“The Immortal Army”

Last Thursday, Kyiv’s House of the Teacher hosted the presentation of the Immortal Army album devoted to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA). The 240 hand-picked photographs graphically show the UPA’s bitter way of the cross and prove convincingly that this army’s struggle in Western Ukraine was a fact of nationwide importance. Interestingly enough, the chronologically first photo was taken in the summer of 1945 and the last one in July 1951 at the village of Babyn, Kosiv district. A professional photographer Vasyl Humeniuk from the village of Yavoriv, Ivano-Frankivsk oblast, got these pictures from his fellow countrymen and then prepared the lion’s share of photo materials for the album which became a rarity at the very moment of birth. Unfortunately, the album came out in a very limited number (100 copies) and is going to be primarily sent to schools and libraries. This was announced by art patrons and compilers of this publication, namely, Stepan Bratsiun, chairman of the board of directors of the All-Ukrainian Sobornist Charitable Foundation; Volodymyr Vyatrovych, the album’s editor; and Lviv historian Volodymyr Moroz.