THE LIFE OF YOSYP FEDOROVYCH TYUBAI (DUBOVYI): LEADER OF THE KAMIN-KASHYRSKYI DISTRICT OUN UNIT

Abstract

Biographical studies play a crucial role in exploring the history of the Ukrainian liberation movement. They offer a comprehensive understanding of individuals and their contributions to the struggle for national independence, helping to preserve their names in scholarly discourse and restore historical justice by dismantling the myths imposed by the Soviet totalitarian regime regarding their alleged «negative» activities.This article examines the life of one of Volyn’s fighters of the 1940s–1950s liberation movement – Yosyp Fedorovych Tyubai, known by the nom de guerre «Dubovyi» – as well as the fate of his family, who suffered persecution as a result of his involvement. Tyubai was a member of the OUN cell in the village of Oblapy, Kovel District, during the German-Nazi occupation of Volyn, and an active participant in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). After the end of the German-Soviet War, he became the district leader of the Kamin-Kashyrskyi OUN unit. In the summer of 1948, he was appointed head of the Kamin-Kashyrskyi supra-district OUN structure.Archival sources on this topic are introduced here into academic circulation for the first time, expanding the evidentiary base and allowing for the correction of several inaccuracies found in earlier journalistic accounts. One notable clarification concerns the year of Dubovyi’s death: while certain archival documents indicate 23 January 1949, most popular publications and a symbolic memorial plaque give the year as 1948.The article also devotes special attention to the plight of Tyubai’s family members, who were deported to remote areas of the USSR as relatives of an OUN and UPA activist. One of his sisters was imprisoned and remains without official rehabilitation status. According to her archival criminal case file, her underground role was limited to that of a cook – an insufficient legal basis for denying her rehabilitation.