Roman Ilnytskyi. A Leader of the Democratic Wing of the OUN, Who Could Have Met the Same Fate as Lev Rebet

A closer look at declassified documents from the archives of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine reveals unknown chapters of history, which show that the plans of the gpu/nkvd/kgb of the ussr to physically liquidate active figures of the Ukrainian national liberation movement abroad included not only Yevhen Konovalets, Andrii Melnyk, Stepan Bandera, Lev Rebet, Mykola Kapustianskyi, and Yaroslav Stetsko, but also several other prominent figures. One of the targets of such efforts was the talented journalist, publicist, publisher, and civic and political activist Roman Ilnytskyi.

R. Ilnytskyi’s name is mentioned repeatedly in documents from the 1940s–1950s, which describe the split within the OUN-Revolutionary faction led by Stepan Bandera and the formation of a democratic opposition led by Lev Rebet and Zenovii Matla. As a result of a series of internal party conflicts, some activists broke away from the OUN-Revolutionary and, in 1954, formed a new organization – the OUN za kordonom (OUN-z) (OUN-Abroad – Transl.). Given the presence of two prominent leaders in this wing of the OUN, they were dubbed “dviykari (the “Two” – Transl.).  At the same time, there was a third active, progressive, and modern-minded figure in the new organization who caught the attention of the chekists, and they opened an operational case file on him.

One of the reports stated that R. Ilnytskyi, under certain circumstances, could have become the head of the OUN-z as early as the first stage of its activities. It pointed out that at the conference of the OUN’s Foreign Units (“dviikari”’s), held in Munich on December 25–26, 1955, he was proposed as a candidate for the leader of the Provid. At this, he allegedly set the condition that Y. Stakhiv and V. Martynets be included in the Provid. Since the conference did not support those candidates, he declined the position. L. Rebet was then elected head of the OUN-z. R. Ilnytskyi, in his turn, became his deputy.

By that time, the mgb had been investigating R. Ilnytskyi for ten years. The dossier compiled on him stated that after the proclamation of the Act of Restoration of the Ukrainian State in Lviv on June 30, 1941, he was elected State Secretary of the Ministry of National Economy in the Ukrainian State Administration. After the Hitlerites refused to recognize the independent Ukrainian government, he was arrested by the Gestapo along with S. Bandera, Ya. Stetsko, L. Rebet, and other leaders, and was held in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp.

The early postwar years of R. Ilnytskyi’s life in exile are documented only fragmentarily in the mgb records. It is noted that he initially lived in Czechoslovakia, moved to Nuremberg as the red army approached, and eventually settled in the German city of Fürth. He was actively involved in civic and political activities. From 1945 through 1947, he had served as secretary-general of the Central Representation of Ukrainian Emigrants in Europe. At the same time, he was engaged in publishing and journalism. It was in this field that he earned a reputation as a talented editor, journalist, and publicist.

In October 1946, under R. Ilnytskyi’s editorship, the first issue of the weekly “Chas” was published in Fürth. It quickly became one of the most influential periodicals of the third wave of Ukrainian political emigration, with a circulation reaching several tens of thousands of copies. Soon, the chekists tracked R. Ilnytskyi’s trip to Paris and his negotiations with local OUN activists there who had been publishing the magazine “Ukrainets”. The plan was to merge the two newspapers and create a print publication that would eventually become an all-Ukrainian organ in the countries where Ukrainian émigrés had settled. Eventually, such a newspaper, entitled “Ukrainets-Chas”, was published, but the plan itself was never fully implemented.

Despite this, R. Ilnytskyi did not stop his efforts in the field of journalism. He founded a weekly newspaper for Ukrainians in German entitled “Na Chuzhyni” (“In a Foreign Land”), became a member of the National Democratic Association of Ukrainian Journalists, was elected President of the “DP Press Union”,  as well as Chairman of the supervisory board of “Knyhotsentr” – an association of Ukrainian publishers, editors, and authors that coordinated the activities of print publications in exile – and became the initiator and founder of the “Union of the Free Press of Eastern and Central Europe, the Balkan and Baltic States.” Finally, in 1955, he began editing the journal “Ukrainskyi Samostiinyk”.

R. Ilnytskyi’s journalistic and political activities are clearly attested to by the character assessments provided by kgb agents. In particular, those include: “Ilnytskyi is a quite well-known figure in Ukrainian émigré circles. He was highly respected. In general, he is a very intelligent person, hardworking, capable, and a practical thinker” (“Maiskyi”); “Ilnytskyi is the strongest publicist… and a proponent of nationalist ideas” (“Lavrin”); “…in his relationships, he is friendly, gentle, and inclined toward compromise. He is like this in his private life, and likewise in his political views and party activities. Within the Bandera organization, he represented the ‘right-wing’, moderate faction… The newspaper “Chas”, published by Ilnytskyi, was characterized not so much by nationalism as by a certain national-liberal character” (“Ivanov”) (FISU. – F. 1. – Case 10243. – P.P. 66, 69, 27–28).

In “Ukrainskyi Samostiinyk”, R. Ilnytskyi grew even closer to L. Rebet. They shared many common views on the future democratic development of the OUN and the entire liberation movement. Both wrote insightful journalistic pieces that boosted the popularity of the journal they edited, attracting the attention of both representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora and, at the same time, the kgb as it was already called. A true witch hunt was launched against L. Rebet, as the party leader and, in the opinion of the kgb agents, a more influential figure in the OUN. At that time, he participated in numerous academic conferences, forums, and discussions, where he persistently championed the Ukrainian cause, promoted Ukrainian history, spoke about the unique aspects of the Ukrainian nation’s development, and resolutely rebuffed those who attempted to distort and misrepresent historical facts.

