Gammalsvenskby, Ukraine
From SFHS
Valentin Tinnis Translated by Gunnar Damström
My father Rudolf Mathiasson Tinnis was born in Gammalsvenskby in Ukraine on July 14, 1899. When he became eligible, he was conscripted to the Russian army and sent to the Kronstadt naval base on an island in the innermost part of the Gulf of Finland, on the estuary of St. Petersburg. There was famine and unrest in Russia. The bread rations were reduced at Kronstadt.
In March 1921, a rebellion broke out on the island. During the melee as the red army landed on Kronstadt to quell the uprising, my father fled to Finland over the frozen Gulf of Finland. He arrived in the Kyyrölä village about 40 km southeast of Viborg. Kyyrölä was well known for its skilled craftsmen. The village was an important commerce center with good connections to St. Petersburg and Viborg. The villagers were almost 100% Russian-speaking. It was in this village that my father built his family. He was a furniture carpenter by profession and established a carpentry workshop equipped with modern tools operated by a steam engine and driven by a central shaft and belts. Orders came in all the way from Viborg and the family economy was good. I was born in Kyyrölä, one of six children. When the Winter War broke out November 30, 1939, the Karelian population of nearly 400,000 was evacuated, and after the armistice in 1940, our family relocated to the Island of Kimito.
My dad often talked about Gammalsvenskby with sadness and longing, of how the climate was mild and the nature beautiful. The white houses with their pretty gardens lined the straight streets. The village was surrounded by the steppe where beasts of prey lay in pursuit in the high grass. Vines, melons the size of horses heads, walnut trees, herbs and vegetables, and rose bushes grew in the gardens. The majestic Dnepr River had sturgeon, pikeperch and perch, and other fish one could almost catch with one’s bare hands or with the help of a shirt. The river beaches had thrilling sand dunes that fell steeply down into the river. After the war, he often expressed his dream to visit Gammalsvenskby, however, his dream did not materialize. He never saw his parents and three sisters. He urged me to visit his birthplace and swim in the Dnepr if I ever had the opportunity to do so.
I welcomed a travel stipend that I received from Svenska Kulturfonden. For added safety my wife Seija accompanied me on the trip. We coordinated the trip with a small Swedish party lead by the president of Svenskbyföreningen, the society of descendants of Gammalsvenskby residentsThe first leg was a ferry ride from Helsingfors to Stockholm. Next came a direct flight to Kiev on a Ukrainian Aerosvit plane. The plane appeared to be safe and the service was good. We stayed the night in Kiev at the residence of the Swedish surveying agency director. The next day we did some sightseeing in Kiev and visited the Lavra cloister which was very beautiful. In the evening we took the night train to Belaja Krinitsa, a small railroad station about an hour's drive from our destination.
A modestly dressed retiree met us at the station with a car. An adventurous ride ensued in the footsteps of King Karl XII along bumpy roads through a vast steppe region. We rattled past small boroughs where cows and geese moved around freely. The roads were lined with acacias and walnut trees. We passed by Kahovka and Berislav, the latter a city where the Swedish army and Karl XII had visited during the Great Nordic War. The roads are almost impassable for any car model other than a Lada. The driver has to be familiar with the cavities in the road and where to avoid open septic tanks in the street. Beside the road were plenty of kiosks selling refreshments and melons. Small dusty shops offered all kinds of products. At this point, all we dared to purchase was mineral water. At last we arrived in Gammalsvenskby.
The car stopped outside Anna Annas' gate, where Anna and her daughter Valentina greeted us with open arms. We were surprised to hear Anna tell us in perfect Swedish that on her mother's side she is related to my paternal grandmother, Maria Annas. Her mother's name was Kristina Kristiansdotter Tinis. We continued another 100 meters along the straight Ulitsa Gagarina Street, arriving at the house of our hostess, Mrs. Lilly Hansas, and causing quite a stir. Lilly had expected us at 10 am and it was only 9.30 am. Aunt Lilly received us with open arms and wished us welcome in Swedish.
