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Konstantin Shteppa | |
|---|---|
Костянтин Теодосійович Штепа | |
| Born | (1896-12-15)December 15, 1896[1] |
| Died | November 19, 1958(1958-11-19) (aged 61) |
| Other names | Kost Shtepa |
| Occupation | Historian |
Konstantin Feodosyevich Shteppa[a] (December 15 (O.S. 3), 1896,Lokhvytsia – November 19, 1958,New York City) was a Soviet and American historian of German-[citation needed]Ukrainian descent. He studied history of the Byzantine Empire, the Orthodox Church, late medieval history of Ukraine and the history of Stalin's purges. Originally anNKVD informant, he switched allegiance to theSD, the intelligence agency of theSS and theGestapo, during World War II. He immigrated to the US after the war, where he taught and worked forRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Shteppa was born inLokhvytsia, nowadays inPoltava Oblast of Ukraine into the family of an Orthodox priest of German descent.[citation needed] He studied at the Poltava Theological Seminary (1910-1914) and at the Faculty of History and Philology of St. Petersburg University under Professor Mykhailo Rostovtsev.
In 1916 Shteppa transferred to amilitary school, eventually participating in theFirst World War. During thecivil war, he served in theWhite Army under command ofgeneralPyotr Wrangel.[1] He was arrested in 1919, seriously wounded in 1920, and taken prisoner during the retreat of Wrangel's army nearPerekop.
After the war, he completed his education at theNizhyn Institute of Public Education at the Faculty of History and Philology, the course of Professor Ivan Turtsevich. Shteppa was able to conceal his anti-Soviet past, procuring new identity papers and becoming known under the surname Shtepa (with one "p"). In 1927 he defended aPh.D. thesis and became a professor.[1] In 1930 he moved toKyiv.[2] He became a prominent Soviet historian, head of the Chair of Antiquity and the Middle Age inKyiv University, later dean of the historical faculty in the same university, and deputy of theKyiv City Council. In addition, he worked at the cultural-historical commission of the Department of Oriental Studies at theAll-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences.[2] He co-authored withOleksander Ohloblyn several propaganda articles against "Russian imperial chauvinism and local nationalism".[3]
From 1927 to 1938 he was an NKVD informant. On 18 March 1938, amidst theGreat Purge,[1] he was arrested for his alleged anti-Soviet sentiments. While he was in prison, his baby daughter died of hunger. After the dismissal ofNikolay Yezhov from the post ofMinister of the Interior, on 28 September 1939,[1] Shteppa was released without explanation and restored to his professor position at the University; Ukrainian historians accuse him of continued cooperation with NKVD.
After the start of theGerman-Soviet War Shteppa was drafted into theRed Army, but after getting wounded in a German air raid was allowed to return to Kyiv. He refused to evacuate and stayed in the city under German occupation.[1] He shortly worked as head of the education department in the city administration and head of Kyiv University (which was dissolved soon afterwards). On the latter position Shteppa's major concern was the procurement ofration cards for the university staff.[1]
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Shteppa came into conflict with the mayor of Kyiv,Volodymyr Bahaziy and his supporters, a group of pro-Melnyk Ukrainian nationalists, which resulted in their arrest and execution, as well as suppression of the city newspaper "The Ukrainian Word" (Ukrainske Slovo). As a result, Shteppa was appointed editor-in-chief of the newly created newspaper "The New Ukrainian Word" (Nove Ukrainske Slovo), where he worked in 1941-1943.[2] The newspaper took an openly pro-German stance and criticized the "nationalist" policy of the previous city administration. In 1943 Shteppa also worked as editor-in-chief of the Russian-language weeklyPoslednie Novosti.[1]
In September 1943 Shteppa left Kyiv for Germany together with his family.[1] NearSarny the train carrying the family was caught in anambush, which killed Shteppa's son-in-law.[1] At the end of the war Shteppa worked in the mass media of GeneralAndrei Vlasov's movement. His son Erasm was conscripted by the Wehrmacht in 1944, was captured by the Soviets, and spent 20 years in prison before he was able to emigrate to Germany.
Shortly after the war he metFritz Houtermans, a renowned physicist who had been his cellmate in 1938. The latter provided him and his family permits to stay in Germany.[4] Later they co-authored a book "Russian Purge and the Extraction of Confession",[5] which was published under the pseudonyms of Beck and Godin in order to protect their many friends and colleagues back in the USSR.[6]
Shteppa briefly worked as librarian forClemens August Graf von Galen after his arrival in Germany. In 1947-1949 he actively collaborated in the magazines "Posev" and "Grani".
In the early 1950s Shteppa himself managed to emigrate with the rest of his family to the US, where he worked for the CIA, taught Russian language and literature at the American Army School (1950-1952), published articles and books on Soviet and Russian history, and worked as a columnist forRadio Svoboda. Along with such scientists asAbdurakhman Avtorkhanov, V. O. Yakovlev (B. Troitskyi), O. P. Filipov, K. G. Krypton, and V. P. Marchenko, he was one of the co-founders and employees of the "Institute for the Study of the History and Culture of the USSR" in Munich (1950).
His role in persecution of Ukrainian nationalists in Kyiv under the German occupation was, however, never forgotten nor forgiven by them.Oleksander Ohloblyn ignored Shteppa in his publications on the modern Ukrainian historiography.
Shteppa died in 1958 at Queens Memorial Hospital inQueens,New York City.[7] Shteppa's daughter Aglaya Gorman (1924-2013) published a book of reminiscences about the family's history.[1]
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| Educational offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Rector of Kyiv University (under Nazi occupation) 1941–1942 | Succeeded by |
