YAROSLAV MYKHAYLOVYCH HASIUK (b. November 12, 1926, in the city of Stanislav, now Ivano-Frankivsk – d. November 2, 2009, in the city of Lviv). Repressed for his connections with the Ukrainian insurgent movement. Leader of the underground organization “Obyednannya” (Unification) in the city of Inta, Komi ASSR.
From a working-class family. After graduating from general education school, he studied at a Ukrainian gymnasium. With the arrival of the “Reds” in 1939, he studied at a pedagogical school, from which he graduated in 1945. He worked as a primary school teacher in the Stanislav region. For his connection with the OUN underground, he was arrested in 1948 and on October 2, 1948, was sentenced by the OSO of the MGB of the USSR under Articles 54-1a and 54-11 to 10 years of imprisonment. He served his sentence in the concentration camps of the “Mineral Administration” in the city of Inta, Komi ASSR.
He worked in the mines. He was active in a circle of young Ukrainian prisoners known as the “student brotherhood,” participated in the struggle for the right to receive Ukrainian books and press, and in collecting contributions to help sick prisoners. When money was again banned in the concentration camps, they collected food and clothing. Hasiuk organized the celebration of religious holidays and national memorial dates: the Day of Unity and Statehood on January 22, the Battle of Kruty on January 29, Navy Day on April 29, Heroes’ Day on May 23 and 25, and Armed Forces Day on November 21.
Together with others, he resisted the robbery by criminal elements—the “vory” and “suki”—restoring, in defiance of the GULAG administration, the force of human morality. He was released from camp No. 1 after completing his term on August 18, 1956 (with credit for workdays), but without the right to return to Ukraine. Hasiuk had written poetry from a young age and assessed this kind of freedom with the lines: “This is not how I awaited you, / Bright-winged, magnificent freedom... / You bloomed like a nymph among the grasses, / But you came like the hunchback Quasimodo.” He settled in Inta and continued to work in the design office of “Intaugol.”
In January 1957, he married the prematurely released Halyna (Anhelina) Pryima, an underground activist sentenced in 1950 to 25 years. In 1958, their son Yaroslav was born. As early as September 1955, Hasiuk proposed to Volodymyr Haleta and other political prisoners who were being released that they establish ties with the OUN underground, study the mood of the youth, and obtain passports to organize escapes from the camps. Petro Lepekh was sent to Galicia for the same purpose. Hasiuk discussed the idea of creating an underground revolutionary organization that would continue the struggle of the OUN with V. ZATVARSKY and Ya. KOBYLETSKY.
The same idea was fermenting in another camp among B. KHRYSTYNYCH, V. LEONIUK, and Bohdan Stefaniuk. V. ZATVARSKY served as the link. When P. Lepekh returned with the news that it was impossible to contact the OUN leadership in Ukraine, Hasiuk arranged a meeting in February 1956 for the initiators of the new organization (by then, it was possible to leave the camp zones). In March 1956, in the home of a Lithuanian on Poliarna Street in Inta, for which Hasiuk had the keys, V. ZATVARSKY, B. KHRYSTYNYCH, B. Stefaniuk, Ya. KOBYLETSKY, and V. LEONIUK gathered. The meeting lasted about 4 hours, without electing a chairman or secretary, without minutes—based only on deep trust and the conspiracy inherent in underground work.
Despite the defeat of the insurgent movement in which they had been involved, the discouraging news from Ukraine, and their own suffering in captivity, these young men had no doubt about one thing—the idea of an independent Ukraine. The younger ones believed that the struggle of the OUN and UPA should be immediately revived under new conditions. The older ones (V. ZATVARSKY and Ya. KOBYLETSKY) warned that an organization could not be created arbitrarily without the permission of the OUN Leadership in Ukraine, with which there was no contact (because it no longer existed). It was necessary to take the initiative. They entrusted B. KHRYSTYNYCH and V. ZATVARSKY with drafting a program and charter for the organization.
The constituent assembly took place in late May or early June with the participation of 8 people: Hasiuk, V. LEONIUK, B. KHRYSTYNYCH, V. ZATVARSKY, Ya. KOBYLETSKY, Ya. Zhukovsky, P. Klymiuk, and V. Slyvyak. They named the organization “Obyednannya” (Unification) because they set far-reaching goals: to merge the revolutionary element into a single whole, both in Ukraine and abroad; to promote the mass return of released prisoners and exiles to Ukraine; to raise the national consciousness of the youth, to infiltrate all social structures (workers’, trade union, sports), and to educate the organization’s members in the spirit of discipline, accountability, deep conspiracy, and “in the spirit of constant readiness for the decisive moment.” “Obyednannya” was to carry out the OUN program—to fight for the creation of an Independent, Unified Ukrainian State, relying on former participants of the underground revolutionary struggle and new dedicated members, and it planned to transfer its activities to Ukraine.