The table was laid for four, however we were only two. Lilly regretted that due to a misunderstanding she had planned dinner for four. She had baked three kinds of bread in her little oven. She had called her nephew Kolja and his wife Ljuba and daughter Elena to help with preparations. Ljuba, a nearsighted, sweet woman ran between the summer kitchen and the porch where the luncheon table was laid. She busied herself with porcelain and trays filled with delicious courses. Red wine from the cellar and home-distilled vodka were served, and there was fruit from the garden.
About 500 km south of Kiev, the Dnepr River swells out to a 5-10 km wide lake called Kahovskoe Vodohranilishe. Gammalsvenskby is located on the north shore, about 15 km east of Berislav. The village is now called Zmijovka. Comparing current architecture with photos and maps from before the war one can find many similarities. One similarity is the perfectly straight streets, easily identified as the old Nibin, Taknegårda, and Nealinja streets. Today they are named Ulitsa Gagarina, Ulitsa 30-Let Pobedu. The main street is lined with lush chestnut trees. There is a short perpendicular road connecting the two main streets. This road, by which the hospital and health care station are reached, is lined with Macedonia pine trees and flowerbeds. The hospital is sanitary though sparsely equipped.
The gables of the white painted houses face the street. Each lot has a fence and wrought iron gates. The gates are decorated with paintings of various geometrical figures or grape clusters. Behind the houses are stables and utility buildings. and many other vegetables, roots, and corn. Each house has a walnut tree. Flocks of white geese move around freely on the lawns in front of the houses. Similar to old style homes is the roof pitch - less steep than the very steep pitch of Russian homes. The windowsills are nicely painted blue or green. Every home has a summer kitchen. The power supply is not reliable as there are frequent power outages.
The main roads are partly surfaced. Due to there being so many cows in the village that return from the pastures along the main roads, one has to constantly watch each step. The water supply demands frugality as some houses receive potable water only twice a week.
South of the village the Dnepr floats majestically by. At this point the river is 5 km wide. It is hardly possible to notice its flow when swimming. The beach is shallow, the bottom covered with fine sand. The water appears very clean. Two kilometers upstream the river makes a turn, forming a deep bay. This is where the potable water is extracted for the entire area. The pipelines appear like the black fingers of a giant. The opposite bank of the bay is beautifully planted with beech trees. The bank is steep and here you can see interesting ferns. In the distance are inviting sand dunes. This is the most beautiful area of the village. The terrain rises and falls, with pastures and sand banks interwoven.
The Civic Center is located by one of the main roads, and during the Soviet era it was heavily ornamented. It hosts a large conference room and a multi-purpose activity room, which is now a discotheque. In the front courtyard remain Behind those are small gardens where the villagers grow potatoes statue of Lenin. Adjacent to the Civic Center is the school building, a very appropriate stone structure.
By the riverside are a shop and a cafeteria. In the three or four small shops in the village one can buy ready-made food, canned food and soda pop, and also champagne, liqueurs, and Ukrainian cognac. Fresh food is in obvious short supply - on the counter there is a glass-covered dish containing fresh fish, another with sausages. The villagers do not spend much time fishing. Looking far out on the river one could see two black rowboats.
One hundred meters from the shore is where the village's Swedish church was built in 1885. It has been restored to its pre-war condition, although an onion cupola has been added in the center of the roof and the steeple is lower than the original design. Strangely, both the onion cupola and the steeple now have crosses with an inclined cross bar, which implies the Swedish church must be considered a Greek orthodox sanctuary. The church interior has an orthodox atmosphere, although the icons, the frescos, and the other decorations are different than in most Greek orthodox churches. As appropriate, there are no benches. This is where the Swedish sermons are held today.
A short distance down the river is an entirely Greek orthodox, smaller church. Here the cross on the roof lacks the inclined cross bar. The interior is beautifully decorated with colorful icons and gilded church ornaments. Adjacent to this church is a lot where the third church of the village will be built.
The church in the nearby German village Schlangendorf, about 4 km north of Gammalsvenskby, is a classical Lutheran sanctuary. It features benches but no pulpit. The hymnals are in German or Ukrainian. A children's choir performs beautiful German songs accompanied by a Hammond organ.
