Description of Exhibits

Organizations “Sokil”, “Sich”, “Plast”

  1. Commemorative Sich medal for participants of the Shevchenko celebrations.
  2. Commemorative badge marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Taras Shevchenko, with participation of Sokils, Sich members, and Plast scouts.
  3. Uniform insignia of members of the “Sich” society.
  4. Uniform insignia of members of the “Sich” society.
  5. The highest Plast award — “Swastika of Gratitude” (1926).
  6. Plast badge “Swastika of Merit” of Subcarpathian Ruthenia (1922).
  7. Badge of a member of the Radical Party — a founding force of the Sich movement in Galicia.
  8. Badge of a member of the Ukrainian Sich Union, a precursor to the first Ukrainian military organization — the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen.
  9. Commemorative badge marking the foundation of the Plast troop “Lisovi Chorty” (“Forest Devils”).
  10. Plast insignia from the cap of the “Lisovi Chorty” troop (1950).
  11. Uniform insignia of a member of the “Luh” society.
  12. Sokil badge of the Lion (1914).
  13. Plast badge — the cross “For Significant Deed” (1927).
  14. Sokil badge of one of the Sokil branches in Galicia.
  15. Membership badge of Sokil organizations in Galicia.
  16. Widely used Sokil insignia from the early 20th century.
  17. Order of Saint George in bronze.
  18. Commemorative badge marking the 25th anniversary of Plast.
  19. Commemorative Plast medal of the 3rd Verkhovynska District, city of Stryi.
  20. Commemorative badge of a Plast scout gathering in the refugee camp in Mittenwald (Germany, 1947).
  21. Plast cap badge.
  22. Plast badge “For Significant Deed” in emigration (1949).
  23. Commemorative badge for displaced persons involved in celebrating the “Spring Festival” in the Aschaffenburg camp (Germany, 1948).
  24. Commemorative Sich medal for participants of the Shevchenko celebrations.

Historical Background

Sokil – a Ukrainian patriotic physical education and gymnastic society, founded in 1894 in Lviv.

Sich – a Ukrainian sports, firefighting, and gymnastic society, founded in 1900 by Kyrylo Trylovskyi. Operated in Galicia, Bukovyna, Zakarpattia, and also abroad.

Plast – the national Ukrainian Scouting organization. Founded in 1911 (the first official oath of members was held on April 12, 1912).
Among the founders: Petro Franko, Ivan Chmola, Oleksandr Tysovskyi.

Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (USS)

  1. Commemorative badge of the USS for participation in battles in Podillia (1916–1917);
  2. Memorial insignia for members of the Ukrainian Military Administration of the USS;
  3. Badge from the early formation period of the USS Legion (early 1914);
  4. Official military cockade of the USS, approved by the War Department of the Austro-Hungarian Empire;
  5. Memorial badge “USS Legion 1914–1916” for battle participation;
  6. Variant of the USS cockade, widely used among the civilian population;
  7. Uniform insignia worn by USS officers;
  8. Military cockade from the period of the Austro-Hungarian Empire’s collapse (1917);
  9. USS Cross of Bravery (design by I. Trush and O. Lushpynskyi, unrealized project);
  10. Commemorative badge issued to raise funds for the defense of Lviv (1916);
  11. Variant cockade for student volunteers serving one-year military terms;
  12. (Repeated) Variant cockade for student volunteers serving one-year military terms;
  13. Unrealized design of the insignia “Council of Sich Officers”;
  14. Commemorative badge for the 80th Anniversary of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen;
  15. Monogram badge “Freedom or Death” for members of the military organization “Sich Riflemen II”;
  16. Hexagonal stars from the USS uniform (standard Austro-Hungarian Army stars);
  17. (Repeated) Hexagonal stars from the USS uniform (standard Austro-Hungarian Army stars);
  18. Commemorative badge for participation in battles along the Strypa River (1916);
  19. Official military seal of the Treasurer of the USS Reserve Company;
  20. Commemorative badge for USS soldiers who fought near the village of Semakivtsi;
  21. Commemorative badge for participation in the battles for the Carpathian Passes (1915–1916);
  22. Commemorative badge for battles along the Zolota Lypa River (1915–1916);
  23. Personal identification tag for officers of the Austro-Hungarian Army;
  24. Commemorative badge “Hofmann Corps,” for service in the 129th and 130th brigades where USS soldiers served;
  25. Commemorative badge for USS soldiers who fought on Mount Lysone, near the town of Berezhany;
  26. Commemorative medal awarded to the winner of the “Bells of Lysone” festival (1919).

