Tuesday 30 October 2012

70th anniversary of the creation of UPA

October 14th, 1942 was declared the day of the creation of Ukrainian Insurgent Army (Ukrayinska Povstanska Armiya - UPA) in 1947, though UPA detachments began to do military actions in spring of 1943. But the Protection of the Mother of God religious holiday is celebrated on October 14th, and the soldiers of UPA, as Ukrainian cossacks in Zaporizka Sich, respected this Christian holiday very much, so that's why October 14th, the date of the day of Ukrainian Insurgent Army's foundation, was chosen more symbolically. And this year Ukraine's people celebrated 70th anniversary of the creation of UPA on October 14th, 2012.
UPA soldiers were Ukrainian knights in the years of the Second World War, because UPA had fought for Ukrainian independent state and against Soviet, Nazi and Polish occupants of Ukraine's teriitory. Any war brings deaths and ruins, but the war gives also the chance for enslaved nations to create a new state. Ukraine didn't begin the World War II, but Ukrainian territory was the active camp of the battle between Soviet and Nazi troops, so Ukrainians had to protect their families as they could in that time, and that's why Ukrainian Insurgent Army was founded. Many false historians say and/or write about UPA soldiers as about Nazi collaborations, forgetting the important historical fact: on June 30th, 1941 Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) declared the Act of the Rehabilitation of Ukrainian State in Lviv. In that day Nazi troops entered in Lviv and then they began to arrest OUN members, because Hitler didn't imagine any Ukrainian independent state. OUN and UPA were reciprocal connected Ukrainian organizations, though not only Ukrainians were the members of OUN and UPA, but the representatives of the different nations, who didn't want to live in Soviet or Nazi empire and who could imagine to live in free Ukraine. Poles weren't in OUN and UPA, because during the World War II they couldn't just suppose to give back Ukrainian territories to Ukrainians and to see the creation of Ukrainian state. That's why many Poles consider OUN and UPA Polish enemies till nowadays. Many Russians, especially Russian chauvinists, have the same feelings toward OUN and UPA as many Poles because of the same cause - these two Ukrainian organizations (OUN - political-public, UPA - military) fought for Ukrainian state's creation and didn't want to see Ukraine in Soviet Union. Many Jews consider UPA Nazi collaborants too, forgetting to read historical facts from Ukrainian archives and books, which write about Jewish members in UPA. If You want to know the truth about the activity of OUN and UPA, read many informational source without getting Russian or Polish sources about OUN and UPA as one right history's version. Of course, You can find many Ukrainian books about OUN and UPA, for example, "UPA. Story of Unconquered", the first two published volumes of "History of OUN and UPA in 12 Volumes", "Life and Activity of Stepan Bandera. Documents and Materials" and others.
If You can understand the desire of the nation to have its own independent state and the feeling of the duty to protect own nation during the war, You will understand OUN and UPA.
I only please You not to compare and not to parallel OUN with any modern political party in Ukraine, because there is no the second OUN now, though the famous political party "Svoboda" (Freedom Party) very likes to parallel itself with OUN.                       

Tuesday 23 October 2012

Kolomyya (part 2)

                             Kolomyya railway station, built in 1860.


The building of public organizations, constructed for them in 1895.


Memorial "Sorrow's Square" to all, who died during the Second World War.


Monument to the fighters for independent Ukraine, to the soldiers of UPA (Ukrayiinska Povstanska Armiya - Ukrainian Insurgent Army).


Several architectural examples of the end of the XIXth-the early XXth centuries in Kolomyya.


                                     Kolomyya City Council, built in 1877.


Memorable table on Kolomyya City Council, dedicated to Ivan Franko, which was inprisoned here in 1880.


Monument to Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian writer, poet, artist and public person.


Ancient pharmacy, founded in the XIXth century. Now one pharmacy is also working here.


Allegoric sculptures, made on the beginning of the XXIth century on Revival Square.


Memorable sigh on the place of the former monument to Taras Shevchenko, which was destroyed by Russian soldiers in 1914.


Former St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, constructed by Bernard Meretyn in 1762-1775, and reconstructed in 1830-1895. Nowadays it's St. Yosafat Greek Catholic Church.  


St. Mykhayil the Archangel Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, built in 1864.


Kolomyya synagogue, constructed in the second half of the XIXth century.


Ivan Ozarkevych Kolomyya Dramatic Theatre, built on the beginning of the XXth century.


