The editor-in-chief of the OUN (b) weekly “The Path of Victory”, and director of the publishing house “Ukrainian Publishing Business” Viktor Roh is one of the leaders of the Bandera movement in Ukraine. He began his national liberation activities back in the days of the USSR and took an active part in the Revolution on Granite in 1990. Currently, he is engaged in publishing and works tirelessly towards the dismantling of the so-called Russian Federation, in particular, helping representatives of the enslaved nations of Russia to study, unite and fight for independence.
On the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Kyiv authorities met with Viktor Rog in his Kyiv editorial office on Yaroslavov Val.
KV: I was inspired to attend this meeting by the XII Bandera Readings, which were attended by many representatives of the enslaved nations of Russia. Does this mean, from your point of view, that the enslaved nations of the so-called Russia have woken up or are waking up? Or is this already an idea for them that cannot be stopped, because its time has come?
Viktor Roh: I really want this and it must be exactly like this. For the vision and mood of the enslaved nations of the Russian Federation to move in this direction, in 2023 we resumed the activities of the ABN – the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations, which was founded in 1943 by the underground UPA at the first conference of enslaved nations, and was formalized in emigration, in April 1946. For a long time, the president of the ABN was Yaroslav Stetsko, and after his death, his wife Slava Stetsko.
We understand that even one David can defeat Goliath, but it is better when there are several such Davids. That is why we have resumed the activities of the ABN, but already in the format of the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations, which is currently headed by Oleg Medunitsa (head of the OUN (b), National Deputy of Ukraine of the 7th and 8th convocations, – KV ).
One of the areas of our activity was the Bandera readings under the OUN slogan “Freedom for nations! Freedom for the individual!” with the participation of representatives of the enslaved nations of the so-called Russia.
By the way, the phrase about an idea whose time has come, contrary to popular belief, was not said by Stepan Bandera, but by Victor Hugo (smiles).
KV: Judging by the tone, there is still no certainty that the enslaved nations are ready to fight for freedom and independence from the Kremlin.
Viktor Roh: This indicator is very diverse and often unexpected. In 1990, many of us were also not sure that Ukraine had woken up, and in 1991, over 90% of Ukrainians voted for independence. Moreover, understanding what the Russian Federation is like today, where one can and does get imprisoned for just glancing sideways at Putin’s portrait, it is difficult to expect clear indicators of protest sentiment.
At the same time, there are more political prisoners in the Russian Federation today than in the USSR in the last years of its existence. This is also a certain indicator.
KV: What are your personal impressions of the representatives of the enslaved nations of the so-called Russian Federation? Who impressed you, who didn’t?
Victor Roh: It’s hard to impress me because I’ve been dealing with the issues of dismantling Russia for a long time. The idea of restoring the ABN was mine – publishing work, academic work, and the website of the Anti-Imperial Block of Nations, which works in three languages. Communications with representatives of the enslaved nations take place through me, so I know almost everyone, if not in person, because they are mostly in exile, then online, and we work with everyone. This includes Nafis Kashapov, Aida Abdrakhmanova (member of the Tatarstan government in exile, – KV ), and many others.
After all, in the so-called Russia, there are well-known nations – Tatars, Chechens, Sakha, Bashkirs, Circassians, Chuvash, etc. And there are nations that few people have heard of yet – Erzya, Moksha, Veps… It is clear that these nations, and their leaders, have different opportunities and potential that cannot and should not be compared. In my opinion, today the greatest potential is with the people of the Caucasus, Yakutia and the Volga region.
But the main thing is that the process of the destruction of the Russian Federation begins. And what card, roughly speaking, from this house of cards will fall first, is difficult to say or predict today. However, once the process begins, it will be unstoppable – it will be a “domino effect.”
That’s why we work with everyone. There is not only the ABN, there are other effective projects – the League of Free Nations (the first congress was held in Estonia in the spring of 2024, – KV ), the Forum of Free Nations of Post-Russia (operating since the spring of 2022, – KV ). We actively cooperate on various platforms, not only in the format of coordinating actions but also in communicating to the free world the problems and tasks of liberating enslaved peoples from the serfdom of the Russian Federation.
So, at the end of last year, we held an exhibition called “Putin’s Real Political Prisoners.” Do you remember last year, there was an exchange of political prisoners between the USA and the Russian Federation, when typical “good Russians” were brought to the West under the guise of “political prisoners”?
KV: Not just “good Russians,” but typical Kremlin agents.
Viktor Roh: Exactly. And they started to push their rights and promote Kremlin theses there. In contrast, we made an exhibition to show real political prisoners who are not agitating for a “beautiful Russia of the future” to gain power but are really fighting for the freedom of people.
This exhibition was in Brussels, in the Canadian Parliament, and in the Baltic countries. The exhibition had a considerable resonance and shortly we will continue to present it in Europe and the USA.
KV: How did representatives of political circles in these states react to the exhibition? In particular, in Brussels, because the reaction of Baltic politicians is predictable and understandable – they understand very well what Russia is.
