The mountainous terrain of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in western Ukraine is nowadays a haven for pleasure-seeking hill walkers, berry pickers and wild boar hunters.
But in the middle of the last century, the hills provided shelter for Ukrainian partisans fighting against Soviet occupation. These guerrillas would often live for weeks in hideouts high in the Carpathians.
Some of these safe houses are well-preserved, restored and accessible at the end of a pleasant hill walk, taking in stunning views and providing a glimpse into one of the most violent chapters in Ukraine’s history.
Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast was the site of heated battles in 1944-5, as Ukrainian freedom fighters descended from the mountainous terrain to launch attacks on Soviet-occupied towns. Fighting continued well into the 1950s, pitching fighters from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, against the Soviet NKVD, the forerunner of the KGB.
Located in the Black Forest, 63 kilometers southwest of Ivano-Frankivsk on the edge of the village of Maksymets is a typical example of a bunker where partisans hid out.
Colonel Mykola Tverdokhlib, a regional UPA commander whose nom de guerre was Hrim, or Thunder, spent the winter of 1953-4 here with five other fighters before they were discovered by the NKVD.
Chilly and damp three meters below ground, the partisans had only one entry, through this wooden hatch down a log ladder, camouflaged with soil and moss. (Volodymyr Obrazyuk)
The road leading to the village is rough after being battered by floods last year, but the scenic view more than compensates as you drive along the Bystrytsia River.
At the edge of Maksymets (but before reaching Bystrytsia village) a wooden bridge leads to a small farmstead community. The hunter’s trail that snakes up Berezovachka Mountain to the bunker is only accessible from a yellow-colored house that belongs to the Yaremchuk family.
Tell the Yaremchuks: “My do bunkera Hroma!” or “We’re going to Thunder’s bunker,” and they’ll let you through, offering water and other last-minute supplies.
The route to the underground hideaway is three kilometers of hill walking – reaching 1,300 meters above sea level – and lasts around two hours, depending on how fit you are. The local Hutsuls – a people who live in the Carpathians – brag that they can make the hike in just under an hour. The descent takes around 45 minutes.
The initial ascent is part of a mountain range called Verkh Berezniy, or Birch Summit. It’s steep and will last about twenty minutes before you reach a field with a gazebo that wild boar hunters use as a resting place.
Another 10 minutes of walking along the path will take you to the first of three rock fields along the slope of the mountain. The views of the surrounding mountains, forest lines and idyllic villages are breathtaking. The best view is from the third rock field, 1,200 meters above sea level.
Once you’ve left the last rock field behind, you’ll re-enter the forest in a steep ascent until you reach Berezovachka field where a shepherd’s cottage is located.
The bunker you’ll soon see was so well hidden that the local shepherd never noticed it. Its location was only revealed by one of its occupants, Luk Hrynishak, a partisan lieutenant, who Tverdohklib had dispatched in May 1954 after the winter to establish contact with a partisan guide in the nearby town of Yaremche.
He was caught by NKVD agents, and was tortured until he revealed where his hideout was, leading to the capture of Tverdokhlib, who had eluded the Soviets for 12 years.
Walk past the wooden cottage along the grassy field toward the top of Berezovachka Mountain. You’ll see three trails that eventually merge into one south of the glade, where you’ll pass an old rock trench dating to World War I that was used by the Austrian-Hungarian army to meet the advancing Russians.
One hundred meters past the trench you’ll see Tverdohklib’s bunker, marked by a memorial plaque and black and red flag.
Lift the wooden hatch and climb three meters down the ladder into the corridor using a flash light or headlamp, which leads into a room measuring three meters by four meters. Six people wintered on two-tiered bunk beds. In the middle is a table where they listened to a radio and read literature to keep in touch with what was happening in Ukraine and the world.
They had access to underground water, a small stove and a toilet, and kept food, kerosene and tools inside a closet leading from the main room.
Flooring was made of rocks that easily let in air so the room never felt stuffy. The bunker had a double-layered roof made from timber logs to keep snow from sinking in.
Tverdohlib and his wife completed the bunker in September 1953 after thoroughly scouting this area and working at night while using a handsaw covered with a towel. They camouflaged the bunker with soil and moss.
Almost 60 years later, the hideout was refurbished by the Student Brotherhood, a youth nonprofit, in 2004. Those who make the climb get a feel for the rough terrain that inhabits the mountains and a historical tidbit at the end of a long trail.
Kyiv Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].
