Ukrainian liberation movement (1920–1950)

Ukrainian nationalism

Ukrainian nationalist ideas developed in the early 1920s under the influence of the political thinker Dmytro Dontsov.^[6] Ukrainian nationalists rejected socialism and liberal democracy, as they viewed these ideologies as contributing to the failure of the Ukrainian People's Republic.^[7] Nationalism advocated for independence through a national revolution led by a strong and centralized authority, emphasizing the importance of the nation over individual interests. It was often described as "active nationalism".^[8] It promoted unity, the mobilization of society to achieve statehood, and accepted political violence as a legitimate means to achieve its goals.^[9]

These ideas greatly influenced organisations such as the Ukrainian Military Organisation and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.^[8] They shaped the strategies and activities of these groups during World War II. Some scholars have noted the similarities between Ukrainian nationalism and other movements in Central and Eastern Europe, including groups such as the Ustaše, especially in their emphasis on authoritarian leadership and revolutionary methods.^[10]

Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance (UNDO), a Ukrainian nationalist party, was founded in 1925.^[11] It was the largest Ukrainian political party in the Second Polish Republic and was active in Western Ukraine.^[12] The UNDO supported constitutional democracy and the organic development of Ukrainian society. It was dissolved during the Soviet annexation of Western Ukraine in 1939.^[13]

During the 1930s, some scholars describe Ukrainian nationalism as undergoing a process of “fascistisation,” which resulted in a mixture of national-liberationist and fascist elements.^[8] This development was identified by scholars as one of the factors that influenced cooperation between some Ukrainian nationalist groups and Nazi Germany in the late 1930s and early 1940s.^[3]

Cossack movement

Cossack nationalism is a socio-political movement that seeks to recognize the Don, Kuban, Astrakhan, Terek, and Ural Cossacks as a single political nation and the creation of a Cossack state named Cossackia.^[14]

Following the suppression of the Kuban People's Republic, small Cossack insurgent groups continued to operate in the Kuban region from 1921 to 1926. But were all ultimately suppressed by Soviet authorities.^[15] During World War II, a new Kuban Cossack movement emerged. Their aim was to establish a Cossack nation in the Cossack-inhabited regions.^[16]

Some Cossack units were incorporated into German-controlled formations. They are often referred as Cossack units within the Wehrmacht.^[17][18] They were deployed in various regions, including Yugoslavia.^[19] Their alignment with Nazi Germany was driven mainly due to their opposition to the Soviet Union.^[20] After World War II, limited underground activities persisted in the Kuban, including groups associated with the OUN such as the Cossack Insurgent Army; however, these formations were not directly related to the earlier Cossack movements.^[21]

Monarchism (Hetman movement)

Hetmanite movement was a conservative-monarchist movement that sought to restore Ukrainian independence and establish the Ukrainian State and Hetmanate under Pavlo Skoropadskyi.^[22][23] The movement was based on the theory of Ukrainian monarchism by Vyacheslav Lypynsky.^[24] It emphasized political stability and continuity with historical Cossack state traditions. It had the indirect support of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.^[22]

Although it played a role in émigré political circles, the Hetmanite movement did not engage in significant armed struggles and remained marginal compared to other nationalist organizations.

Historian John Armstrong described the movement as a form of Ukrainian monarchist nationalism.^[25]

Republican democracy

The republicans composed the majority in the Government of the Ukrainian People's Republic in exile.^[26] The government was led by Andriy Livytskyi, the President of the UNR since 1926.^[27] Symon Petliura and his party, the Ukrainian Social Democratic Workers' Party, was not part of the UNR Government in exile, but accepted its legitimacy.^[28]

The Republicans opposed foreign interference and advocated for a fully independent Ukraine.^[29] However, they engaged with limited contact with the Germans at the beginning of the occupation of Ukraine.^[30]

Second World War

Ukrainian nationalists hoped that a German victory over the Soviet Union would lead to the creation of a Ukrainian state, or that such a conflict would be a repeat of the First World War whereby the dominant empires had exhausted themselves, giving rise to a period of anarchy in which a Ukrainian state could assert itself.^[37][38] Nationalists therein wanted to use their collaboration with the Nazis to establish military formations, as well as a foothold in eastern Ukraine.^[39] The day after the Nazi–Soviet Pact was signed, the UNDO declared that, despite outstanding disagreements, it would defend Poland in the event of war.^[40] Following the Soviet invasion of Poland and its annexation of eastern Galicia and Volhynia, the UNDO was dissolved and its leaders were imprisoned by the Soviet regime.^[40][41]

The OUN collaborated with the Abwehr to plan an uprising during the German invasion of Poland and train a legion commanded by Roman Sushko, however this was largely abandoned due to the Nazi–Soviet Pact and may have been used by the Germans to pressure the Soviets to launch their invasion.^[42][43] The OUN leadership had been given the impression by Abwehr chief Wilhelm Canaris that Germany would support the creation of a Nazi-aligned West Ukrainian state, with the 1939 constitution drafted by the OUN envisaging this as "sovereign, authoritarian, totalitarian... bearing the name 'Ukrainian State'".^[44][45] Following the release of OUN members from Polish prisons, the younger more radical generation rallied around Bandera and in 1940 the OUN split into two factions: the Melnykites (OUN(M)) led by Melnyk and the Banderites (OUN(B)) led by Bandera.^[46][47]

During the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the OUN factions sent expeditionary groups into Soviet Ukraine to shadow the Wehrmacht's advance and set up local administrations, with the OUN(B) forming the Nachtigall and Roland battalions under the Abwehr in early 1941.^[48][49] Both factions of the OUN were antisemitic and engaged in pogroms, including the mid-1941 Lviv pogroms involving members of the OUN(B), though neither considered Jews their main enemy which remained the Soviet Union or Poland.^[50] OUN members also joined the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police, which supported the implementation of the Holocaust in Ukraine.^[51]

Post war

From 1944 to the early 1950s, the UPA continued an armed insurgency against the Soviet regime while OUN(B) underground networks operated in the Kuban and in the Far East (Manchuria, Zeleny Klyn, etc.), where, according to the 1926 census, about half or majority of the population are Ukrainians.^[89] In April 1945, British troops surrendered 50,000-70,000 Cossacks of the Cossack State (Cossack units within the Wehrmacht ) to the Soviet Union in Lienz, Austria.^[20] Among them was Andrei Shkuro, who participated in the Ukrainian Kuban movement.^[90]