Victor Roh: The feedback from politicians everywhere was very positive. This exhibition really touches the hearts of Europeans. By the way, I recently met with a correspondent from Greece, who confirmed that they are very interested in the fate of the small nations of the so-called Russia.
KV: Trump’s election in the US has demonstrated the rapid devaluation of human rights and other principles on which the Western world was based after World War II. Brutal selfishness is coming to the fore, so I have to ask whether this exhibition and other actions have any effect on reducing the fear of the dismantling of Russia, which many Western politicians apparently still have, just as they did in the 1990s before the collapse of the USSR. However, at the moment the only good thing that can and should happen to the Russian Federation – both for us, for Russia itself, and the West – is the dismantling of the Moscow empire.
Viktor Roh: We don’t conduct sociological surveys on the effectiveness of our actions, there is no time or resources for that. But I have a firm opinion – yes, it has an effect.
KV: There are two key aspects in the formation of nations – the ability to resist armed forces against the occupier and national identity. A key feature of national identity is language. Many national languages, mainly Finno-Ugric, have been destroyed or almost destroyed in Russia. Do you see in them movements of restoration and rebirth of language and identity?
Victor Roh: I think so. There is some evidence for this – the interest of these nations in their language, identity and prospects, is growing. However, there are different examples in the connection “language = national identity”. For example, Jews or Irish.
KV: The identity of Jews is primarily religious. The Irish, as an island nation, can be compared to the Japanese. Moreover, Catholicism owes its mystical traditions precisely to the Irish, and Saint Patrick is Irish. And we are talking about continental enslaved nations, where if you do not build national borders, you will be swept away. We also went through this with “one people” and another imperial propaganda.
Viktor Roh: It’s a difficult question – what will happen to the liberated peoples of Russia? We’ll see. We still need to move in this direction.
KV: And what about the first cornerstone principle – the desire of the enslaved peoples of so-called Russia and their ability to resist armed resistance?
Viktor Roh: There are several points here. I will not talk about the ability to resist within the Russian Federation.
But we created the University of Free Nations, where specialists from various fields from Ukraine and beyond teach representatives of enslaved nations state-building, military affairs, legal sciences, politics, etc. At the end of last year, our university had its third graduation. The total number of graduates is about 300 people. This is a very serious training, which is also working in the right direction.
We understand that weapons are a great force. Several units have been created within the Armed Forces of Ukraine from representatives of indigenous peoples of the so-called Russian Federation, for example, the Siberian Battalion. And this work does not stop.
And all patriots of their peoples, future independent republics understand that their victory depends entirely on the victory of Ukraine.
KV: Everyone understands this. But these expectations of “Ukraine will win and we will live” sometimes become similar to shifting all their problems onto us. Do you see a healthy balance between your responsibility and expectations for us, Ukrainians?
Victor Roh: Everything is different here. For example, there are not so many Erzyans, but their Inyazor (elder) Bolyaen Syres ( Olexandr Bolkin ) is an impressive person. Tatars, Chechens, and Ingush are very active. And the Belarusians, who are also occupied by Russia, have the Kastus Kalinovsky Regiment – and it seems that there is no one else. But this means that Belarusians understand the power of weapons better than many others.
About Belarus, which I have been studying for decades, I can say in the words of our geopolitician Yuriy Lypa from his work “Black Sea Doctrine”: Belarus is a helmet on the head of Ukraine. I quote, it is in our interests, that the policy towards a free Belarus should be the most benevolent. But when Belarus is liberated. Currently, expectations of an external liberator dominate in their environment.
KV: Let’s go back to the Russian Federation, which needs to be dismantled. I often think back to the thesis that revolutions happen in capitals. I have no expectations for Moscow, and I also don’t have any expectations for the residents of the so-called second capital of the empire – St. Petersburg. However, intuition tells me that the continuous disintegration of the empire will begin precisely with this “city of three revolutions”. What do you think about Ingria – currently the same as Leningrad and the corresponding region?
Victor Roh: This is an interesting project, it is relatively new, but actively developing, despite its small personal history.
But the first to fire, for example, could be the so-called Kaliningrad (Konigsberg, – KV ). However, the push could come from where no one expects it.
The same campaign of Prigozhin showed that the inhabitants of the Russian Federation will not resist. The same is demonstrated by our Kursk operation, where there is no partisan movement on the part of the locals. Perhaps this is their habit of living under any lord, any authority, no matter how much the PR people of the “immortal regiment” travel around Russia.
History teaches us that what seemed impossible yesterday becomes a reality today.
KV: The final question: are we, Ukrainians, Ukraine, ready for the collapse of Russia? Because when independent republics arise on the territory of the so-called Russian Federation, they will face security challenges. It is not about civil war, but about ensuring the stability of new state formations, especially not of a national, but of a regionalist type. And, first of all, they will come to us for help.
Victor Roh: This will be a big challenge. Right now, I think we are not ready for this. We need to set such tasks and solve them in advance. It is time to start preparing for this. Photo:
Київвлада
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