Thousands of people marched through the streets of Ukraine’s capital on the first day of the new year to mark the anniversary of a controversial nationalist hero.<br /><br />Stepan Bandera is glorified by many in the west of the country as a mid 20th century freedom fighter, but the fact that he sided with the Nazis to fight the Communists alienates many in the east.<br /><br />Bandera supporters explained why they regularly mark the anniversary of his birth.<br /><br />“Every year since 2006, Svoboda marches on the 1st of January in memory of him and to spread his ideas. The ideas are very simple: to create an independent country, where Ukrainians will be the owners of their motherland,” said one. <br /><br />“Nationalism has nothing to do with Nazism and even less with fascism. That’s why these marches were used as scare stories by the Soviet-era secret police,” added another.<br /><br />Bandera was eventually assassinated in 1959 by the KGB in West Germany. <br /><br />Although widely criticised, his far-right supporters see him as a rallying figure for today’s anti-government protests.
