Photo: facebook.com/vereshchuk.ukraine
Ukraine has brought back the ashes of Yevhen Konovalets, one of the key figures of the Ukrainian independence movement of the early 20th century. His return is part of a broader effort to bring the remains of historical figures who fought for Ukrainian statehood back to the country.
Konovalets is best known for founding the Ukrainian Military Organization (UVO) in 1920 and helping establish the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) in 1929. He was also one of the most prominent military commanders of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UNR) and later became a major target of Soviet intelligence.
Who was Yevhen Konovalets?
Yevhen Konovalets was born in 1891 in Zashkiv, near Lviv. He studied law at Lviv University and became involved in Ukrainian political and civic organizations while still a student.
His military career began during World War I. After serving in the Austro-Hungarian army and spending time in Russian captivity, Konovalets escaped and eventually reached Kyiv.
There, he helped establish and command the Sich Riflemen, one of the most disciplined formations of the UNR Army. The unit played a major role in fighting the Bolshevik uprising at the Arsenal factory in Kyiv in January 1918 and later supported the restoration of the UNR government.
Konovalets largely avoided high political office, seeing his role primarily as that of a military commander and state-builder.
After the defeat of the Ukrainian national revolution, he continued the struggle from exile. In 1920, he founded the Ukrainian Military Organization, which sought to maintain an organized resistance to Soviet and Polish control over Ukrainian territories.
In 1929, in Vienna, Konovalets helped unite several Ukrainian nationalist groups into the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.
Under his leadership, the OUN developed a network of cells across Europe and North America and established contacts with several foreign governments.
How was Konovalets killed?
The Soviet leadership regarded Konovalets as a serious threat because of his efforts to maintain an organized Ukrainian independence movement.
On May 23, 1938, he was assassinated in Rotterdam by NKVD agent Pavel Sudoplatov. Sudoplatov handed Konovalets an explosive device disguised as a box of chocolates. The explosion killed Konovalets instantly.
He was buried at Crooswijk Cemetery in Rotterdam.
Why was Konovalets controversial in Poland?
Konovalets remains a controversial historical figure in Poland because of the activities of the UVO and OUN during the interwar period.
Polish authorities considered these organizations terrorist and anti-state movements because of armed attacks, sabotage, expropriations and political assassinations. One of the most prominent actions associated with the OUN was the 1934 assassination of Polish Interior Minister Bronisław Pieracki in Warsaw.
The OUN also sought foreign support from countries whose interests conflicted with Poland. Germany became an important source of financial and military assistance, while Konovalets also maintained contacts with Lithuania and other governments.
Polish historians have also drawn a historical connection between the activities of Ukrainian nationalist organizations in the 1920s and 1930s and the later Polish-Ukrainian violence during World War II.
However, Konovalets himself was assassinated in 1938, five years before the Volhynia tragedy, and was therefore not directly involved in those events.
Why is his return important for Ukraine?
In Ukraine, Konovalets is primarily remembered as a military commander, organizer and advocate of Ukrainian statehood.
His biography also carries particular significance for the idea of Ukrainian unity. Born in Galicia, he fought for the Ukrainian People's Republic in Kyiv, demonstrating that the struggle for Ukrainian independence united people from different regions of the country.
Konovalets was also known for building institutions rather than relying solely on personal charisma. Under his leadership, the OUN developed a disciplined organizational structure and maintained unity until his death.
For modern Ukraine, his return therefore represents more than the repatriation of historical remains. It is part of an effort to restore the memory of figures who helped establish the tradition of organized Ukrainian resistance and the struggle for an independent state.
Kyiv also presents the return as a historical act rather than an anti-Polish gesture. Konovalets’ legacy remains contested, but his role in the development of Ukrainian military and political resistance is an important part of Ukraine’s history.
Who was Yevhen Konovalets?
Yevhen Konovalets was a Ukrainian military and political leader who commanded the Sich Riflemen of the UNR Army and later founded the Ukrainian Military Organization and helped establish the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.
How did Konovalets die?
He was assassinated in Rotterdam on May 23, 1938, by NKVD agent Pavel Sudoplatov, who delivered an explosive device disguised as a box of chocolates.
Why is Konovalets controversial in Poland?
The UVO and OUN carried out armed resistance, sabotage and political violence against the Polish state during the interwar period. Their activities, as well as later historical developments involving Ukrainian nationalist organizations, remain deeply controversial in Poland.
Why is Konovalets important to Ukraine today?
He is remembered as one of the architects of organized Ukrainian resistance and as a symbol of Ukrainian unity, having fought for the UNR in Kyiv despite being originally from Galicia.