“Obyednannya” considered the CPSU its irreconcilable enemy and decided to wage an active struggle against it, as a rule, through propaganda and exposure. Terror was permissible only in exceptional cases. The constituent assembly approved the charter of “Obyednannya.” It considered itself an integral part of the OUN, established its organizational network in Ukraine and abroad, and any conscious Ukrainian who had not stained the honor of the Ukrainian nation could be its member. The highest body of “Obyednannya” was a Steering Committee of six people headed by an elected Leader. The Leader appointed his deputies (or assistants) and the heads of subordinate bodies. The smallest component was a “zveno” (link) of three people. Each member swore allegiance to “Obyednannya” and the ideas of Ukrainian nationalism and bore responsibility for betrayal—death.
At the suggestion of Ya. Zhukovsky (according to the verdict, V. LEONIUK), the then 30-year-old Ya. HASIUK was unanimously elected leader. He was the first to recite the oath, composed by V. ZATVARSKY. The leader appointed V. LEONIUK as his deputy, Ya. KOBYLETSKY as deputy leader (referent of the Security Service), B. KHRYSTYNYCH and V. ZATVARSKY as referents for propaganda, P. Klymiuk as treasurer, and V. Slyvyak and Ya. Zhukovsky as liaisons. The main areas of work were establishing contacts with Ukraine and producing and distributing leaflets and underground literature there.
The next meeting of the Steering Committee took place in July 1956 in P. Klymiuk’s apartment. Throughout the organization’s existence, there were about 10 meetings of the Steering Committee; however, when the threat of exposure arose, tactical decisions were made by a smaller circle. On Hasiuk’s instructions, former prisoner V. BUCHKOVSKY was summoned from Ukraine and created a printing press, which by 1959 had produced up to 5,000 leaflets. They were distributed in Ukraine. Hasiuk was the author of the leaflets “The Occupiers Are Rushing into Space,” “Even Though Kuznetsov…,” “The Twentieth Anniversary…,” and “Nikita’s Press Conference Ditty.” Together with V. LEONIUK, Hasiuk prepared and released two typewritten collections of GULAG poetry: *Literaturne zaslannia* (Literary Exile) and *Vidhomіn* (Echo). The first included his poems “To Departing Friends” and “I Do Not Curse My Evil Fate”; the collection *Vidhomіn* included his feuilleton “About Uncle,” and the poems “Overture,” “From the Thoughts of a Collective Farmer,” and “To Ukraine on its Fortieth Anniversary.”
They contacted the underground group “OUN-North,” which operated in Vorkuta, but the Vorkuta members did not cooperate. A conspiratorial contact point was established in Lviv, to which Hasiuk and V. LEONIUK sent literature and money. Preparations were underway to move the printing press to Lviv. With the arrests in 1958–1959 in Ukraine of former “Inta residents” K. BANATSKY, Y. SLABINA, A. BULAVSKY, H. RIABCHUN, and S. OLENYCH, the activity of “Obyednannya” did not wane. Only in May 1959 did Hasiuk give the order to hide the printing press and all materials in various places. Of the searches conducted by the KGB, only the one at mine No. 9 in Inta on December 21, 1959, was successful, where some documents of “Obyednannya” were seized. On July 29, 1959, V. LEONIUK was arrested, on September 9, 1959—B. KHRYSTYNYCH, on October 26, 1959—V. ZATVARSKY, from whom the investigation extracted testimony against Hasiuk. The Leader was arrested on January 12, 1960, in Inta.
All the defendants were gathered in the KGB pre-trial detention center of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR. Hasiuk could only confirm what the investigation already knew. The most experienced KGB investigators were unable to fully uncover this case over the course of 3 years. After all, “Obyednannya” had over 100 members, but only 10 were convicted, and about fifteen others served as witnesses. The trial was closed. The defendants used a tactic of so-called loyal defense, which consisted of downplaying or denying guilt, without making sharp attacks against the existing system. In particular, they all denied the authenticity of the Program and Charter of “Obyednannya” attached to the case, as it was indeed a version that had not been approved by the assembly.
The court charged the defendants under Articles 1 and 9 of the then-current USSR Law of December 25, 1958, “On Criminal Liability for State Crimes,” for conspiracy to overthrow the existing state system and seize power. Hasiuk and V. LEONIUK received 12 years each, B. KHRYSTYNYCH—10, V. ZATVARSKY—8, and Ya. KOBYLETSKY—5 years of imprisonment. By a ruling of the Supreme Court of the Ukrainian SSR on February 16, 1962, Hasiuk was declared a particularly dangerous recidivist and transferred to a special, cell-based regime. The Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Ukrainian SSR on September 12, 1964, annulled that ruling and transferred Hasiuk to a strict regime. Hasiuk served his sentence in the camps of Mordovia. Ya. TKACHUK and L. LUKIANENKO testify in their books to the firm stance of all the members of “Obyednannya.” After serving his sentence, Hasiuk settled in Inta in early 1972, where his wife and son lived. In 1991, they moved to Lviv. Here, Hasiuk became involved in public and educational activities.
