Roland Oliphant, Russia Profile
the most divisive figures of Ukraine’s 20th century history, and he elicits reactions – both in Ukraine and in Russia – that epitomize the historical rows between the two.Bandera was the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a pro-independence guerilla movement that briefly allied with Nazi Germany during the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
The alliance was short-lived. The Germans had no intention of allowing an independent Ukrainian state, and Bandera was soon arrested and interned in a concentration camp. His followers carried out partisan operations against the German occupiers, but when the Germans finally retreated, the OUN continued the fight against the advancing Soviets.
For the Soviets, and many in Russia today, Bandera’s alliance with the Nazis was unforgiveable, and making him a hero is tantamount to glorifying a war criminal (there is compelling evidence to suggest his and his associates’
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