Eugene Konovalec

Eugene Konovalec was born on the 14th of June 1891 in the village of Zashkiv in Lviv region. He was an outstanding and famous leader of Ukrainian nationalists. He studied at Lviv gymnasium from 1901 to 1909, and later majored in law at Lviv University. Konovalec joined the army to fight against Russian troops. He showed tremendous courage and exceptional heroism in battle on the front-line. Eugene was captured by Russians in the battle near Makiivka in 1915. Two years later, in 1917, he had a lucky escape which brought him to Kyiv, where he took an active part in the struggle for Ukrainian independence; though, he had tasted freedom only to lose it again, and was recaptured by Polls near Lutsk in 1919, however he managed to escape for the second time.
Eugene Konovalec was already in Lviv on the 20th of July 1921, determined to pursue his noble goal of achieving Ukrainian independence.
In 1922 he lived in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, establishing close contacts with famous political leaders and statesmen.
Seven years later, in 1929, the participants of the first Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists founded the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists in Vienna, subsequently Eugene Konovalec was appointed the chairman of this, renowned for its revolutionary activity, organization. He was an energetic man who initiated close relations with political circles of Germany, Great Britain, Lithuania, Spain, Belgium, France and Canada.
His brave deeds were more often than not considered perilous by the Soviet communist regime and consequently he was eliminated by a Soviet agent in Holland on the 23d of May 1938. Eugene Konovalec was buried in Rotterdam.