Banderite

A Banderite or Banderovite (Ukrainian: бандерівець, romanized: banderivets; Polish: banderowiec; Russian: бандеровец, romanized: banderovets; Slovak: banderovec) is a name for the members of the OUN-B, a faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists. The term, used from late 1940 onward, derives from the name of Stepan Bandera (1909–1959), the ultranationalist leader of this faction of the OUN. Because of the brutality utilized by OUN-B members, the colloquial term Banderites quickly earned a negative connotation, particularly among Poles and Jews. By 1942, the expression was well-known and frequently used in western Ukraine to describe the Ukrainian Insurgent Army partisans, OUN-B members or any other Ukrainian perpetrators. The OUN-B had been engaged in various atrocities, including murder of civilians, most of whom were ethnic Poles, Jews, and Romani people.

In propaganda the term has been used by Soviets after 1942 as a pejorative term for Ukrainians, especially western Ukrainians or Ukrainian speakers. As Bandera had been officially declared a national hero, after Euromaidan, the term was used in Vladimir Putin-ruled Russia as a pejorative for Euromaidan activists and Ukrainians who support sovereignty from Russia.