(КПІ ім. Ігоря Сікорського, 2023) Perga, Iu.; Pashov, R.; Makhno, O.
The article examines the challenges encountered by democratic institutions in the 1920s, focusing particularly on the Second Polish Republic. It delves into the tactics employed by communist forces to maneuver around restrictions on their activities by leveraging democratic processes for their advantage. Ukrainian communities in the Chelm and Podlasie regions are central to this analysis, as they became primary targets for communist infiltration and subversion of democratic mechanisms. The study investigates the conversion of organizational branches into covert cells of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine, the reconfiguration of a newspaper into a tool for political propaganda, and the influence over local opinion to facilitate the election of pro-communist officials in the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland. This article sheds light on the intricate dynamics of Ukrainian political involvement during this period and its broader implications for understanding the challenges faced by democratic institutions.