Love, revolution, and a decade in camps: the hidden life of Galina Kuzmenko, a fierce companion of Nestor Makhno.
In the whirlwind of the Ukrainian revolution of the early 20th century, the figure of Halyna Kuzmenko holds a unique place. The wife of the legendary Nestor Makhno, she transformed from a modest teacher into a fearless revolutionary, whom the Makhno supporters referred to as "mother" and treated with both respect and fear.
Their story began in Huliaipole, where Halyna (Agafiya by passport) worked as a fourth-grade teacher in a rural school. In 1918, fate brought her together with Nestor Makhno – the leader of the insurgent movement. They were remarkably different: she was tall, beautiful, and educated, wearing pince-nez; he was short, unremarkable, and somewhat rough. However, this did not prevent them from uniting their fates in marriage.
Combat Companion of the Ataman
Halyna quickly proved that she could be not only a wife but also a true combat companion. Alongside the men, she participated in attacks, fired a machine gun, and wielded a saber. A particularly telling incident occurred after the Red Army executed her father. According to eyewitness accounts, upon learning about the treacherous neighbor who had betrayed her father, Halyna personally punished her with a saber. It was after this incident that the Makhno supporters began to respectfully call her "mother."
Political Activity
In the autumn of 1919, Halyna headed the Union of Teachers of the Makhno Republic. In this role, she actively promoted the Ukrainianization of all administrative processes in the insurgent state. As noted by Makhno's associate Viktor Belash, Halyna was an "untiring defender of women" and a staunch advocate for Ukrainian independence.
Emigration and Trials
In the summer of 1921, the couple permanently left Ukraine. They first fled to Romania and then to Poland. This period was particularly challenging – Nestor sustained a severe gunshot wound, and doctors gave him little chance of survival. However, thanks to Halyna's care, he pulled through. At the same time, their only daughter, Elena, was born.
The trials continued in September 1923 when Polish authorities arrested the couple on charges of preparing an uprising in Galicia. However, due to a lack of evidence, the court issued an acquittal.
Parisian Period
In 1924, the family moved to Germany and later settled in France, in a cramped one-room apartment in the Paris suburb of Vincennes. Relations between the couple deteriorated, and they separated in 1927. Nevertheless, Halyna continued to support her ex-husband, especially as his tuberculosis progressed. Nestor Makhno passed away on July 6, 1934, at the young age of 45.
Return and Imprisonment
After her husband's death, Halyna attempted to run her own business in Paris by opening a grocery store. When that failed, she worked as a cleaner, laundress, cook, and even in a shoemaker's workshop. During the German occupation of France, she and her daughter moved to Berlin.
After the war, despite the opportunity to escape to the western occupation zone, Halyna chose to remain in East Berlin in hopes of returning to Ukraine. Her dream came true, but not in the way she had hoped – upon arriving in Kyiv, she was arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison for her involvement in the Makhno movement and anti-Soviet activities in exile. Her daughter Elena was exiled for five years to the Kazakh city of Jambyl.
Final Years
After being released following Khrushchev's amnesty in 1954, Halyna reunited with her daughter in Jambyl. Once a beautiful and stately woman, she had turned into a bent old woman. Before retiring, she worked at a cotton mill.
Halyna Kuzmenko passed away in 1978 in Jambyl. However, before her death, she managed to fulfill her cherished dream – to visit her native Huliaipole one last time, where she left an unforgettable impression on her former fellow villagers.
Earlier, "Telegraph" reported on a Kyiv resident who wrote 8,000 denunciations in the USSR. She demanded the repression of Khrushchev himself.