In 1940, 3809 captive Polish officers and 500 Polish civilians were shot here by order of the Soviet government.
Kharkiv forest park is the place that has witnessed a horrific crime. In 1940, 3809 captive Polish officers and 500 Polish civilians were shot there by order of the Soviet government.
The Soviet Union continued to destroy Polish statehood. Hundreds of thousands of Polish soldiers and civilians were taken prisoner by the Red Army after the Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939 and the occupation of its part according to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
By the spring of 1940, 23,000 Polish officers remained in Soviet labour camps and prisons, many of whom used to be scientists, lawyers, and physicians before the war. They were Polish intelligentsia. In March-April 1940, the Soviet leadership ordered the execution of all of them. This is how the Katyn massacre was carried out – simultaneously in the Katyn forest, the Kalinin prison, the Kharkiv forest park, and other places in the USSR.
Together with the Polish officers, thousands of repressed and shot Ukrainians found their final resting place there. 2746 Soviet citizens of different nationalities were also buried there in 60 graves after being executed by the Soviet totalitarian ‘machine’.
Only 60 years after the tragedy, already independent Ukraine initiated the foundation of the Memorial to Victims of Totalitarianism together with Poland. In 2000, the Virtuti Militari Cross was installed at the site of remembrance, which is the highest military award of Poland for courage and an equivalent of the British Victoria Cross. Near the monument, there are stelae with the names of shot Ukrainians and Polish officers buried together in mass graves.
On March 23th, 2022, the memory of the murdered by the monstrous totalitarian ‘machine’ was desecrated by its successor — the Russian regime. Russian invaders shelled the cemetery with no military or civilian objects around. Russian ‘Smerch’ (Tornado) missiles with cluster munitions banned by the international law hit the cemetery and smashed some plaques with the names of the perished.
Whatever stored the memories may now become a memory itself.
Kharkiv National University named after Vasyl Karazin, founded in 1804, is one of the oldest institutions of higher education not only in Ukraine, but also in Eastern Europe.
National Literary Memorial Museum of the Ukrainian Philosopher and Poet (18th-century building).
The central square of Kharkiv. It ranks sixth in Europe. Here are the most important administrative institutions of the city.
190-years-old architectural monument in the classical style, built in 1832, which used to be the manor of Kharkiv officials and became an excellent illustration of Kharkiv’s life in the 19th century.
Built thanks to the cooperation of students, professors, and institute personnel of the Kharkiv Polytechnic between 1985 and 1991, the sports complex became the site for practising over 30 different kinds of sport, as well as an Olympic training base and the only sports facility in Ukraine to receive the State Award in architecture.
An ancient building, erected in one of the historical neighbourhoods of Kharkiv in the early 20th century. Several generations of Ukrainians have studied at this school for more than a hundred years.
A building of the beginning of the ХХ century in eclecticism style, which housed a female gymnasium from the time of construction and until the 1920s.
Church in the largest residential area of Kharkiv – Saltivka. The architecture of the building, built in 2013 for the Independence Day of Ukraine, resonates with Ukrainian Baroque traditions.
One of the largest Fine Arts museums of Ukraine. The museum’s collection is one of the oldest and most valuable artistic properties of Ukraine.
One of the oldest musical theaters and the first permanent opera house of Ukraine. Its history dates back to the end of the 18th century.
The main center of ensuring the accuracy of measurements in Ukraine with more than a century of history.
Former House of Judicial Institutions was constructed in the best Neo-Renaissance traditions. The building has the features of Italian palazzos and the exterior of the house stands out due to its sophisticated design.
An extraordinary building of the early 20th century in the architectural ensemble of the Constitution Square in Kharkiv built in the Art Nouveau and Neoclassicism styles.
The oldest square in the city. From XVIII to early XX centuries, this place became the centre of the city culture.
This house became a home for Ukrainian writers and artists in 1928. The Soviet government built it for the Ukrainian intellectuals, but soon this place turned out to be a trap.
Holocaust Memorial Complex (menorah monument of 2002).
The cathedral is the oldest Orthodox church in Kharkiv and has great historical and art value.
A brick church constructed on the site of a wooden temple. The first mention of this building dates back to 1691.
Architectural monument, built in 1884–1886. For more than 130 years, the building has helped save the city and its citizens from fires.