Russian consciousness easily recognizes the right of peoples to self-determination, to an anti-colonial war, when it comes to events that do not concern Russia. The Russians willingly sympathize with the Palestinians, sympathize with the South African Boers, sympathize with the Kurds, because this does not impose on them the slightest obligation to revise their own history, and even more so their own borders. That is why it is so hard for the Russian consciousness to admit to itself that “Bandera” was the most common national liberation movement, the same, by the way, as in 1918-1921.
But such recognition will also require determining the place and role of the Russians themselves in this process. And such a definition is unlikely to be very complimentary.
Since the “Bandera” movement was objectively directed against the imperial interests of Russia, it was effective, well-organized, consistent and irreconcilable, one from which it was impossible to buy off another protectorate or dominion – there was only the path of its propaganda demonization, although typologically this movement did not differ fundamentally from anti-French movement in Algeria or anti-English in Ireland.
Ihor Losev, author
