Stepan Bandera is a politician, one of the ideologists and theoreticians of the Ukrainian nationalist movement, the head of the OUN (b) Leadership.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on January 1, 1909 in the village of Staryi Uhryniv, located on the territory of modern Ivano-Frankivsk region, in the family of a priest of the Greek Catholic Church.
In the period from 1919 to 1927, he was educated at the gymnasium of the city of Stryi.
In 1928, he entered the Higher Polytechnic School in Lviv at the agronomy department. He studied there for eight semesters, but did not pass the diploma exam, as he was actively engaged in political activities.
OUN
In 1930, he joined the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). In 1932 – 1933 he held the position of deputy, and later the head of the Regional Executive, commandant of the Ukrainian Military Organization (UMO).
In June 1934, Polish law enforcement officers arrested Bandera along with other members of the OUN. During the Warsaw trial, they were accused of belonging to the OUN and of organizing politically motivated actions. Bandera was sentenced to imprisonment, which he served in the prisons of Kielz, Wronki and Brest until 1939. Even during his imprisonment, he remained an active member of the OUN and kept in touch with underground structures.
After the start of the German offensive on Poland in 1939, the situation in the areas where the prisoners were held became critical. Due to the threat of an approaching front, the prison administration left its posts, which led to a mass escape of prisoners, including Bandera.
During this period, the leader of the OUN Yevhen Konovalets died, after which the leadership of the organization was headed by Colonel Andriy Melnyk. Returning to his activities in the OUN, Bandera demanded the dismissal of Melnyk and a revision of the strategic course of the organization. This led to an acute internal conflict, which resulted in the separation of some of Bandera’s supporters and the creation of a new wing of the organization in April 1941 – the OUN (b). Bandera actively opposed the Soviet government and Moscow, which is why he was recognized by the Soviet Union as one of the main enemies.
Persecution
Due to the constant threat from the Soviet special services, he was forced to regularly change his place of residence. He eventually settled in Munich, where his daughter was studying at the time. During the last years of his life, he was in the city under a false name – Stefan Popel.
On October 15, 1959, he was killed by an agent of the Soviet special services , Bogdan Stashinsky, with a special device that fired a jet of potassium cyanide into his face.
Five days after his death, Bandera was buried in a cemetery in Munich.
