The Fighting between Ukrainian Nationalist Structures and Soviet Underground Forces and Partisans in the Territory of Zhytomyr Region during the Nazi Occupation: Reasons, Nature, and the Effects (An Attempt at a Case Study)

The article deals with the issue of two totalitarian ideologies formation namely Communist and Nationalist in Ukraine. The emergence of these ideological doctrines in the Ukrainian lands occurred almost simultaneously, but their outreach across the population was accompanied by various factors and spread under different circumstances. The Communist doctrine suppoters seized and established themselves in power, and the nationalists tried to deprive them of power by means of the revolution. Starting from their formation it was determined the suppoters of these ideologies were in open confrontation and even used images of each other as a method of their own propaganda. This «propaganda and agitation war» between the Communists and Ukrainian nationalists took place during the 1920s and 1930s, long before the outbreak of World War II.

The fighting between Soviet underground forces and partisans and Ukrainian nationalists is studied through the example of the Zhytomyr region territory during the Nazi occupation, involving a wide source base. As it is mentioned above, this fighting is know as a continuation and direct implementation of the previous propaganda and agitation war. Specific people, suppoters of hostile ideological and cultural positions moved and acted on predetermined by other trajectories. This circumstance attests the actual lack of personal choice of the people who has occured in that situation. The whole palette of interpersonal relationships was once again reduced to the paradigm of «persona–strange», though often before, living in the same settlement or working together in the same institution, the «enemies» did not consider each other to be so.

It is found out that the fighting between Ukrainian nationalists and Soviet underground forces and partisans has caused additional suffering and losses to the Ukrainian people and has been beneficial to the Nazi occupation regime in the first place, since it weakened both sides. Taking into the consideration the state ideology, Ukrainians undoubtedly had the natural right to fight for their own state. Based solely on the humanist standpoint, both sides should take the blame for the violence in this confrontation.