The Museum hosted the Kyiv premiere of the film ‘“Lemyk: A Shot in Defence of Millions’”.

On 21 October 1933, 18-year-old student Mykola Lemyk arrived at the Soviet consulate in Lviv. He made an appointment with the consul under the name “Dubenko”, allegedly to travel to the USSR. He was received by the head of the office and Stalin’s special envoy, Chekist Oleksii Mailov. A few minutes later, a gunshot rang out from the office. It was a historic shot at Stalin’s lies, which brazenly denied and concealed his crime, the devastating famine in Greater Ukraine.

These events formed the basis for the film Lemyk: A Shot in Defence of Millions, which premiered in Kyiv on 15 November at the Holodomor Museum. The film was produced by the Apostolic Chota public organisation’s film studio. Nazar Boniashchuk, an actor at the Lesia Ukrainka National Academic Drama Theatre, plays the lead role.

After the screening, there was a meeting with the film’s creative team.

“I had a great desire to tell the story about Mykola Lemyk and thus revive the memory of one of the heroes we should remember and honour,’ says the film director, head of the Apostolic Chota public organisation, and chaplain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Father Mykhailo Hredil. ‘Mykola Lemyk became a symbol of struggle. He was not a warrior, but a child, only 18 years old! — yet he took on an incredibly important mission: to tell everyone about the famine that was ravaging Ukraine. He sacrificed everything: his life, his future, and his parents’ hopes for him. For whom? For the people who lived in eastern Ukraine, whom he did not even know. But he felt that they were his people, for whom he was ready to die.”

Father Mykhailo also commented on Mykhailo Lemyk’s actions from the perspective of the church: ‘This is war, and killing the enemy in war is not a sin.’

The film screenwriter, Taras Antypovich, a serviceman in the Ukrainian National Guard (also known for the movie Black Raven and the series And There Will Be People), emphasised that the film contains very little creative interpretation of events, and that ‘most of the scenes have a historical basis.’ “Many details are taken from the memories of those who participated in those events. Among the historical sources, I found Taras Shakh’s work ‘Born for a Feat’ and historian Volodymyr Birchak’s publications particularly interesting. Some of these details are very revealing. For instance, before the assassination, Lemyk, realising the historical significance of this event, asked to be bought decent shoes, because his were completely worn out.”

The screenwriter added that this special operation, developed and implemented by the OUN, was, by modern standards, a true IPSO. “Nowadays, the word ‘IPSO’ is on everyone’s lips, but it is worth remembering that as early as 1933, Ukrainian nationalists planned and successfully implemented information and psychological special operations. If we look at this IPSO, Lemik had to surrender to the Polish police in order to speak in court about the famine in Ukraine. This special operation had three target groups: the Soviet occupiers, who no longer felt safe in Halychyna; Ukrainians who found themselves under Soviet occupation; and the international community. And this IPSO hit all three targets.”

As producer Uliana Hredil emphasised, the film was initially planned as a short film, but eventually became a feature-length picture. The film can now be seen at small premiere screenings in various cities across Ukraine (follow the Apostolic Chota NGO page). However, it will eventually be made freely available so that more people can learn about Mykola Lemyk’s story.

As a reminder, the film was created with financial support from the Lviv Regional State Administration, the Horodok territorial community, and numerous benefactors.

We are grateful to the creative team for bringing the story of yet another Ukrainian hero to the screen, and we thank them for the memories and emotions!