Participation of Schoolchildren of Rivne Region in Ukrainian Liberation Movement (1944-1953)
Abstract
The purpose of the research paper is to analyze the place of schoolchildren in the ideological confrontation between the Ukrainian national liberation movement and the Soviet authorities in Rivne region territory in the post-war period, to determine the peculiarities of the everyday life of youth in the conditions of Stalin’s totalitarian regime functioning.
The scientific novelty of the study is in the comprehensive analysis of the participation of schoolchildren of Rivne region in the Ukrainian liberation movement from 1944 to 1953. The primary forms and methods of anti-Soviet activity of local schoolchildren are systematized using specific examples.
Conclusions. The uncompromising struggle between the communist authorities and the Ukrainian liberation movement had a significant impact on the educational space of the region. The ideological component played an important role, directly influencing the formation of the future society. Schoolchildren’s resistance to the Soviet rule in Rivne oblast in the post-war years was active and partially continued until the mid-1950s. National ideals had support among a large part of local youth, which undoubtedly complicated the establishment of communist influences.
The key role in the repression of young participants in the Resistance movement was assigned to the judicial system. It was supposed to ensure the prompt hearing of cases and the imposition of punishments needed by the authorities. The activities of nationally conscious youth in Rivne region are pretty in sync with the functioning of similar youth organizations, which were widespread in the western regions of the Ukrainian SSR in the post-war years.
The primary forms and means of resistance were oral anti-Soviet agitation of different kinds (discussions, meetings, debates); distribution of forbidden literature and leaflets among the population, sometimes their printing; self-education and personal development; creation of conspiratorial youth organizations; and carrying out the tasks of OUN cells to collect the necessary information and humanitarian aid. Later, some youths entered the nationalist underground and joined the armed struggle.
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