Unveiled History: Myron Konovalets’s Shadow Front

The name of Yevhen Konovalets is deservedly inscribed in the history of the Ukrainian liberation movement. Instead, his brother Myron remained in the shadows for a long time – not because of a lack of merit, but because of the nature of his activities: important, but not public. Archival documents of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine allow us to shed light on this figure.

Myron Konovalets was born on July 22, 1894. He graduated from the Academic Gymnasium in Lviv, served in the Austrian Army, and after the war got a degree in law in Prague. Even back then, he was actively involved in social and political activities, becoming one of the leaders of the Ukrainian student movement. In Prague, he headed a few organizations, edited the magazine “Natsionalna Dumka” and led an ideological struggle against communist centres.

His participation in the activities of the Ukrainian Military Organization (UVO) was of the greatest importance. Although Myron did not formally hold top positions, it was he who coordinated the Czech branch, taking care of communications, finances and intelligence. The nkvd agent “Chaban” testified: “He was Yevhen Konovalets’s best informant and spy… Unofficially, he had done more for his brother than he could have done officially.”

Having moved to Lviv in 1925, Myron continued the active underground work of the UVO. He edited leading Ukrainian publications, co-worked with key figures of the Ukrainian national movement, visited Danzig to see his brother and his deputy Andriy Melnyk.

“Chaban”’s reports depict Myron as a wise, reliable figure, who, thanks to his “ability to be silent”, was indispensable in delicate tasks. He was not seen as a leader, but was highly valued as an executor and liaison.

In the post-war period, Myron lived in Munich, where he headed the weekly “Khrystyianskyi Holos” and the Union of Ukrainian Journalists in Exile. Soviet secret services monitored his activity, but did not conduct deep cultivation. He passed away on October 14, 1980 – as he lived, remaining faithful to the cause to which he devoted his life.

Read more