Echoes of Starobilsk Camp: Ukraine’s Reckoning With a Soviet Crime
The Starobilsk camp, originally a Ukrainian Orthodox monastery in the Luhansk region, was repurposed by the Soviet NKVD in 1939 to imprison nearly 3,900 Polish officers under brutal conditions. Today, it stands as a site of profound historical significance for both Poles and Ukrainians.
Starobilsk monastery
This atrocity was part of the broader Katyn massacre. In the spring of 1940, under orders from the Soviet NKVD, Polish officers were transported from Starobilsk (Starobielsk in Polish) to Kharkiv, where they were executed and buried in mass graves in the nearby Piatykhatky forest. In total, over 22,000 Polish nationals were systematically murdered.
For decades, the Soviet Union suppressed the truth about these events. However, since gaining independence, Ukraine has made concerted efforts to acknowledge and commemorate this dark chapter. As the facts emerged, Ukrainians began reflecting deeply on the tragedy, expressing regret over the long silence and lack of awareness. By confronting this painful history, Ukraine contributes to a broader understanding of shared trauma and the importance of preserving the memory of the victims.
In 1994, the remains of 48 Polish officers were exhumed in Starobilsk and reinterred in the village of Chmyrivka. A memorial plaque was unveiled at the monastery site in 2012, and annual commemorations are held to honor the victims. Today, this part of the Luhansk region is under Russian occupation, leaving the current state of these historical sites uncertain.
Uncovering the Truth: The Work of Valeriy Snehiriv
Historian Valeriy Snehiriv has played a pivotal role in uncovering the tragedy of the Starobilsk camp and ensuring its victims are remembered. He first encountered the Katyn issue in 1988 while researching Marshal Tukhachevsky’s 1920 campaign as a student at the Luhansk Pedagogical Institute. In Moscow’s archives, he stumbled upon references to the POW camp in Starobilsk—though NKVD records deliberately omitted it. A visit to Starobilsk yielded no answers, as locals claimed ignorance. His persistence led him to the Luhansk archives, and after Ukraine’s independence, he finally accessed previously restricted documents.
Snehiriv’s years of meticulous research culminated in the exhibition The Revival of Ukraine, featuring a photo-documentary display titled Hostages of an Unannounced War, which chronicles the story of the Starobilsk camp. The exhibition includes powerful firsthand testimonies from Ukrainians who witnessed the camp’s operations.
Voices from the Past: Eyewitness Accounts
One such account comes from Lyudmyla Kovalenko, a graduate of the Starobilsk medical school:
“I was summoned to the military enlistment office and assigned as the senior nurse in the camp clinic. Among the prisoners were doctors who spoke Russian fluently and shared insights about Poland’s healthcare system. Medical care in the camp was adequate, and everyone received timely treatment.
Though the food was decent, we secretly brought sweets and cookies for the prisoners—but only when friendly Red Army soldiers were on duty. The guards inspected our bags at the gate. Once, the shift changed unexpectedly, and a new guard discovered the treats in my bag. He let me pass without a word, but my friend, who worked in the kitchen, was arrested. I never saw her again.”
A Sacred Space Defiled: The Monastery’s Tragic Transformation
Before its conversion into a prison, the Starobilsk camp was the “Joy of All Who Sorrow” monastery, a spiritual center for the local Orthodox community. Many Ukrainians who grew up with the monastery as a cornerstone of their lives were devastated by its transformation into a detention center. Yet, despite its grim new purpose, some church members continued to visit the site, clinging to its sacred past.
The Lesson of Starobilsk: Truth Over Silence
The Soviet strategy of suppressing and distorting history proved both cruel and futile. In contrast, Ukraine’s choice—to confront its painful past with honesty and remembrance—offers the only honorable path forward. The story of Starobilsk serves as a stark reminder that reckoning with history, however painful, is essential for justice and reconciliation.
Alina Zozulia
