting with Kyivan Rus - knights, Cossacks, Sich Riflemen, rebels, members of the UPR and UPA, ATO veterans, and, of course, the defenders who are fighting for the peaceful future of Ukraine today.
There are many heroes in the history of Donetsk region.
You have probably already heard of many of them - Oleksa Tykhyi, Vasyl Stus, Ivan Dziuba, Mykyta Shapoval, Volodymyr Rybak - whose honesty to themselves and love for Ukraine became the principle of their lives and work. They are Heroes of the past, and their memory lives on.
But among our fellow countrymen, fighters for our mother Ukraine, there are also Heroes of our time who have given their lives in their struggle: Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred - Serhiy Bondarev, Ivan Panteleev, Volodymyr Naumov, Liudmyla Sheremet, Dmytro Cherniavskyi and the military personnel who died for Ukraine, defending it from the armed aggression of the Russian Federation.
For many years, Soviet propaganda created many myths that the OUN and UPA had nothing to do with the Donetsk region. In fact, there has been a strong network of pro-Ukrainian movement here since the 1940s.
The first swarm of OUN underground fighters appeared here on October 8, 1941, in occupied Mariupol. It consisted of 12 people and was led by Volodymyr Bolharsky-Bulavsky. He belonged to the Puma group, which was formed from students from the city of Vienna. In February 1942, the entire group was arrested and deported by the Germans. In 4 months, Bolharsky-Bulavsky managed to organize large groups led by the OUN in Horlivka, Kostiantynivka, Volnovakha, and Mariupol.
From the end of February 1942, the group of Yevhen Stakhiv and Ivan Klym began to operate in Donbas. At this time, 2 OUN (b) branches were formed, uniting the southern districts of the region (centered in Mariupol) and the northern districts (centered in Horlivka). In the NKVD documents, they are listed as OUN district leaders. Donetsk played the role of a nominal center in the regional network. A city branch of the OUN was formed there.
With the participation of the OUN, almost 600 schools were restored in 12 districts of the Donetsk region (according to the administrative-territorial division of the time). There were 52 Ukrainian schools in the Sloviansk district and 49 in Kostiantynivka. There were Ukrainian gymnasiums in Horlivka. In addition, "Chytanky" and "Bukvar" were printed in thousands of copies in the Donetsk region.
In the Donetsk region, out of 35 districts, the OUN had 18 district organizations. It should be emphasized that approximately 10% of the total number of OUN members were Galicians. Undoubtedly, the activities of the OUN attracted the attention of the Germans, because Ukrainians were creating a real alternative to the German authorities.
However, after the return of the Soviet occupation, everything came to a head. The reason for this was the fact that the OUN was infiltrated by many NKVD agents. For example, out of 5 OUN leaders in the Donetsk region, at least two were Soviet agents. After the war, mass arrests of OUN members began. The number of arrested OUN members in Donbas by 1958 was about 320.
The most interesting fact is that in the fall of 1950 we found a hiding place near Horlivka, and in 1951 near Sloviansk. There were also hiding places in the Dobropillia district. In the 1950s, the NKVD regularly conducted searches and arrests of OUN members; the last OUN member, Yankovsky, was detained in Dzerzhynsk (now Toretsk) in 1958.
It is clear that this story is little known to most Ukrainians, not only in Donbas, but throughout Ukraine. However, it is precisely this story that makes us rethink our view.