Hladkovychi

The history of Hladkovychi goes back to the times of Kyivan Rus when these lands were reigned by the Drevlians, or Early East Slavs. In the 13th century the settlements were virtually wiped out by the Mongol and Tartar incursions, thus Hladkovychi had to be rebuilt almost from scratch – on the ‘flattened” spot (“hladky” in Ukrainian) in the period of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Hence the origin of the contemporary name – Hladkovychi. This period was the time of great prosperity for this community.  

Later, however, the Union of Lublin brought about Polish colonization of the land and increasing enserfment of local peasantry accompanied by severe ethnic and religious oppression, which also continued under the Russian empire. Even the formal abolishment of serfdom in 1861 turned to be an illusion since peasants did not receive any land ownership and were forced to pay backbreaking land taxes to fill in the imperial coffers.  

Residents were actively mobilized to the army during both World Wars, and the Holodomor, the manmade famine in 1932-33 claimed lives of close to 300 people. 

Equally tragic was the aftermath of the catastrophe at Chernobyl nuclear power plant that forced more than a third of community to leave their soil.