Visti Kombatanta

Visti Kombatanta (Ukrainian: Вісті Комбатанта, "Combatant News") is a Ukrainian scholarly-historical quarterly journal that first appeared in 1961 in the United States. It was created through the merger of two earlier émigré publications: Holos Kombatanta ("Combatant Voice"), the organ of the Obiednannia buvshykh voiakiv-ukraintsiv v Amerytsi (ObVUA, the Association of Former Ukrainian Soldiers in America), and Visti ("News"), the organ of the Bratstvo kolyshnikh voiakiv 1 Dywizii UNA (Brotherhood of Former Soldiers of the 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army). The merger was formalized on 13 May 1961 at a ceremonial meeting held at the Ukrainian People's House in New York. The meeting was chaired alternately by Dr. Volodymyr Galan, head of the ObVUA main board, and Dr. Liubomyr Ortynskyi, head of the Brotherhood of the 1st Division. Dr. Ivan Kozak read the previously prepared texts of the agreement and two rulebooks (editorial and administrative), which were then signed by all present members of the main boards. Both organizations dissolved their separate press organs and jointly launched Visti Kombatanta as an equal partnership. The journal is published quarterly and is described as a scholarly-historical periodical. Its stated purpose, according to the 1961 agreement, is to preserve and transmit to future generations the cult and tradition of Ukraine's armed struggle for an independent state. The agreement stipulated that the journal must be a general Ukrainian combatant periodical and must not touch upon any party-political matters; it could not promote, spread, approve, or overturn the political positions of any Ukrainian émigré environment, center, party, or group. Both main boards approved the journal's budget and covered any shortfall through subsidies, in principle split in half; any profits were likewise to be divided equally or proportionally to the subsidies paid by each organization. The journal's editorial and administrative bodies were jointly established, with members responsible to their respective main boards. Representatives could be recalled or replaced only with the consent of the other main board. The work of the editorial and administrative staff, including the competences of responsible editors, was regulated by a separate rulebook attached to the agreement. Today Visti Kombatanta continues as an internet version ("ІНТЕРНЕТ-ВЕРСІЯ КВАРТАЛЬНИКА") hosted on a Blogspot site, maintaining its identity as the quarterly organ of the ObVUA and the Brotherhood of Former Soldiers of the 1st UD UNA. The online edition carries historical materials, including documents and memoirs related to the Second World War and Ukrainian military history. Its masthead carries the slogan "ПРАВО – ЗА ПРАДІДІВ ЗАКОН!" ("Right is the law of the forefathers!").