Despite urbanization, the area surrounding the village is not markedly cultivated. The soil is said to be too dry and lacking nutrients. However, along the road to Kahovka, one can see miles of cornfields as well as tomato and vine plantations. It appears that where there is growth, the crops are bountiful. In the past, Ukraine was called the barley barn of Europe. Property boundaries in the Ukraine are unclear. A taskforce from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) helps organize, privatize, manage, and improve the industry and economy. "So far the sovhos system works on its old momentum" is a saying in the village. Most houses have one or two cows. There are few horses since the fields are not cultivated. The cows have their pasture on the steppe or in the nearby forest. The homes take turns guarding the herd.
Transportation is lacking in the area. There are two or three Lada cars and a couple of pickup trucks. An old omnibus leaves about 6 am for Berislav with Nova Kahovka as its end station. The bus rattles along with its engine sputtering. More passengers are picked up at the bus stops although the bus is full already. The engine is kick started. There are more passengers standing than seated on the worn seats of the old bus. A motorbike with a sidecar is a common means of transportation. It is used to transport firewood, hay bales, friends, and two small ladies.
There are about 3,000 inhabitants in Gammalsvenskby today. According to one of the inhabitants there are only about a dozen Swedish-speaking citizens left. With the exception of the mayor's daughter, Viktoria, and the teacher, Larissa, they are all elderly, but most are in surprisingly good health.
In the morning, a crowd of people gathers opposite Lilly Hansa's gate waiting for the bus. Most are middle-aged, modestly dressed women wearing a scarf on their heads and an overcoat if it's a cold morning. Some passengers have smartly tailored red or brown dresses and shining, polished shoes. They sport a coquettish hat under which their usually red-dyed hair shines in the rising sun.
The older people have not seen any changes in their daily life or sustenance since the break-up of the Soviet Union. People live as frugally as before; the pension is not sufficient, and the fact that the Soviet terror regime has disappeared has not noticeably changed day-to-day life in Gammalsvenskby. Younger people claim, "Everything has turned for the worse," although there are now less travel restrictions. There is widespread unemployment and salary payments are often delayed. People cannot afford to buy basic needs even though the shops are well stocked.
By our standards the population is very poor. This is reflected in the way people dress, talk, shop, and live. There are few affluent people in the village. Perhaps the richest man in the village is the shopkeeper, Zakazchik, who drives his own car and dresses smartly. Belongings are few and modest, however, owning one's house and livestock is considered important. This may be the biggest contrast to life during the kolkhoz era.
The equipment used in the gardens and stables is old-fashioned, but the Gammalsvenskby inhabitants don't complain. Despite very scarce circumstances they have maintained a positive and generous disposition, although one cannot help but notice a sad remembrance of better times gone by.
Aunt Lilly is a lively, sweet 79- year old widow. She lives in two small houses and has several small utility buildings including a henhouse, a pigsty, a barn for the goat, and a doghouse. The entranceway is covered with a wire mesh where three different kinds of grapevines grow. Lilly has 17 hens and a rooster, a pig, a goat, three dogs, and a cat. Strangely she has no geese. Her choir sang beautifully, in Ukrainian, a melody that differed substantially from the orthodox music one typically hears in the Helsingfors Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Also the Lord's Prayer was read and partly chanted in Ukrainian, not in Church Slavonic as would have been expected. An important part of the ceremony was consecration of water. I brought home some of this water to sprinkle on my father's grave in Ã…bo.
In the afternoon, there was a wedding ceremony in the Swedish Church. Aunt Anna's nephew was getting married. The bride and groom stood in the middle of the church; he was dressed in a dark suit and white shirt and she wore all white with a crown on her head. Staffan officiated in Swedish while the other priest, Karl-Erik, translated to Russian. When the ceremony had progressed to the point where the priest asks, "Will you …," aunt Anna walked up to the altar and said in Swedish "Now, say 'YES'." Only the closest family members participated in the wedding dinner. Later, Aunt Anna invited us foreigners to her home, where we enjoyed a splendid repast with champagne and vodka and many delicacies. On Sunday, we again went to church, this time to the German Church in Schlangendorff. Here we were allowed to sit during the sermon. The hymns were sung in German, the children's voices heard above the others.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, travel to Gammalsvenskby does not pose any difficulties. My late father often stressed to his children the importance of honoring your family and heritage. This unforgettable and long-awaited trip to the birthplace of my father has broadened our views and helped us understand the events surrounding the hard fate of the Gammalsvenskby inhabitants and their current situation.
