What World War II Player is Behind the Crisis in Ukraine?

On the day when both President Obama and President Putin address the seventieth anniversary seesion of the United Nations, Ukrainian nationalists are massed outside, demonstrating in support of a government brought to power thanks to American manipulations and the powerful influence of a World War II Ukrainian nationalist hero. Few specifics have been written about Stepan Bandera, whose youthful black-and-white image was seemingly everywhere — on barricades, over the entrance to Kiev’s city hall, and on the placards held by demonstrators calling for the overthrow of then-president Viktor Yanukovych.   Western media have consistently papered over his role in the mass killings of Poles, Russians and Jews, hedging the convictions of his current followers.  The following article traces his dominant role in Ukrainian nationalism from the early twentieth century to the present. A must read.