Ukrainian nationalist organization - Bandera faction

The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists—Bandera faction (OUN-B) appears in the novel not as an active group in the plot but as a historical reference whose name has become a weapon in contemporary political language. Its legacy is explicitly contested, while the label derived from it is shown being stretched to stigmatize present-day Ukrainian independence supporters—and, ironically, reclaimed by some of those it is meant to discredit.

Historical identity and contested legacy

The explanatory notes identify OUN-B as a militant Ukrainian nationalist organization of the Second World War era, led by Stepan Bandera. Bandera remains a divisive figure: some regard him as a hero of resistance to Soviet Russia, while others call him a fascist and antisemite, citing atrocities committed by members of the organization, particularly against Poles and Jews. The novel’s note preserves this conflict rather than resolving it into a single verdict.

The label in modern political language

The notes distinguish the historical organization from the modern use of the word “Banderite.” Russian propagandists apply the term broadly to supporters of Ukrainian independence, turning a historically charged name into a general accusation. This contemporary usage is not presented as a neutral description of membership in OUN-B; it is a polemical label attached to people whose politics may be unrelated to the wartime organization.

Irony and appropriation

The note also records an ironic reversal: the cynical use of Bandera’s name has led some of his critics to embrace his legacy, if only ironically. Ukrainian Jews who support national independence have taken to calling themselves “Judeo-Banderites.” The term thus reveals a political argument operating through labels: an accusation intended to discredit can be answered by adopting it, exposing the gap between the historical organization and the propagandistic category imposed on contemporary people.