L. Rebet’s speeches, books, and publications – of which there were many – greatly troubled the kgb leadership in moscow. At first, soviet secret services devised and planned an operation to abduct him in Munich, where he lived; after unsuccessful attempts, they killed him on October 12, 1957. This was carried out by soviet agent B. Stashynskyi, who used a special device containing a poisonous substance on the steps of the building where the “Ukrainskyi Samostiinyk” was located.

At the same time, the kgb monitored R. Ilnytskyi’s activities and attempted to influence his actions. To this end, they initially decided to compromise him, but in a rather strange way. As a result of gathering information on him and searching for past traces or relatives in soviet Ukraine, they found information on Roman Ilarionovych Ilnytskyi, born in 1911, a native of Stanislav region. In the late 1940s, he was allegedly recruited by the Polish police and betrayed all his fellow villagers who were members of the local underground organization of the communist party of Western Ukraine.

The kgb jumped on this immediately, reasoning that no one would bother to get to the bottom of the truth. It didn’t matter that the biographical details clearly differed. Roman Volodymyrovych Ilnytskyi was born in 1915 in the Galicia-Bukovina General Government (now the village of Kryvche in Borshchiv District of Ternopil Region). But this did not pose any significant obstacle for the chekists. A resolution was made on one of the documents regarding the need to “resolve the issue of his compromise, taking into account information about him as a provocateur”.  As a result of the measures taken, a corresponding article appeared in the newspaper “Radianska Ukraina” (“Soviet Ukraine” – Transl.).

Besides, the case files mention that R. Ilnytskyi received threatening letters allegedly from Banderites, whose ranks he had left to join a new opposition organization of the OUN. It cannot be ruled out that these letters were written in kgb offices and then sent to appropriate addresses via foreign agents.

After the assassination of L. Rebet, R. Ilnytskyi assumed the position of head of the OUN-z and continued his work. The kgb asked Agent “Nadiichyn”, who had previously provided information on L. Rebet, to supply more detailed information on the organization’s new leader. In one of his intelligence reports, the agent pointed out: “…He is the most dangerous person for us among the ‘dviikari’… Ilnytskyi is a good orator; he knows how to captivate his audience with his speeches. All members of the OUN-z love and respect him… He has a very favorable view of Western countries and always says that Ukrainians should learn from the West. He considers the ussr to be the greatest enemy of the Ukrainian people. He is a true fanatic of nationalism.”

In addition to this written report, “Nadiichyn” verbally provided the operative with the following additional information: “Ilnytskyi travels to Munich from Ludwigsfeld by bus and gets off at [name illegible] Square, from where he walks to the editorial office. He usually arrives at the editorial office after lunch for 1–2 hours. Before lunch, he is at the “Ost Institute”.  He spends a lot of time attending party meetings. His children are at a Ukrainian kindergarten in Ludwigsfeld during the day… On evenings when the weather is nice, Ilnytskyi rides his bicycle with his children toward Munich into the fields beyond Ludwigsfeld; he can be intercepted there…” (FISU. – F. 1. – Case 10243. – P.P. 88–90).

All of this resembles the intelligence reports that “Nadiichyn” provided on the eve of L. Rebet’s murder. Similarly, kgb agent B. Stashynskyi carefully studied his travel routes, habits, and work schedule, after which he lay in wait in the entrance of the building housing the editorial office of “Ukrainsky Samostiinyk” and discharged a special device containing a poisonous substance into Rebet’s face. Similarly, a photograph of R. Ilnytskyi was obtained through operational channels; it was provided to agents for identification and included in investigative files. Specifically, it was taken from a newspaper. Phrases in kgb reports describing R. Ilnytskyi as the “most dangerous person among the ‘Dviikari’” after L. Rebet indicate that he might have met the same fate had he not moved permanently to the United States.

R. Ilnytskyi left West Germany in 1957. For another two years, he served as head of the OUN-z, and later as Deputy Head of the Organization’s Political Council. In 1961, he earned a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University. After that, he worked at the New York Public Library for nearly twenty years.

According to reports from the New York residentura  of the kgb of the ussr, R. Ilnytskyi continued his political and journalistic activities in the United States, maintained close contacts with prominent Ukrainian figures such as M. Lebed, M. Prokip, Y. Lopatyński, and others; actively participated in the work of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America; published the journal  “Nash Svit”; and served on the editorial board of the journal “Ukrainskyi Ohliad”, where he edited the section “Issues of the Ukrainian SSR”.  He tried to closely follow events in soviet Ukraine, while the kgb kept a close watch on him.

According to archival documents, R. Ilnytskyi’s home address could not be found out, and agents and staff members of the kgb operating in the USA under diplomatic cover were regularly dispatched to his workplace in the Slavic Department of the New York Public Library to establish contact with him on a neutral basis under the pretext of searching for necessary literature. At the same time, no one was able to get close to him. In their reports, some provided general information, such as that R. Ilnytskyi spoke favorably of Yu. Sheveliov, criticized Yu. Kosach and some of V. Vynnychenko’s books, defended I. Dziuba, spoke out in defence of Yu. Moroz, and participated in organizing an exhibition of Ukrainian samvydav (underground publishing- Transl.) at the library, while others, such as a kgb career officer from Belarus, pointed out that it had not been possible to have a substantive conversation because “the subject has a poor command of the russian language”.

Thus, with no prospects for further operational cultivation, his case was archived in 1982. Meanwhile, R. Ilnytskyi held the position of Deputy Head of the Ukrainian Main Liberation Council until the late 1980s. He later resigned due to illness and no longer took an active part in public and political life. He passed away on February 2, 2000, in New York City and was buried in the Bound Brook Cemetery in New Jersey, USA.

See declassified documents from the archives.