Memorable table on the facade of Kolomyya Dramatic Theatre to Ivan Ozarkevych, the priest, public person, artist, poet, translator and the founder of the first Ukrainian theatre in the Western Ukraine in 1848 in Kolomyya.


Monument near Ivan Ozarkevych Kolomyya Dramatic Theatre to Myroslav Irchan (his real name - Andriy Babyuk), Ukrainian writer, which was born in the village Pyadyky in Kolomyya district.


Wonderful combination of ancient (the XIXth century) (on the left) and modern (2002year) (on the right) buildings on Viche Square. Evening in Kolomyya. And it's time to say good bye to Kolomyya city. :)

Friday 19 October 2012

Kolomyya (part I)

Annunciation of the Mother of God Church, wooden church, which was built in 1587 - it's the oldest temple in Kolomyya! City's cemetery was formed around this church and it functions there nowadays. Now this church is Ukrainian Orthodox temple of Moscow Patriarchy, though earlier it was Ukrainian Greek Catholic temple.  


The cross on the city's cemetery in the honour of the victims of holodomor (genocide of Ukrainians, the artificial famine, organized by Stalin) in 1932-1933.


Memorable monument in the honour of Ukranians, deported from Nadsyannya, Kholmshchyna, Lemkivshchyna, Pidlyashshya (Ukrainian ethnic territories, now it's Poland's territory) during special military operation "Visla" in 1944-1947 in USSR. This memorable symbolic monument is also situated on the cemetery in Kolomyya.


Monument to Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian politician, the head of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and one of the leaders of Ukrainian national movement during the Second World War, the Hero of Ukraine.


                                        The Gates of Kyrylo Trylyovskyy Park.


Monument to Kyrylo Trylyovskyy, Ukrainian lawyer, politician, founder of the organization "Sich" and one of the founders of Ukrainian Radical Party, member of National Council of Ukrainian Western People's Republic, Ukrainian ambassador in Austrian parliament, publicist, journalist and public person in Halychyna the second half of the XIXth-the first half of the XXth centuries; he died in Kolomyya.


                                     St. Mary the Mother of God sculpture.


The museum of the history of Kolomyya. Ukrainian state flag and the flag of the city of Kolomyya are above the museum's entrance. On the building's facade there are memorabletables to Roman Shukhevych, the head of UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) and Teodor Prymak, Ukrainian politician on the beginning of the XXth century.


One of the buildings, constructed on the beginning of the XXth century (1903).


St. Mykolay-the Assumption Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of Moscow Patriarchy, built in 1997.


                                 Natural-Mathematical Liceum of Kolomyya.


Memorable table to composer Dmytro Tsyhankov on the facade of Natural-Mathematical Liceum.


Monument to Ivan Franko, Ukrainian writer, poet, translator, public person. 


The first museum of pysanky in the world. Pysanky - Ukrainain traditional Easter eggs. Museum was opened in 2000 and the building of the museum was also made in the form of the egg.


The building of the post, built in the end of the XIXth century. 


One of the beautiful buildings (early XXth century) on Teatralna Street.


The project of the complex of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the construction of which is still continued. (I made photo of the page of the book about this great religious complex). 


Wonderful mosaic on the facade of the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.


Museum of People's Art of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttya, named after Yosafat Kobrynskyy, the initiator of the museum's foundation, and opened in 1926.


Memorable table on the museum's facade to Volodymyr Kobrynskyy, the founder and the first director of Museum of People's Art of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttya, and Yosafat Kobrynskyy, the initiator and the participant of creation of this amazing Kolomyya's museum. 


Memorable table on the museum's facade to Ukrainian writer Andriy Chaykovskyy, who lived in the building of Museum of People's Art of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttya in 1920-1935.
Memorable tables to Mykola Lysenko, Ukrainian famous composer, and Markiyan Shashkevych, Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest, public person, writer and publicist, are on the facade of this museum from the other side of the building.


Weathercock on Museum of People's Art of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttya.


Memorable table to Ivan Franko on Hrushevskyy Street, 1, where I.Franko stayed in the prison in 1880 for three months.


Mykhaylo Hrushevskyy Gimnasium, constructed in 1897. 


Ignatiy Loyola Roman Catholic Cathedral (jesuit temple), built in 1897.


Kolomyya's architecture of the beginning of the XXth century.


Another beautiful example of ancient architecture of the city.


Kolomyya lake - very nice and clean. Famous place for Kolomyya's fishermen.