‘Invincible’: Activities of Underground Youth Group Led by Olena (Lialia) Ubyivovk in Poltava (1941-1942)
Abstract
The purpose of the research paper is to deconstruct the Soviet myth about an underground youth group led by Olena (Lialia) Ubyivovk (1918-1942), which operated in Poltava during 1941-1942, as well as to determine its contribution to the fight against Nazism during the World War II.
The scientific novelty of the study is in highlighting some aspects of the formation and development of the Resistance Movement in Poltava, based on the documents from the Archive of the Office of the Security Service of Ukraine in Poltava Oblast, as well as in refuting a number of Soviet propaganda and ideological myths about the activities of an underground youth group led by Olena Ubyivovk in 1941-1942.
Conclusions. The underground youth group ‘Invincible Poltava Woman’ (‘Neskorena Poltavchanka’) is a completely post-war Soviet ideological and propaganda construct. According to the materials of the declassified criminal case, it was at the stage of organizational formation and did not have any headquarters yet (six executed members were included in it in the post-war period). It follows from the sources that from November 1941 to January 1941, the leaders of the group were Olena Ubyivovk and Serhii Ilievskyi, and from January to April 1942, Serhii Sapiho took over the functions of the leader.
‘The heroic deeds of Poltava youth underground’ do not match the documentary facts. The very name ‘Invincible Poltava woman’ originated in Soviet propagandistic social and political journalism and fiction.
The question of the identity of the underground group’s traitor is still controversial. According to the official version, its members were betrayed by Valentyna Terentieva. However, recently introduced into scientific circulation classified materials allow us to state that there were relatives and the immediate circle of the underground members who turned out to be unreliable. The oldest member of the underground group, Serhii Sapiho, neglected the conspiracy and his reckless and irresponsible behavior contributed to the disclosure of the group, and then he behaved unworthy during the investigation.
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