«The ucommunist program» in the context of the KGB secret case «Block» realization

Abstract

The article analyzes the course and results of the KGB investigation of the identification of the author of the self-published document «The Ukommunist Program» in the framework of the case of block operative development “Block” in 1972. This problem has not been studied in Ukrainian historiography yet. The basis of sources is previously classified documents of the Sectoral State Archive of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSA SSU) concerning the case «Block».

During the investigation, KGB officers used various methods to obtain information about the authorship of the document. There are searches on the apartments of suspects, pressure on arrested dissidents during interrogations, textual and linguistic expertise of the text of «The Ucommunist Program», eavesdropping of the prison conversations, using spies inside the jail. In the spring of 1972, charges of writing, storing and distributing of «The Ucommunist Program» were brought to E. Sverstyuk, V. Chornovil, D. Shumuk, I. Svitlychny, M. Plahotniuk, Z. Antonyuk, V. Stus. In total, at least 17 people were suspected of being involved in the production and distribution of «The Ucommunist Program», ten of which belonged to the Kiev dissident cell and seven to the Lviv one. Due to controversial statements of imprisoned dissidents, their refusal to give testimony the efforts of the KGB workers in January–August 1972 were unsuccessful. Only nine months after the first discovery of a copy of «The Ucommunist Program», KGB officers were able to detect and crack down on its author, writer Vasyl Ruban. After his arrest, he flatly refused to cooperate with the investigation, did not answer questions from the KGB officers during interrogations, did not sign any protocols. The Soviet leadership decided to violence with the author of «The Ucommunist Program» by using psychiatric repression.

The author of the article concludes that identifying dissidents involved in the production and distribution of the Communist Program was one of the key tasks of the KGB of the Ukrainian SSR in 1972.

Keywords: «The Ucommunist Program», the case «Block», Vasyl Ruban, Ukrainian dissident movement, Soviet regime, KGB.