He was a member of the Union of Political Prisoners of Ukraine and the Mykhailo Soroka Creative Club. He published poetry with civic themes in the press. In 2003, his collection was published. By a decree of the President of Ukraine on January 16, 2009, Hasiuk was awarded the Order of Merit, III degree.
Bibliography:
1. *Vyrostai, synochku* [Grow, My Son]. Lviv–Dubno: Dzherelo, 2003, 88 pp.
*Nezlamnist. Intynski prolisky i karpatski smereky* [Indomitability. The Snowdrops of Inta and the Firs of the Carpathians]. 18th book of the series “Komi-GULAGiana,” Lviv – Republic of Komi – Dubno – Lutsk: Dzherelo, 2010.
2. Leoniuk, V. “Na priu staie Obyednannya” [Obyednannya Rises to the Challenge]. *Zona*, no. 6, 1994, pp. 163–180.
Rusnachenko, A. *Natsionalno-vyzvolnyi rukh v Ukraini. Seredyna 1950-kh – pochatok 1990-kh rokiv* [The National Liberation Movement in Ukraine. Mid-1950s – Early 1990s]. O. Teliha Publishing, 1998, pp. 63–72, 370-389.
Heletiy, Ya. “Lytsar dukhu” [Knight of the Spirit]. *Ukrainskyi visnyk: almanakh* [Ukrainian Herald: Almanac]. Lviv–Dubno: Dzherelo, 2002, pp. 10-14.
Tkachuk, Ya. *Burevii. Knyha pamiati* [Storms. A Book of Memory]. SPOLOM Publishing, 2004, pp. 112–114.
Khrystynych, B. *Na shliakhakh do voli: Pidpilna orhanizatsiia “Obyednannya” (1956–1959)* [On the Paths to Freedom: The Underground Organization “Obyednannya” (1956–1959)]. Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, 2004, 416 pp.
Lukianenko, L. “Halytske ‘Obyednannya’” [The Galician “Obyednannya”]. *Z chasiv nevoli. Sosnova-7* [From the Times of Captivity. Sosnova-7]. MAUP, 2005, pp. 421-436; *Z chasiv nevoli. Kn. 2* [From the Times of Captivity. Book 2]. MAUP, 2007, pp. 169-178.
Lukianenko, L. *Shliakh do vidrodzhennia: v 13 t. T. 6: Z chasiv nevoli: knyha druha* [The Path to Revival: in 13 vols. Vol. 6: From the Times of Captivity: Book Two]. Yurka Liubchenka LLC, 2014, pp. 169-178.
Dubas, Mykola. “Bili konvalii na tli nevilnychykh lit: do 80-richchia Yaroslava Hasiuka” [White Lilies of the Valley Against the Backdrop of Years of Captivity: For the 80th Anniversary of Yaroslav Hasiuk]. *Homin Ukrainy*, April 30, 2007.
Yaroslav Heletiy. “Stolittia i odyn rik” [A Century and One Year]. *Ukrainskyi visnyk*, no. 10 (14). (Independent political and educational almanac). Edited by Yaroslav Heletiy and Viktoria Shevchuk. Dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of UPA hero Mykhailo Diachenko (Marko Boieslav) and the anniversary of the death of former political prisoner-poet Yaroslav Hasiuk. Lviv – Republic of Komi – Dubno – Lutsk, 2010, pp. 6-13.
*Mizhnarodnyi biohrafichnyi slovnyk dysydentiv krain Tsentralnoi ta Skhidnoi Yevropy i kolyyshnoho SRSR. T. 1. Ukraina. Chastyna 1* [International Biographical Dictionary of Dissidents from Central and Eastern Europe and the Former USSR. Vol. 1. Ukraine. Part 1]. Kharkiv: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group; “Prava liudyny,” 2006, pp. 1–516; Part 2, pp. 517–1020; Part 3, 2011, pp. 1021–1380; Hasiuk, Ya., pp. 1078-1082.
*Rukh oporu v Ukraini: 1960–1990. Entsyklopedychnyi dovidnyk* [The Resistance Movement in Ukraine: 1960–1990. An Encyclopedic Guide]. Foreword by Osyp Zinkevych, Oles Obertas. Kyiv: Smoloskyp, 2010, 804 pp., 56 ill.; Hasiuk: 129-130; 2nd ed., 2012, 896 pp. + 64 ill.; Hasiuk: pp. 144-148. Vasyl Ovsienko, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group.
Photos: Yaroslav Hasiuk with his wife Halyna (née Pryima).
Bookplate of Yaroslav Hasiuk, created by fellow prisoner Hryts Herchak.