Template:SFHSTemplate:SFHS Quarterly Valentin Tinnis Translated by Gunnar Damström
My father Rudolf Mathiasson Tinnis was born in Gammalsvenskby in Ukraine on July 14, 1899. When he became eligible, he was conscripted to the Russian army and sent to the Kronstadt naval base on an island in the innermost part of the Gulf of Finland, on the estuary of St. Petersburg. There was famine and unrest in Russia. The bread rations were reduced at Kronstadt.
In March 1921, a rebellion broke out on the island. During the melee as the red army landed on Kronstadt to quell the uprising, my father fled to Finland over the frozen Gulf of Finland. He arrived in the Kyyrölä village about 40 km southeast of Viborg. Kyyrölä was well known for its skilled craftsmen. The village was an important commerce center with good connections to St. Petersburg and Viborg. The villagers were almost 100% Russian-speaking. It was in this village that my father built his family. He was a furniture carpenter by profession and established a carpentry workshop equipped with modern tools operated by a steam engine and driven by a central shaft and belts. Orders came in all the way from Viborg and the family economy was good. I was born in Kyyrölä, one of six children. When the Winter War broke out November 30, 1939, the Karelian population of nearly 400,000 was evacuated, and after the armistice in 1940, our family relocated to the Island of Kimito.
My dad often talked about Gammalsvenskby with sadness and longing, of how the climate was mild and the nature beautiful. The white houses with their pretty gardens lined the straight streets. The village was surrounded by the steppe where beasts of prey lay in pursuit in the high grass. Vines, melons the size of horses heads, walnut trees, herbs and vegetables, and rose bushes grew in the gardens. The majestic Dnepr River had sturgeon, pikeperch and perch, and other fish one could almost catch with one’s bare hands or with the help of a shirt. The river beaches had thrilling sand dunes that fell steeply down into the river. After the war, he often expressed his dream to visit Gammalsvenskby, however, his dream did not materialize. He never saw his parents and three sisters. He urged me to visit his birthplace and swim in the Dnepr if I ever had the opportunity to do so.
I welcomed a travel stipend that I received from Svenska Kulturfonden. For added safety my wife Seija accompanied me on the trip. We coordinated the trip with a small Swedish party lead by the president of Svenskbyföreningen, the society of descendants of Gammalsvenskby residentsThe first leg was a ferry ride from Helsingfors to Stockholm. Next came a direct flight to Kiev on a Ukrainian Aerosvit plane. The plane appeared to be safe and the service was good. We stayed the night in Kiev at the residence of the Swedish surveying agency director. The next day we did some sightseeing in Kiev and visited the Lavra cloister which was very beautiful. In the evening we took the night train to Belaja Krinitsa, a small railroad station about an hour's drive from our destination.
A modestly dressed retiree met us at the station with a car. An adventurous ride ensued in the footsteps of King Karl XII along bumpy roads through a vast steppe region. We rattled past small boroughs where cows and geese moved around freely. The roads were lined with acacias and walnut trees. We passed by Kahovka and Berislav, the latter a city where the Swedish army and Karl XII had visited during the Great Nordic War. The roads are almost impassable for any car model other than a Lada. The driver has to be familiar with the cavities in the road and where to avoid open septic tanks in the street. Beside the road were plenty of kiosks selling refreshments and melons. Small dusty shops offered all kinds of products. At this point, all we dared to purchase was mineral water. At last we arrived in Gammalsvenskby.
The car stopped outside Anna Annas' gate, where Anna and her daughter Valentina greeted us with open arms. We were surprised to hear Anna tell us in perfect Swedish that on her mother's side she is related to my paternal grandmother, Maria Annas. Her mother's name was Kristina Kristiansdotter Tinis. We continued another 100 meters along the straight Ulitsa Gagarina Street, arriving at the house of our hostess, Mrs. Lilly Hansas, and causing quite a stir. Lilly had expected us at 10 am and it was only 9.30 am. Aunt Lilly received us with open arms and wished us welcome in Swedish.