Ukrainian Galician Army (UGA)

  1. Commemorative badge with the symbolic name “Red Viburnum” from the period 1918–1920;
  2. Commemorative pin marking the proclamation of the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic (ZUNR) in Lviv on November 1, 1918;
  3. Cockade from the military uniform of a soldier of the Ukrainian Galician Army;
  4. Trial, unrealized design of the UGA Order “For Bravery” (designed by UGA chorunzhyi Mykhailo Brynskyi);
  5. Cockade from the military uniforms of UGA and UNR Armed Forces soldiers during their joint struggle against the Bolsheviks;
  6. Cockade of UGA artillerymen;
  7. Commemorative cross inscribed “Kyiv is Ours” marking the UGA’s entry into Kyiv on August 31, 1919;
  8. Button from the uniform of senior officers of the ZUNR;
  9. Lapel version of the UGA Cross for daily wear;
  10. Memorial UGA Combat Cross for veterans, issued in honor of the proclamation of the ZUNR;
  11. Unrealized project for an order honoring the defenders of Lviv, November 1–21, 1918;
  12. Memorial UGA Combat Cross for veterans of the USS who served in the ranks of the UGA (designed by Lev Lepkyi);
  13. Mazepa-style USS Cross;
  14. Button from a UGA soldier’s uniform;
  15. Seal of the 1st Corps of the 10th Brigade of the UGA;
  16. Badge with the coat of arms of the city of Stryi, used by the city administration when Stryi served as the temporary capital of the ZUNR;
  17. Commemorative badge for veterans of the Ukrainian War of Independence (1918–1921);
  18. Insignia for UGA and ZUNR prisoners of war (1920–1924);
  19. Commemorative badges and awards (#20 and #21) issued in connection with the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on February 9, 1919.

Armed Forces of the Ukrainian People’s Republic (UNR)

  1. Commemorative badge marking the proclamation of the Fourth Universal of the UNR;
  2. Commemorative insignia “United Coat of Arms of Ukraine” (designed by USS chorunzhyi Yulian Butsmaniuk);
  3. One of the earliest cockades from the formation period of the first Ukrainianized regiments, repurposed from a Russian cockade;
  4. Variants of improvised cockades from individual military formations;
  5. Military cockade from the time of Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi’s rule;
  6. State Emblem of Ukraine (designed by Heorhiy Narbut);
  7. General military cockade of the Armed Forces of the UNR;
  8. (Repeated) Variants of improvised cockades from individual military formations;
  9. Commemorative badge marking the proclamation of the UNR;
  10. Insignia of the Kyiv School for Ensigns (Praporshchyky) during the Hetmanate period;
  11. One of the first cockades of the Sich Riflemen (Kyiv-based);
  12. Badge of the Ukrainian Free Cossacks;
  13. Military seal of the “Free Cossacks of Kharkiv Region”;
  14. Badge of the members of the “Union of Hetmanites-Statehood Advocates”;
  15. Order (Cross) of Symon Petliura for veterans of the War of Independence;
  16. Order of the Iron Cross of the UNR Army for the First Winter Campaign;
  17. Order for participants of the Second Winter Campaign;
  18. Unrealized design of the “Liberation” Order;
  19. Commemorative medal for the 10th anniversary of the death of Mykola Mikhnovskyi — one of the founders of the UNR army;
  20. Insignia of the 1st Zaporizhzhia Regiment named after Taras Shevchenko;
  21. Military seal of the UNR Railway Battalion;
  22. Insignia of the 6th Rifle Division under General-Chorunzhyi Marko Bezruchko;
  23. Insignia of the Junior Officers’ School in the internment camps for UNR and UGA soldiers in Poland;
  24. Graduation badge from the Joint Engineering School in Kyiv;
  25. Medal for the 10th Anniversary of the Rebirth of the Ukrainian State;
  26. Directory Commemorative Cross for the 10th Anniversary of the Act of Union (Act Zluky);
  27. Badge “Council of Kyiv Sich Riflemen Officers”;
  28. (Repeated) Directory Commemorative Cross for the 10th Anniversary of the Act of Union;
  29. Commemorative badge marking the 1st anniversary of the assassination of Symon Petliura;
  30. Commemorative medal in honor of S. Petliura with the inscription: “It is no time to serve the Muscovite or the Pole”;
  31. (Repeated) Commemorative medal in honor of S. Petliura with the inscription: “It is no time to serve the Muscovite or the Pole”;
  32. Commemorative medal marking the 40th anniversary of Symon Petliura’s assassination.

