The ultimate value of a dissident is to care for the nation above anything else, which Oleksa Tykhyy has proven to embody. Oleksa Tykhyy was an ambitious Ukrainian teacher towards the youth, who taught his students philosophy and the importance of searching for the truth in order to fight the unjust (Radio Liberty). He encourages the youth to become more mindful of their surroundings, by already implementing doubt of the Soviet government into their minds. And how they, as young individuals, could advocate for independence. He would also criticize the election process and the lack of alternative resources to prove that these elections were rigged (Radio Liberty). Oleksy Tykhyy had to ensure that the vote of the people is what took place during these elections, which it evidently didn’t, and to make sure that the people of Ukraine are the ones choosing their representatives. He would then write a document, addressing Ukrainian civilians to be proud and to fight for their nation.  This document was titled, Reflections on my native Donetsk, and would represent his ideals on the morals a Ukrainian civilian should have: “I am but a tiny cell of the vibrant Ukrainian nation. Individual cells die, but the body continues living. Some people die sooner, some later, but the nation lives on because nations are immortal” (Oleksa Tykhyy). Oleksa Tykhyy makes certain that he is a distinct individual of the world, and that he is also a human who should be given basic rights. Tykhyy uses the metaphor of a human body to emphasize the significance of being part of the whole, and that the body, or rather Ukraine as a nation,  will continue living on because of the sacrifices made by the cells, who are the dissidents. Following the morals of a dissident is the only way to gain independence from an unjust authority, which Tykhyy understood to do.

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Oleksa Tykhyy dedicates his life through relentless protests, always advocating the struggles of the oppressed with no amount of arrests to make him surrender. In 1956, hundreds of thousands of Hungarians made an attempt to be free from Soviet rule, which is known as the Hungarian Revolution. Unfortunately, this revolution hastily became violent, and would result in a massacre enacted by the Soviet officers, by shooting into a crowd filled with peaceful protesters. The continued violence ruined the lives of Hungarians, forcing hundreds of thousands to be displaced. This turn of events proved to Tykhyy that the Soviet Union will not be able to handle these countries for much longer, and so Oleksa Tykhyy immediately censures the Soviet Union, stating how communism is not, and will never be, possible (Radio Liberty). Tykhyy utilized this circumstance to his advantage, because this fabrication within the communist government proves that the Soviet Union can be weakened by civilians. This only added more reason for Ukrainians and other countries under Soviet rule to protest. Because the massacre of civilians, which included women and children, demonstrates the lack of concern the USSR has towards ordinary citizens. On January 15th, 1957,  Oleksa Tykhyy was arrested for the second time after protesting for the occupation of Hungary. This did not stop him from ignoring the circumstances occurring in Hungary, and would continue getting arrested on various accounts, threatening the safety of his life for independence from the Soviet Union (UHA). The strength of Oleksa’s morals are unmatched, along with his determination to continue bothering the USSR at great risk to his life. His numerous arrests by the USSR showcased his resilience to not concede defeat to the Soviets, and to protest for the people who necessitated resistance.

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Tykhyy would continue to resist against the Soviet Authority while in the Gulag, to prove how powerful Ukraine’s resistance is. On July 1st, 1977,  The USSR accuses Tykhyy for possessing firearms without permission, and send him to the Gulag for his remaining days. Because of his decline in health previous to his imprisonment, Tykhyy understood that it is unlikely for him to survive this. Although his decline in health was drastically worsening during his time in the Gulag, Tykhyy still wanted to find any way he can to show his support for Ukraine, which is the reason why he accomplished a fifty-two day hunger strike to protests the vile conditions the Soviet Union enforces in the Gulags (Radio Liberty). His dedication to do any means necessary in order to continue protesting the Soviet Union was shown through the acts of the hunger strike, as he knew he was not going to heal from it. Oleksa Tykhyy was completely adamant on showing his support for the other dissidents suffering in the gulag, that he dedicated this hunger strike for them. He ended up weighing only forty kilograms, which is eighty eight pounds. This resulted in him requiring surgery for his stomach, however it is suspected that the doctor purposely made his pain even more unbearable by stitching him improperly. The officers who tasked to ‘care’ for Tykhyy would instead make the last moments of his life as miserable as possible, by torturing him in various ways. Oleksa Tykhyy died May 6th, 1984, due to his health and damage done by officers. Dissidents like Levko Lukianenko and Vasyl Ovsiyenko, who were mourning for their friend, declared to start their own hunger strikes to show support for Tykhyy’s cause. Oleksa Tykhyy was later re-buried in Kyiv, accompanied by tens of thousands of Ukrainains attending the ceremony to show their support. The constant torture and teasing Tykhyy was forced to put up with was unbearable to handle, and still it is stated that not once did he admit defeat or comply with the officers to spare his life.

 

The death of Oleksa Tykhyy had a tremendous impact on thousands of dissidents, because the way he died showed resilience and how he’s a part of the nation as a whole, referencing the human body quote prior. His life’s work and reasoning for his death was so inspiring that it convinced multiple of his peers to achieve the same protests as he did, to dedicate his bravery to outlast his own life. The thousands of people attending his funeral shows the impact he has made to everyone, how his actions resulted in many people to fight and preserve from the threats of the Soviet Union. Oleksa Tykhyy’s legacy continues after his death, through the support and admiration from Ukrainian civilians, and is an inspiration of what it means to be Ukrainian.