Roman Shukhevych is a Ukrainian political, public, state and military figure.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on July 7, 1907 in the town of Krakovets, Galicia, in the family of a judge. According to other sources, his date of birth is June 30, 1907.
In 1913 – 1917 he studied at the People’s School in Kamianets Strumylova.
After that, he entered the gymnasium in Lviv.
At a young age, he was interested in the ideas of nationalism and was actively involved in sports. He also joined the youth branch of the Ukrainian Military Organization (UMO). Already in 1925, he became its full member.
The following year, on September 14, 1926, he was enrolled in the Lviv Polytechnic, which he graduated in 1931. In parallel with his studies, Shukhevych also took specialized training courses for military officers.
Career
In 1929, he joined the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). For a long time he held the position of combat referent of the OUN Regional Executive.
In 1934, Shukhevych was arrested because of his activities. First, he was placed in a concentration camp in Bereza Kartuzka, and later transferred to a Polish prison. After his release, he joined the creation of the organization “Carpathian Sich” and became one of its leaders.
In 1940, he began the struggle against the fascist troops, defending the territory of Transcarpathian Ukraine.
In 1940 – 1941 he held the position of Regional Leader in the Western Outskirts of the Ukrainian Lands and was a member of the Revolutionary Leadership of the OUN. Also, on his initiative, the Ukrainian Legion was formed, the command of which he took over.
In June 1941, the Lviv department of the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD) resorted to mass massacres, during which 5450 residents of Lviv were killed, among them Yuriy Shukhevych, Roman’s brother.
Starting in 1943, Shukhevych headed the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), using the pseudonym Taras Chuprynka. In May of the same year, by the decision of the OUN Leadership, he was also appointed Chairman of the Bureau of the OUN Leadership.
In July 1944, Shukhevych, who then acted under the pseudonym Lozovsky, was appointed Head of the General Secretariat of the Ukrainian Main Liberation Council (UHVR).
Later, after the return of Stepan Bandera from prison and his reinstatement as the leader of the OUN, Shukhevych, using the pseudonym Tur, became the Head of the OUN Leadership in the Ukrainian Lands.
In the period from 1943 to 1950, he led the national liberation struggle in the confrontation with both the German-Nazi and the Soviet-Bolshevik occupiers.
On March 5, 1950, he died in a clash with Soviet forces in the village of Bilohorshcha near Lviv.
Personal Life
In 1930, he married the daughter of a priest, Natalia Berezinskaya. The couple had a son, Yuri, and a daughter, Maria.
Roman Shukhevych: interesting facts
Here are some interesting facts from the life of Shukhevych:
- when Shukhevych was 15 years old, during the Christmas holidays, he saved a child who had fallen under the ice;
- In 1917 – 1925, while studying at the gymnasium, he lived in Lviv under the supervision of his grandmother Hermina. Colonel Yevhen Konovalets, commander of the UMO, rented a room in her apartment. Shukhevych often communicated with him, and these conversations had a significant impact on the formation of his national consciousness and character;
- Shukhevych was fond of sports. He played football, volleyball, basketball, water polo, boxing, horseback riding, skiing. During the Zaporizhzhia Games in Lviv, he set a record in the 400-meter hurdles and another one in the 100-meter swimming. He also won prizes in the discus throw and shot put;
- he was fond of traveling along rivers – in particular, he made a boat trip from Galicia, sailing along the Bug and Vistula to the Baltic Sea, and then returned back, overcoming the current on oars;
- during his life he used various pseudonyms, among which were: “White”, “Bell”, “Roman Lozovsky”, “Stepan”, “Monk”, “Chukh”, “Tur” and “Taras Chuprynka”.
