Lebed, Mykola.

Mykola Lebed (1910-1998) is an important figure for Ukrainian history, particularly for the period from the 1930s to the 1970s when he was closely involved in the leadership of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the Ukrainian Supreme Liberation Council (UVHR), and the Prolog Research Corporation. These organizations were engaged at various times in struggles against occupying forces in Western Ukraine, including the Polish inter-war regime, the German and Soviet Armies during the Second World War, and, subsequently, the Soviet post-war regime. Upon immigrating to the United States, Lebed's active involvement in the Ukrainian movement continued. He was instrumental in establishing the Prolog Research Corporation that was responsible for monitoring and reporting on political, economic, and cultural developments in Soviet Ukraine, including studies of the important dissident movement of the 1960s and 1970s.

Mykola Lebed was born on November 23, 1910, in Novi Strilyshcha, Bibrka county in Western Ukraine. In 1929 while attending school in Lviv, he helped organize the youth movement of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). During the 1930s he served as a liaison between the OUN leadership, Ievhen Konovalets in Europe, and the organization's national executive in Western Ukraine. His liaison activities led to travel to Czechoslovakia, Germany, and Italy. Lebed was arrested in 1934 for complicity in planning the assassination of Gen. Bronislaw Pieracki, the Polish Minister of Internal Affairs, who was known for his repressive measures against Ukrainians. Sentenced to death, the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment and Lebed remained in a Warsaw prison until September 1939. Forced to evacuate, Lebed managed to escape the prison column marching eastwards.

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