The Western media has painted the war in Ukraine as a white or black, good guys or bad guys affair. Though the truth behind this conflict is more nuanced than that. None of this is to say that Russia is right or that Ukraine deserves the bombardment it receives. Russia is not right to invade a sovereign nation under false pretext. Vladimir Putin often distorts and manipulates Ukraine’s history to further his international and domestic agenda. However, there is a manipulation of Ukraine’s history and glorification of unsavory actors on the side of the Ukrainians. This in particular applies to the nationalists of Ukraine.
As Ukraine is being bombarded around the clock, we in the West are being bombarded by the media. We receive the message that we must unflinchingly support Ukraine. We dare not question the mainstream narrative that they put out. Otherwise we receive the label of Putin apologists or worse, traitors.
If Ukraine wants the West to take it seriously as a nation, it must grapple with troubling aspects of its history. None of the Western democracies in Europe or around the world have the glorification of Nazi Collaborators that Ukraine does. This feeds into Putin’s narrative of his wish to “denazify” the country. The enigmatic Stephen Bandera is probably public enemy number one in this regard.
Troubling Nationalists in Ukraine’s History
Stephen Bandera and his Ukrainian insurgent army initially collaborated with the Nazis. Many believe that they are responsible for the deaths of 50,000 to 100,000 Poles and Jews. Much of these were women and children as well as unarmed men.
Western nations do not venerate those who are responsible for the deaths of thousands of unarmed people. In Ukraine in 2010 President Viktor Yushchenko awarded Stephen Bandera the title Hero of Ukraine. This award was later annulled after the election of Viktor Yanukoyvch and an outcry from the Polish, Russian, and Israeli governments. While the history of Bandera is long and there is much to say, a country that aims to be seen as Western should find it unthinkable to celebrate an individual who caused the deaths of thousands.
This is not an isolated occurrence in Ukraine’s history either. It is easy to discover numerous instances of Ukrainian nationalists and the government glorifying Anti-Semites and Nazi collaborators while trying to ban anything critical of these nationalist leaders, One needs to look no further than Symon Petliura. While his atrocities do not rise to the level of Bandera in terms of sheer numbers, Petilura who was chief of military command in the early 1920s was responsible for a many pogroms that involved troops under his command killing hundreds of Jews.
What is more distressing in the current times, is that the government of Ukraine is now trying to cover up anything negative regarding Petilura in Ukraine’s history. In 2018 they banned the “Book of Thieves” because it was critical of Symon Petliura’s actions.
Contextualizing Ukraine’s History
Right now we see liberals as well as conservatives in America waving Ukrainian flags so proudly. These people probably know little to nothing of Ukraine’s controversial past. This does not mean to condone any of Putin’s actions in the present day. However, we should have some discussion of context regarding Ukraine’s history when he talks about his desire to denazify Ukraine. As some news outlets would like you to believe, these are not just words pulled from thin air with no historical context.
Some Ukrainians will make the argument that the good these individuals have done in liberating Ukraine, outweighs any of their bad actions. Those who make this claim fail to remember all of the help Vladimir Putin has given in the War on Terror and in eliminating ISIS in the Middle East.
Somehow I do not believe they would be so quick to say that the good Putin did in helping the world eliminate ISIS means we should look the other way at the atrocities his army commits in Ukraine.
It is dangerous to put any country on a pedestal whether it be Ukraine China, Russia or even the United States. Once that country crushes any dissent from the majority opinion without introspection or dialogue it creates a dangerous precedent.
Israeli government minister Simcha Rotman put it best in regards to Ukraine. When President Zelensky spoke to the Knesset and manipulated history to implore Israel to treat Ukraine now as Ukraine treated Jews during the Holocaust. He said “Zelensky asked us to treat Ukrainians the same way they treated us 80 years ago. I’m sorry, but I think we will have to reject his request. After all, we are a moral nation”
What are your thoughts on Ukraine’s history and the glorification of its past national leaders? Troubling or inconsequential? Leave your thoughts below on Ukraine’s history and check out our column on why Trump won’t fail on Ukraine peace deal.
This article hits just about 2 layers of the thousands in Ukraine’s history and is perfectly reflective, possibly influenced, by Russian propaganda.
A “nationalist” is someone acting on the interests of freedom and independence of their own country. Bandera was a true Ukrainian man, who believed a free Ukraine was possible and fought against Russian/Polish occupation and colonization of Ukrainians on historically Ukrainian land. If that is a sin, let’s trash George Washington.
Unfortunately Ukraine couldn’t win the fight against Nazi occupation and the latter Soviet occupation, leaving Bandera on “the wrong side of history” and free to be judged and propagandized, as Russian leaning interests have done over decades. Though Washington is celebrated because he won.
For all Bandera’s “collaboration” with Germans, he was locked up by them and died in a German prison. Bandera wasn’t interested in killing Poles or Jews – he fought fiercely against ANYONE standing in the way of Ukrainian freedom, of those seeing to subdue and keep Ukraine repressed.
Bandera was a legendary figure of immense bravery and charisma, who was able to unite thousands in his cause. His cause is still being fought today in the Russo Ukrainian war of 2022. This time he will win.
zee comparison to George Washington is a ridiculous argument, Washington didn’t have his soldiers murder 50-60k women, children and elderly in unspeakably gruesome ways. Even in much of the Ukraine Bandera is reviled and no hero.