Serhii Shevchenko

I have not been to the Solovets Islands, popularly known as the Solovki, for 33 years. I would not say that I miss this archipelago, which became infamous in Soviet times as a symbol of bondage, cruelty, and deadly hopelessness. However, back in 1976, when I was there with a group of tourists,...

A little over 70 years ago the third mass execution of inmates in the Solovky special-purpose prison (Rus.: STON) since the beginning of the Great Terror took place on the archipelago in the White Sea. According to decree no. 303 of the special troika of the NKVD Directorate for Leningrad oblast,...

The Solovets Islands, commonly referred to as Solovky in Ukrainian, boast Mt. Sekirnaia, a gem of the northern environs. It is a captivatingly scenic spot, but here you must behave as though you are on a visit to a cemetery. In summer, its slopes teem with bilberry bushes, but you should not pick...

KYIV-Next summer will be 10 years since researchers located the site of the mass executions of repressed Ukrainians in the tract of land known as Sandarmokh in Karelia, Russia. In response to public demand, in October 2004 a granite Cossack cross, funded by donations from the worldwide Ukrainian...