Chuchupak Vasyl Stepanovych

Vasyl Stepanovych Chuchupak (; 11 March 1895 – 12 April 1920) was the leader of the Kholodny Yar Ukrainian partisan movement during the Ukrainian War of Independence.

Biography

Born in 1895 in the village Melnyky in the Chyhyryn region, Chuchupak served in the Imperial Russian Army with his brother Petro and was a village teacher.

Chuchupak's family was highly regarded within the Melnyky village. They were wealthy peasants and provided a good education for their offsprings. In particular, Vasyl's brothers Oleksa Chuchupak and Semen Chuchupak were village teachers, and Petro Chuchupak studied in Kyiv Academy of Music, furthermore, some of his relatives were priests, namely, Demian and Avtonom Chuchupaks.

Chuchupak was the leader (Otaman The republic included 25 villages (with Melnyky serving as its "capital"

The teacher's reputation and his organizational skills with transferable war experience skills made a creation of a strong insurgent organization as a segment of Ukrainian National Republic possible"

In the 21st century the Kholodny Republic flag was used during the Euromaidan demonstrations and by the Azov Battalion.