Visti Kombatanta emerged from the merger of two Ukrainian émigré publications in the United States. The first was Holos Kombatanta ("Combatant Voice"), the organ of the Obiednannia buvshykh voiakiv-ukraintsiv v Amerytsi (ObVUA, Association of Former Ukrainian Soldiers in America). The second was Visti ("News"), the organ of the Bratstvo kolyshnikh voiakiv 1 Dywizii UNA (Brotherhood of Former Soldiers of the 1st Division of the Ukrainian National Army). The process leading to the merger began on 6 September 1959, when the two organizations adopted a joint statement on combining their efforts in publishing. Negotiations and meetings between representatives of both organizations followed. On 13 May 1961, a ceremonial meeting of the main boards of both organizations took place at the Ukrainian People's House in New York. The meeting was chaired alternately by Dr. Volodymyr Galan, head of the ObVUA main board, and Dr. Liubomyr Ortynskyi, head of the Brotherhood of the 1st Division. According to the first issue of Visti Kombatanta, there was no discussion, as both leaders confirmed the unanimity of the earlier resolutions. Dr. Ivan Kozak read the previously prepared texts of the agreement and two rulebooks (editorial and administrative), after which all present members of the main boards signed them. Both leaders emphasized in their speeches the importance of the act against the backdrop of the then-current party-political and civic dispersion and particularism. Dr. V. Galan recalled his first meeting with former division members in the camp at Rimini, Italy, and later, thoroughly constructive contacts with this younger generation of Ukrainian military men. Under the signed agreement, both organizations liquidated Holos Kombatanta and Visti and began publishing Visti Kombatanta. The meeting was attended by Dr. Volodymyr Galan, Dr. I. Kozak, I. Porytko, Yu. Lopatynskyi, Y. Vyshnevetskyi, Dr. O. Utrysko, Ivan Kedryn-Rudnytskyi, A. Valiiskyi, R. Kupchynskyi, and P. Postoliuk, representing former participants of the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Ukrainian Galician Army, as well as autonomous cells within ObVUA — the Brotherhood of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen and the Association of Former UPA Soldiers. From the Brotherhood of the 1st Division were present Dr. L. Ortynskyi, Ye. Shypailo, I. Skira, V. Hrynokh, Ya. Terletskyi, and B. Artymyshyn. The meeting was preceded by a meeting on editorial matters, at which Z. Stefaniv was also present, and Dr. S. Ripetskyi sent his apologies for absence. After the meetings, a group photograph was taken and a modest refreshment was held. The agreement, concluded on 13 May 1961 in New York, N.Y., between the Main Board of the ObVUA and the Main Board of the Brotherhood of Former Soldiers of the 1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army, stated that both main boards, having ceased publishing their previous journals — "Holos Kombatanta ObVUA" and "Visti Bratstva kol. Voiakiv 1 Ukrainskoi Dywizii UNA" — proceed as equal partners to jointly publish a new Ukrainian combatant quarterly journal to be called "VISTI KOMBATANTA." For the publication of this journal, both main boards established, in agreement with each other, a joint Editorial and Administration. Members of these publishing bodies were responsible for their activities before their respective main boards. Representatives assigned to these joint publishing bodies could be recalled and replaced by each main board only with the consent of the other main board. The same applied when any member of the Editorial or Administration left its composition as a result of resignation, prolonged incapacity, or death, as well as when it was necessary to appoint a deputy for a member of the Editorial or Administration who, due to a temporary obstacle, could not perform their duties. In all those cases, the successor or deputy did not have to come from the same combatant organization to which their predecessor in the given post belonged. Furthermore, both main boards approved the journal's budget, and in case of a shortfall covered it through subsidies — in principle half each. Eventual profits from the journal were also to be divided in half, or proportionally to the amount of subsidy paid by the respective organization. The journal "Visti Kombatanta" was to be a general Ukrainian combatant periodical and, as such, could not touch upon any party-political matters. In particular, it could not on its pages promote, spread, approve, or overturn the political positions of any of the existing Ukrainian émigré environments, centers, parties, or groups. For contributions and reports placed on the pages of the journal reserved for internal affairs, such as chronicles of events, reports on activities, and other organizational matters of ObVUA, the Brotherhood of Former Soldiers of the 1st UD, or other combatant organizations that would have their columns in the journal, responsibility was borne exclusively by the leaderships of the organizations submitting them. The work of the Editorial and Administration, including the establishment of the competences of responsible editors, was regulated by a separate rulebook attached to the agreement. The journal has been published quarterly since 1961. In the present day, it continues as an internet version ("ІНТЕРНЕТ-ВЕРСІЯ КВАРТАЛЬНИКА") on a Blogspot site, carrying historical materials such as documents and memoirs related to the Second World War and Ukrainian military history.

• 1961

  Ceremonial meeting at the Ukrainian People's House in New York formalizes the merger; both organizations dissolve Holos Kombatanta and Visti and launch Visti Kombatanta.

• 1961

  First issue of Visti Kombatanta is published as a quarterly scholarly-historical journal.

• 1959

  The ObVUA and the Brotherhood of the 1st Division adopt a joint statement on combining their publishing efforts.

A non-party-political, general Ukrainian combatant scholarly-historical quarterly dedicated to preserving the tradition of Ukraine's armed struggle for independence.

• Visti Kombatanta quarterly journal

  A Ukrainian scholarly-historical quarterly journal published since 1961.

• Visti Kombatanta internet version

  The online edition of the quarterly, hosted on a Blogspot site.

1. 1ВІСТІ КОМБАТАНТА (official website)komb-a-ingwar.blogspot.com
2. 2Visti Kombatanta (Wikidata)wikidata.org
3. 3Вісті комбатанта (Ukrainian Wikipedia)uk.wikipedia.org