The table was laid for four, however we were only two. Lilly regretted that due to a misunderstanding she had planned dinner for four. She had baked three kinds of bread in her little oven. She had called her nephew Kolja and his wife Ljuba and daughter Elena to help with preparations. Ljuba, a nearsighted, sweet woman ran between the summer kitchen and the porch where the luncheon table was laid. She busied herself with porcelain and trays filled with delicious courses. Red wine from the cellar and home-distilled vodka were served, and there was fruit from the garden.
About 500 km south of Kiev, the Dnepr River swells out to a 5-10 km wide lake called Kahovskoe Vodohranilishe. Gammalsvenskby is located on the north shore, about 15 km east of Berislav. The village is now called Zmijovka. Comparing current architecture with photos and maps from before the war one can find many similarities. One similarity is the perfectly straight streets, easily identified as the old Nibin, Taknegårda, and Nealinja streets. Today they are named Ulitsa Gagarina, Ulitsa 30-Let Pobedu. The main street is lined with lush chestnut trees. There is a short perpendicular road connecting the two main streets. This road, by which the hospital and health care station are reached, is lined with Macedonia pine trees and flowerbeds. The hospital is sanitary though sparsely equipped.
The gables of the white painted houses face the street. Each lot has a fence and wrought iron gates. The gates are decorated with paintings of various geometrical figures or grape clusters. Behind the houses are stables and utility buildings. and many other vegetables, roots, and corn. Each house has a walnut tree. Flocks of white geese move around freely on the lawns in front of the houses. Similar to old style homes is the roof pitch - less steep than the very steep pitch of Russian homes. The windowsills are nicely painted blue or green. Every home has a summer kitchen. The power supply is not reliable as there are frequent power outages.
The main roads are partly surfaced. Due to there being so many cows in the village that return from the pastures along the main roads, one has to constantly watch each step. The water supply demands frugality as some houses receive potable water only twice a week.
South of the village the Dnepr floats majestically by. At this point the river is 5 km wide. It is hardly possible to notice its flow when swimming. The beach is shallow, the bottom covered with fine sand. The water appears very clean. Two kilometers upstream the river makes a turn, forming a deep bay. This is where the potable water is extracted for the entire area. The pipelines appear like the black fingers of a giant. The opposite bank of the bay is beautifully planted with beech trees. The bank is steep and here you can see interesting ferns. In the distance are inviting sand dunes. This is the most beautiful area of the village. The terrain rises and falls, with pastures and sand banks interwoven.
The Civic Center is located by one of the main roads, and during the Soviet era it was heavily ornamented. It hosts a large conference room and a multi-purpose activity room, which is now a discotheque. In the front courtyard remain Behind those are small gardens where the villagers grow potatoes statue of Lenin. Adjacent to the Civic Center is the school building, a very appropriate stone structure.
By the riverside are a shop and a cafeteria. In the three or four small shops in the village one can buy ready-made food, canned food and soda pop, and also champagne, liqueurs, and Ukrainian cognac. Fresh food is in obvious short supply - on the counter there is a glass-covered dish containing fresh fish, another with sausages. The villagers do not spend much time fishing. Looking far out on the river one could see two black rowboats.
One hundred meters from the shore is where the village's Swedish church was built in 1885. It has been restored to its pre-war condition, although an onion cupola has been added in the center of the roof and the steeple is lower than the original design. Strangely, both the onion cupola and the steeple now have crosses with an inclined cross bar, which implies the Swedish church must be considered a Greek orthodox sanctuary. The church interior has an orthodox atmosphere, although the icons, the frescos, and the other decorations are different than in most Greek orthodox churches. As appropriate, there are no benches. This is where the Swedish sermons are held today.
A short distance down the river is an entirely Greek orthodox, smaller church. Here the cross on the roof lacks the inclined cross bar. The interior is beautifully decorated with colorful icons and gilded church ornaments. Adjacent to this church is a lot where the third church of the village will be built.
The church in the nearby German village Schlangendorf, about 4 km north of Gammalsvenskby, is a classical Lutheran sanctuary. It features benches but no pulpit. The hymnals are in German or Ukrainian. A children's choir performs beautiful German songs accompanied by a Hammond organ.
