On April 12, our “Nakipelo Expedition” set out on its first trip to the historic sites of Sloboda Ukraine. Following our latest trip on October 3, I’d like to take stock of our progress so far and explain why we’ve been doing this and who’s been involved. It’s hard to believe, but in just 7 months, we’ve organized 7 trips and visited about 30 locations.
We never claimed to be professional architects or local historians. From the very beginning, we set a clear goal: to document as accurately as possible, through photos and videos, the current condition of the estates and old churches that we are losing year after year. We also wanted to showcase the beauty of our amazing region.
In mid-March, we created a map on Google where we later marked places worth visiting in red and locations we had already visited in green.
The format of the project—namely, traveling by car to the region, taking photos and videos, and writing historical and travel notes—had been decided. We began putting together a team.
One of the first people to respond to this madness was Maxim Gritsanenko, a man who loves to travel and takes wonderful photos. To be honest, if it weren’t for his support of the project, a great deal of what happened later simply wouldn’t have happened.
So, our first trip. The itinerary included the estates in Kadnytsya, Lyutivka, Malyzhino, and Pervukhinka, as well as the museum in Pysarivka. Alexey Mazurchuk was behind the wheel; not only did he offer up his own car (the extent of his sacrifice became clear to us a little later, when we hit the rural roads), but also took on the task of filming, all while keeping everyone entertained with his commentary throughout our many expeditions.
In the back seat is Inna Romenskaya, our resident photographer and author of the travel essays loved by so many.
The problems started almost immediately, and it wasn’t just because the estates were in such poor condition. We had bad luck with the weather: it was raining, and everything was gray and gloomy… On top of that, it turned out that the Mitsubishi Lancer wasn’t at all suited for the route. On top of that, there was practically nothing that could be called a “road” on our first trip.
Then it all happened for the first time: writing texts, posting videos, and the shock of realizing the true state of our heritage.
Our second trip took place on May 16. The focus of our research was the churches and estates of the former Volchansky District. Knowing that we’d be driving on some of the best roads in the world, we set out in a KIA Sportage. Dmitry Krivulia joined our team and became a regular member starting with this trip. It is thanks to his drone footage that we can enjoy all the enchanting beauty of Sloboda Ukraine from a bird’s-eye view.
As a result of this trip, the “Nakipelo” team created what I consider to be one of the project’s best videos.
But our third trip, which took place on June 7, was perhaps one of the very best in every respect. First of all, it was the biggest “letdown” of all seven trips. We were heading to a unique wooden church, but all we found there were ruins.
Second, it was a memorable itinerary in terms of its appeal and the variety of sites it featured. The beauty of the historic Yunakovska Church and the estates in Kyianytsia and Khotin exceeded all expectations.
And third, it was our longest expedition: we left at eight in the morning and didn’t get home until around three in the morning.
I have to admit: the next 20 days were the most difficult for me in the entire history of the “Nakipelo Expedition.” After three trips, it became clear that reaching the coveted beauties of Slobozhanshchina was impossible without risking total vehicle failure. And the team itself was pretty worn out. The future of the project—which people had come to enjoy—was in doubt. I thought to myself, “That’s it. It’s over. We’re not going anywhere else.”
And then, completely out of the blue, help arrived from my good friend Bohdan Bondarenko and his colleagues: Olga Dzyuba, Oleksiy Sorokin, and Roman Tkach from “Ukrainian Automobile Movement.”
Thanks to their support and active participation, all subsequent trips were able to take place.
And our fourth trip on June 27 marked, for me personally, a rebirth of the project. I realized that when you have an architect on the team (Konstantin Bondarenko), listening to his stories is much more interesting than simply admiring beautiful architectural landmarks.
There’s no such thing as too much Sloboda Ukraine beauty, and our homeland deserves to be admired by as many people as possible. Igor Leptuga and Alina Shulga joined our close-knit team and really strengthened it. On July 22, we set out once again. It was a long journey, and we had to visit and film six locations in time. Thanks to this fifth trip, we found the answers to the questions that had been on our minds:
— Where is the oldest manor house in Sloboda Ukraine, and what remains of it?
— How do I get to the oldest lake in our country?
— Where is the fabulously beautiful place where Taras Shevchenko lived and wrote?
— What does the phrase “Lebedyn Switzerland” mean?
On August 30, after meeting at our usual spot at 7:30 a.m., we set off on our sixth trip. Having spent quite a bit of time in Kharkiv planning our next trip, we intended to visit six sites.
Throughout the project, we saw many beautiful sights. However, after visiting Mohrytsya, I realized that the most beautiful monuments are created not by humans, but by nature. There, we saw the most important landmark in our blessed land—a place I want to return to again and again.
We naively thought that this would be our last trip of the season. But on October 3, we set out again. This time, our itinerary included five locations. We had already visited two of the estates during our first trip.
You can sit in the warm rooms of Kharkiv all you want, talking about the development of tourism in Sloboda Ukraine and organizing all sorts of grandiose events. However, the situation “on the ground”—where we haven’t left for seven months—looks completely different. A complete lack of roads, trash, and the ruins of buildings of extraordinary beauty—that’s what real Sloboda Ukraine tourism looks like, and it doesn’t exist.
The condition of the estates in Kadnytsya and Lyutivka has deteriorated critically since April. Even the sign with the inscription has disappeared. The floor is either being torn up by locals or is collapsing. In many places, the ceilings and walls have collapsed.
It’s heartening that one of the stone lions that once adorned the entrance to the estate—moved to the playground by local residents and painted gold—is still standing. But the other lion was stolen. Such is our culture and our reverent care for our ancestors’ heritage.
The estates in Staryi Merchyk and Lyubotin are in just as poor a condition.
We also stopped by the Ogultsov area. There, standing alone among the hills, is an obelisk dedicated to Colonel Pevny, who died in 1916. It was erected by the deceased’s relatives and has survived, unlike most of the monuments on the graves of soldiers and officers from World War I. Having survived years of revolutions, wars, and occupation, this obelisk is significant and unique to the history of the Sloboda Ukraine region.
Despite the rapidly shortening daylight hours, the project is moving forward. Our group of enthusiasts has grown, and the team is working in an organized and coordinated manner. Sometimes, things get a little extreme.
Inna Romenskaya continues to photograph interesting sights and write wonderful travel journals. Meanwhile, Olga Dzyuba describes all the twists and turns of our journeys from a driver’s perspective on automotive websites. Following our expeditions, “Ukrainian Automobile Movement” has already organized two road trips. A third trip is planned for the near future so that even more people can admire the beauty of our homeland.
If I were to write that October 3 was our last trip, I’d probably be lying. Our Sloboda Ukraine is so beautiful that it draws us back no matter the season. And the number of red dots—places we haven’t been to yet but really want to visit—isn’t getting any smaller. We’re eager to continue the project in November, during the winter, and then again in the spring.
It is beyond our power to save the crumbling heritage of our ancestors, which is dwindling day by day. However, we can still capture it, draw people’s attention to it, and tell everyone about it.
To everyone who has believed in us, supported us, and continues to support us—a huge thank you! I truly believe that the best is yet to come.
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