MODERN UKRAINIAN HISTORIOGRAPHY OF MILITARY SCHOOL IN THE UPA

Abstract

Before the collapse of the USSR, the historiography of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (hereinafter – UPA) suffered from excessive politicization. Among other factors, the production of low-quality scientific work by authors was facilitated by a lack of critical approach. In the 1990s, as a result of changes in the political landscape and other factors, Ukrainian historians were able to create much more refined scientific narratives. Publications based on modern global (European) historiography soon emerged. This article is motivated by an interest in these innovative changes in historiography. To provide a more qualitative analysis of the historiographic contributions of Ukrainian researchers in recent decades, the author focuses not on the UPA’s struggle in general, but on a significantly narrower issue – military school, without which no military structure could function. An objective analysis of Ukrainian historical science reveals that significant contributions to the study of military school in the UPA have been made by I. Patrilyak, O. Ponypalyak, I. Omelchenko, D. Vedeneev, G. Bystrukhin, V. Tymkiv, V. Vyatrovych, I. Drohobytsky, and others. Special attention should be given to the dissertation work of A. Sukhikh and V. Prokopov, which was defended in 2019. The Ukrainian leadership had to conduct military training in the UPA under extremely unfavorable conditions of enemy occupation. They assigned a key role to the tactics of guerrilla warfare. The activities of the entire network of military schools were directed towards this. The authors particularly highlight issues related to the organization, personnel, and methodological support of senior and junior schools, as well as the quality of commanders' training, taking into account the individual level and other factors affecting their preparation.