1917-1920 saw the fall of Tsarist Russia and the rising of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Taking advantage of this time, Ukraine declared its independence in January 1918 and started to rebuild the nation. Ukrainian students from high schools and universities were very active in the rebuilding, especially in education of the masses.

In order to control the hearts and minds of Ukrainian youth, the Bolsheviks established a new youth organisation, KOMSOMOL — Communist Association of Youth. This organisation instilled in its members hatred of anything Christian or Ukrainian. In schools they hounded any patriotic Ukrainian youth from any formal leadership positions as well as scared them to ensure that they would not want to undertake any anti communist activities. In addition, without the endorsement of KOMSOMOL, it was difficult if not impossible to enter higher studies or obtain a good job. Members of KOMSOMOL also participated in anti religious parades, dressing up as priests and nuns or figures from the Gospel and degraded Christianity and Church practices with profanities, taunts and hilarity.

In 1925 under the leadership of the respected patriotic academics Serhij Yefremov and Volodymyr Durdukivskyj, 20 year old Mykola Pavlushkov started to organise Ukrainian youth with the aim of bringing together like minded people who believed in Christianity and the freedom of Ukraine. This is why the motto of SUM became God and Ukraine.

Members of SUM prepared a great deal of Ukrainian literature and distributed it to students and the wider community and were active against collectivisation. They also organised choirs, dancing, drama and knowledge groups.

Because the Bolsheviks considered the members of SUM to be enemies, SUM had to be organised conspiratorially on a system of groups of five. In each group each member had to organise another group of five who were only known to those in their own circle.