Ukraine during the Second World War

  1. Insignia from the uniform of the Brotherhood of Ukrainian Nationalists, Battalion “Nachtigall” (Nightingale). Designed by Edward Kozak;
  2. Insignia of Colonel Roman Sushko’s Legion bearing the motto “Glory to Ukraine”;
  3. Cockade of a soldier from a Ukrainian self-defense unit;
  4. Cockade from the uniform of a soldier of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA);
  5. Belt buckle of a UPA soldier with the inscription “Ukrainian Insurgent Army”;
  6. Cockade of the 1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army under General Pavlo Shandruk;
  7. Cockade from the uniform of the Ukrainian Auxiliary Police;
  8. Commemorative medal honoring Stepan Bandera, assassinated by Soviet agent Bohdan Stashynsky;
  9. (Repeated) Commemorative medal honoring Stepan Bandera, assassinated by Soviet agent Bohdan Stashynsky;
  10. Commemorative Cross of the Carpathian Sich for soldiers of the Carpathian Sich. Designed by Dr. Yurii Sas-Podluzhnyi;
  11. Insignia of a Ukrainian political prisoner;
  12. (Repeated) Insignia from the uniform of the Brotherhood of Ukrainian Nationalists, Battalion “Nachtigall” (Nightingale). Designed by Edward Kozak;
  13. Insignia of a member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN);
  14. Insignia of the Ukrainian Combatants’ Association;
  15. Commemorative Cross for veterans of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA);
  16. Improvised insignia from the officer school for non-commissioned officers “Oleni”;
  17. (Repeated) Improvised insignia from the officer school for non-commissioned officers “Oleni”;
  18. Insignia of the Legion named after Symon Petliura for former Ukrainian soldiers of the Soviet army;
  19. Insignia of Carpatho-Ukraine soldiers (Khust, 1939);
  20. Commemorative medal for the 50th anniversary of the Proclamation of the Restoration of the Ukrainian State in Lviv (1941);
  21. (Repeated) Commemorative medal for the 50th anniversary of the Proclamation of the Restoration of the Ukrainian State in Lviv (1941);
  22. Insignia of a UPA soldier: “For Ukraine! For Freedom! For the People!” (1947);
  23. UPA Cross of Merit (awarded exclusively to UPA soldiers);
  24. Commemorative badge for those interned at the Rimini camp;
  25. Medal of Archangel Michael (St. Michael the Archistrategos);
  26. Medal for veteran soldiers wounded in battle for Ukraine’s independence. Established in 1980;
  27. Unrealized design of a currency unit for Carpatho-Ukraine (Khust, 1939).

Note

The exhibition “Ukrainian Military Insignia from the Period of the National Liberation Struggle, 1914–1952” was created by Mykhailo Dmytriv, member of the public organization “Society for the Search of War Victims ‘Pamyat’”.

The collection of insignia was donated to the museum by the family of the fallen Hero Nazarii Liber.