Personality of Stepan Bandera in scientific and media spaces

Анотація

Formulation of the problem. Stepan Bandera’s personality is too politicized, controversial and too irritating to be perceived in various formats. The death of the OUN leader was a reason to say that the Kreml was afraid of Bandera and therefore ordered his liquidation. In particular, Volodymyr Semychastny claims in his memoirs that such a decision was made in the main cabinets of the USSR, and the KGB chairman himself did not make such a decision. This fact only confirms the importance and danger of Bandera for the USSR.

The methodology of the article includes general scientific and special historical methods. There are methods of analysis and synthesis, generalization, historical and comparative methods.

In the scientific space the figure of the OUN leader is presented against the background of Stepan Bandera’s activity. Among such plots is his murder, details of the proclamation of the Act of June 30, 1941. He was also mentioned by Mykola Bazhan in a negative way. There are also details of Bandera’s death.

In the media space Stepan Bandera’s personality is mentioned in the context of historical memory. The figure of S. Bandera is quite widely represented in the media project «Historical Truth». Its pages provide a variety of information that reveals the depth of the controversy of this person. The efforts of the authors of publications, the editorial staff to a wide discussion, appeals to authentic sources, the desire to take into account different views, while trying to «understand» S. Bandera, to explain his actions. Russia Today systematically pays attention to the figure of the OUN (b) leader. No event that affects it to some extent is ignored, on the contrary, the reaction is instantaneous and multidimensional. All publications on this subject – by different authors, devoted to different events, written at different times, but permeated with one idea – Bandera – «a guide to the Nazis», he is not our hero.

This includes its significance in the Russian-Ukrainian war, the annual torchlight procession. Bandera’s historical memory has been condemned in other countries, such as Poland and the Czech Republic. The study showed the deep controversy of the perception of the figure of S. Bandera in both scientific and media formats, which is explained by the ambiguity of the person, era and the tasks that needed to be solved.