News
About
FAQ
Exile
Documents
Our work
Search
Русский  Deutsch

Post-war deportations from the Ukraina

The title of this chapter was chosen under reservation, since the word "post-war" seems to be subject to a slightly inexact definition for two reasons: first, these deportations started in the summer of 1944; second, the defensive war in Little Ukrainia (Volhynia, Galicia and West Podolia), was continued in its entirety against the Soviet occupants until at least 1948. In rural areas this war was made by the regular troops of the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army), in the big cities by units of the underground movement.

According to the information available to us, they did not carry out any deportations from "Greater Ukraina" to our region during the 1940s and 1950s. All deportations exclusively referred to "Little Ukrainia", i.e. those parts of the Polish state that had been occupied in 1939 (and once again in 1944). As for their ethnic structure these streams of exiles mainly comprised Ukrainians, however, particularly during the years 1950-1951, Poles made up a considerable part of the exiles.

The first stream of exiles to our region started in August or September of 1944 from the Volhynsk region, partly from Lutsk and the neighbouring villages. Some of the exiles from this stream happened to get to Yenisseysk as well as to the district of Yenisseysk, others to farms attached to the Krasnoyarsk UNKVD (Administration of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs.) - to the Minderla agricultural cooperative and to Shilinka (in the Sukhobuzimsk district). Some received five year's term of exile under section 58-1 "B" (see section 10.4). However, they were not released within the period prescribed: in 1950 they were informed that they had been "exiled for ever."

The subsequent stream of exiles (possibly carried out in one transport) was directed from the region of Lvov to the mica factory in Zaozyorny, district of Rybnoye.

There are also records on the September deportation of the year 1947 from the Volhynsk region to Krasnoyarsk. At least some of the exiles from this stream were kept in exile in Kras-noyarsk.

The most large-scale streams of exiles from Ukraina came to our region during the year 1950. In the spring they started a transport from the Lvov region, which was unloaded in Krasnoyarsk. After that, when the ice drift had finished and ships could again navigate on the Yenissey, some of the exiles were taken on barges to the north, some to to the south, to Minusinsk. Some of them stayed in Minusinsk (after a period of two or three years they were

transferred to Krasnoyarsk), but most of them were taken to different mines in Khakassia, including the Askis district and Mana ( the copper mine and the Babik valley). In 1950 many exiles from the Lvov region also got to the Mana River and the settlement of Oreshnoe in the Mana district (however, these were probably exiles from other transports). During this time, in the summer of 1950, they deported exiles from West-Podolia from the Ternopol region into our region. They were unloaded in Uyar and then taken into the mountains, to the district of Partizanskoye, including the upper coarse of the Mana River: to Khabaydak and the mechanized timber station in Vilisty. Among them were not only Ukrainians but also Poles.

Neither could our region escape the exile stream of April 1951, to a large extent known as the "Deportation of Jehovah's Witnesses". In fact, this dreadful and virulent campaign did not fall on members of the Jehovah's Witnesses only (this particularly concerns the later summer deportation from the central districts of the Lvov region). However, disciples of this sect (Ukrainians and Poles, as well, both in approximately equal parts) made up the majority of this stream of exiles, which consisted of eight transports altogether and left Drogobych on April 8, 1951.

The route covered by one of these transports is known to us. In Achinsk the train changed directions and went to the south, to Abakan. At many stations (apparently not at all) one or two wagons were uncoupled.The exiles from this stream were put into kolkhoz farms in the districts of Nazarov and Ushur, as well as to Khakassia - to the Shira and Bograd districts.

The Ukrainian exiles were released in 1956-1957. The majority of the Poles, who had been gathered into these streams of exiles, immediately went home to Poland after their release (among them also members of the sect Jehovah's Witnesses). Some of the exiled Ukrainians, particularly those who had been in the April stream of 1951, were kept in exile until 1963 and even until 1964.


Home