Зиновій Тершаковець в усноісторичних і фольклорних джерелах

The article is devoted to the consideration of the folklore biography of one of the outstanding figures of the OUN-UPA Zinoviy Tershakоvets. The source base and the object of the research are interview materials, that the author conducted in 2021 in the small homeland of the hero ‒ in the villages of Yakymchitsi and Klytsko of the Komarno Territorial Community in Lviv region ‒ from respondents, who witnessed the events of the national liberation movement, and their descendants. Attention is focused on key moments of life, about which folk memory has preserved information, interpreted and supplemented it in a unique way: name, external and internal characteristics, activity and its significance for the underground movement, heroic death. In the depiction of appearance and character traits, positive connotations dominate: handsome, blond, scientist, intellectual, Ukrainian. The durability of the tradition can be traced, in particular the kinship with historical-heroic tales about the Cossacks, Opryshks, and narrative creativity about Sich Riflemen. The activities of Z. Tershakovets are most fully reflected in the collected materials. Its actualization is connected both with the direct real contacts of the narrators with the hero (he came to the neighbors for lunch, gave orders and tasks, addressed directly to the respondents), and with the formation of imaginary moments interpreted in the vein of folk tradition. The episode of the death of Z. Tershakovets in the Obroshyno forest was particularly influenced by this tradition, as the respondents were not direct witnesses of the event. The extremely importance of storytellers in broadcasting and preserving information about local heroes is indicated. Emphasis is placed on the special mission of family stories in the times of totalitarianism.