Olena Stepaniv

Olena Ivanivna Stepaniv (December 7, 1892, Vyshnivchyk village, Peremyshlany district, Austria-Hungary — July 11, 1963, Lviv, Ukrainian SSR) was a Ukrainian soldier, historian, geographer, and educator. Co-founder and commander of the women's company of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (1914), she was one of the first women to officially serve as a combatant in the USS. A participant in the Carpathian Campaign, she was awarded the Medal for Bravery on November 10, 1914. Captured by Russian forces in May 1915, she was imprisoned in Volsk and Tashkent until July 1917. She served as company commander in the 4th Zolochiv Brigade of the Ukrainian Galician Army (1918–1919) and earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Vienna in 1921. She taught geography in Lviv. Imprisoned by the Soviet regime in the Mordovian camps from 1949 to 1956. Wife of UNR Army Colonel Roman Dashkevych and mother of historian Yaroslav Dashkevych.

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