Despite urbanization, the area surrounding the village is not markedly cultivated. The soil is said to be too dry and lacking nutrients. However, along the road to Kahovka, one can see miles of cornfields as well as tomato and vine plantations. It appears that where there is growth, the crops are bountiful. In the past, Ukraine was called the barley barn of Europe. Property boundaries in the Ukraine are unclear. A taskforce from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) helps organize, privatize, manage, and improve the industry and economy. "So far the sovhos system works on its old momentum" is a saying in the village. Most houses have one or two cows. There are few horses since the fields are not cultivated. The cows have their pasture on the steppe or in the nearby forest. The homes take turns guarding the herd.
Transportation is lacking in the area. There are two or three Lada cars and a couple of pickup trucks. An old omnibus leaves about 6 am for Berislav with Nova Kahovka as its end station. The bus rattles along with its engine sputtering. More passengers are picked up at the bus stops although the bus is full already. The engine is kick started. There are more passengers standing than seated on the worn seats of the old bus. A motorbike with a sidecar is a common means of transportation. It is used to transport firewood, hay bales, friends, and two small ladies.
There are about 3,000 inhabitants in Gammalsvenskby today. According to one of the inhabitants there are only about a dozen Swedish-speaking citizens left. With the exception of the mayor's daughter, Viktoria, and the teacher, Larissa, they are all elderly, but most are in surprisingly good health.
In the morning, a crowd of people gathers opposite Lilly Hansa's gate waiting for the bus. Most are middle-aged, modestly dressed women wearing a scarf on their heads and an overcoat if it's a cold morning. Some passengers have smartly tailored red or brown dresses and shining, polished shoes. They sport a coquettish hat under which their usually red-dyed hair shines in the rising sun.
The older people have not seen any changes in their daily life or sustenance since the break-up of the Soviet Union. People live as frugally as before; the pension is not sufficient, and the fact that the Soviet terror regime has disappeared has not noticeably changed day-to-day life in Gammalsvenskby. Younger people claim, "Everything has turned for the worse," although there are now less travel restrictions. There is widespread unemployment and salary payments are often delayed. People cannot afford to buy basic needs even though the shops are well stocked.
By our standards the population is very poor. This is reflected in the way people dress, talk, shop, and live. There are few affluent people in the village. Perhaps the richest man in the village is the shopkeeper, Zakazchik, who drives his own car and dresses smartly. Belongings are few and modest, however, owning one's house and livestock is considered important. This may be the biggest contrast to life during the kolkhoz era.
The equipment used in the gardens and stables is old-fashioned, but the Gammalsvenskby inhabitants don't complain. Despite very scarce circumstances they have maintained a positive and generous disposition, although one cannot help but notice a sad remembrance of better times gone by.
Aunt Lilly is a lively, sweet 79- year old widow. She lives in two small houses and has several small utility buildings including a henhouse, a pigsty, a barn for the goat, and a doghouse. The entranceway is covered with a wire mesh where three different kinds of grapevines grow. Lilly has 17 hens and a rooster, a pig, a goat, three dogs, and a cat. Strangely she has no geese. Her choir sang beautifully, in Ukrainian, a melody that differed substantially from the orthodox music one typically hears in the Helsingfors Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Also the Lord's Prayer was read and partly chanted in Ukrainian, not in Church Slavonic as would have been expected. An important part of the ceremony was consecration of water. I brought home some of this water to sprinkle on my father's grave in Ã…bo.
In the afternoon, there was a wedding ceremony in the Swedish Church. Aunt Anna's nephew was getting married. The bride and groom stood in the middle of the church; he was dressed in a dark suit and white shirt and she wore all white with a crown on her head. Staffan officiated in Swedish while the other priest, Karl-Erik, translated to Russian. When the ceremony had progressed to the point where the priest asks, "Will you …," aunt Anna walked up to the altar and said in Swedish "Now, say 'YES'." Only the closest family members participated in the wedding dinner. Later, Aunt Anna invited us foreigners to her home, where we enjoyed a splendid repast with champagne and vodka and many delicacies. On Sunday, we again went to church, this time to the German Church in Schlangendorff. Here we were allowed to sit during the sermon. The hymns were sung in German, the children's voices heard above the others.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, travel to Gammalsvenskby does not pose any difficulties. My late father often stressed to his children the importance of honoring your family and heritage. This unforgettable and long-awaited trip to the birthplace of my father has broadened our views and helped us understand the events surrounding the hard fate of the Gammalsvenskby inhabitants and their current situation.
