ANDRIY MYKOLAYOVYCH KRAVETS

 

 

(born March 21, 1943, in the village of Rosokhach, Chortkiv raion, Ternopil oblast - died September 11, 1996, in the village of Rosokhach.)

Member of a national-patriotic underground organization.

He completed 7 grades of the Rosokhach school in 1957 and worked on a collective farm. He finished the 8th grade of evening school in 1981. He was conscripted into the army in 1963 and returned before Christmas 1966.

From childhood, he was interested in the past of the Ukrainian people, admired the UPA's struggle for independence, and later listened to foreign radio broadcasts, and read and discussed patriotic literature with friends. They were outraged by the destruction of memorial crosses in the village and the demolition of the church. The arrests of the Ukrainian intelligentsia in 1972 prompted the young men to create an underground organization that set its goal to fight for independence. V. MARMUS wrote the text of an oath, which on November 5, 1972, was taken by him, P. VITIV, V. SENKIV, and P. VYNNYCHUK. The members of the organization tore down red flags during the October holidays and, in retaliation for the destruction of the grave of the Sich Riflemen in the village, damaged a monument to a Soviet soldier. On January 14, 1973, Kravets joined the organization along with M. MARMUS, M. SLOBODYAN, and M. LYSYI. The oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people was taken at his home in a solemn ceremony: with candles, kneeling before a cross and an icon of the Mother of God. Later, S. SAPELYAK joined the organization.

The organization decided to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the proclamation of the Ukrainian People's Republic and the 54th anniversary of the "Act of Unification of the ZUNR with the UPR" by raising national flags over institutions in the city of Chortkiv and posting leaflets. Kravets took an active part in preparing for the action. In particular, the leaflets were produced in his house.

On the night of January 21-22, 1973, Kravets participated in hanging 4 flags and 19 leaflets with demands for freedom of the press, meetings, and assemblies, ending with the slogans: “Freedom for Ukrainian patriots!”, “Shame on the policy of Russification!”, and “Long live the growing Ukrainian patriotism!”

The arrests of the organization's members began as early as February. Kravets was arrested on April 11, 1973. He was sentenced along with six other members of the organization at a closed session of the Ternopil Regional Court on September 24, 1973, under Article 64 (“participation in an anti-Soviet organization”) and Article 62, Part 1 (“anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda”) to 3 years of imprisonment in strict-regime camps and 2 years of exile. During the reading of the verdict, the lights went out—the sentence, like the oath, was accepted by candlelight.

He served his imprisonment in Mordovia, in the strict-regime camp ZhKh-385/17, in the village of Ozerny, Zubovo-Polyansky raion, where he communicated with V. CHORNOVIL and Y. MYKYTKO. In the fall of 1975, he was transferred to camp VS-389/37, in the village of Polovynka, Chusovskoy raion, Perm oblast, where almost all of his co-conspirators were serving their sentences. He participated in protest actions and in preparing information about events in the camp.

He served his exile in the Tomsk oblast, Verkhneketsky district, Bely Yar, village of Poludyonovka, partly together with P. VYNNYCHUK. He worked on a farm.

After his release in 1978, he returned to the village of Rosokhach. He worked as a laborer in the Chortkiv zonal repair and construction department.

In 1978, he married Olha Vitiv, and they have three sons: Mykola (b. 1979), Kindrat (b. 1980), and Yaroslav (b. 1982).

From 1988, Kravets was a member of “Memorial,” and later the Ukrainian Helsinki Union (UHU), the People's Movement of Ukraine (Rukh), and the Ukrainian Republican Party (URP).

He was rehabilitated in accordance with the Law of the Ukrainian SSR of April 17, 1991, “On the Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repression in Ukraine.”

In 1988, Kravets was diagnosed with skin cancer, which later metastasized to his liver without a primary location. A week before his death, doctors advised that he be taken home as terminally ill. His friends still took him to the grave of the Sich Riflemen. He died on September 11, 1996. He is buried in his native village.

Bibliography:

Report of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine to the Central Committee of the CPSU on the activities of nationalist groups in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, and Ternopil oblasts of Ukraine. September 27, 1973. // Natsionalni vidnosyny v Ukrayini XX st. – Kyiv. – Naukova dumka. 1994. – pp. 418-420.
Kasyanov, H. Nezhodni: ukrayinska intelihentsiia v rusi oporu 1960-1980-kh rokiv.— Kyiv: Lybid, 1995.— p. 142.
Volodymyr Marmus. Prapory nad mistom. // Ternystyi shliakh (Ternopil).— 1998, No. 3 (323).— January 9; Ibid. // Molod Ukrayiny.— 1998, No. 7 (17638).— January 22.
Rusnachenko, A. Natsionalno-vyzvolnyi rukh v Ukrayini.— Kyiv: O. Teliha Publishing.— 1998.— p. 208.
Andriy Vatsyk. Tsinoyu vlasnoyi svobody. // Ternopilska hazeta. – 1999, No. 4 (160). – January 21.
KHPG Archive: Interviews with M. Slobodyan, P. Vynnychuk, M. Marmus, widow Olha Kravets, and son Mykola from April 2 and 3, 2000. https://museum.khpg.org/1121327550
Yunaky z ohnennoyi pechi / Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group. Compiled by V.V. Ovsiyenko. – Kharkiv: Folio, 2003. – pp. 93 – 97 et al.
Marmus, Volodymyr. Dolia obrala nas: Spohady, dokumenty, statti. – Ternopil: Printerinform, 2004. – pp. 76, 94-96, 108, 116, 129-179.
International Biographical Dictionary of Dissidents in Central and Eastern Europe and the former USSR. Vol. 1. Ukraine. Part 1. – Kharkiv: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group; “Prava liudyny,” 2006. – pp. 344-346. https://museum.khpg.org/1120739594
Rukh oporu v Ukrayini: 1960 – 1990. Entsyklopedychnyi dovidnyk / Preface by Osyp Zinkevych, Oles Obertas. – Kyiv: Smoloskyp, 2010. – p. 345; 2nd ed.: 2012. – p. 385.
Fantaziye, ty sylo charivna! Vidkrytyi lyst dysydenta Ovsiyenka dysydentu (i fantazeru) Sapelyaku: http://www.istpravda.com.ua/ukr/articles/2011/08/29/53451/, August 29, 2011.
V. Ovsiyenko. Pravda staye istoriyeyu: http://maidan.org.ua/2012/01/pravda-staje-istorijeyu/. January 29, 2012. 

Vasyl Ovsiyenko. Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group. December 12, 2002. Last read August 10, 2016.