Historical and Memorial Museum of Political Prisoners, Ternopil

There were many heavy pages in the history of Ukraine, one of them is clearly demonstrated by the unique Ternopil Museum of Political Prisoners. It was opened in 1996 on the initiative of the Union of Political Prisoners and the organization "Memorial". In the building there are no longer dungeons of Soviet special services, and the patriots of Ukraine, opposed to totalitarianism, do not languish in cellars, but the terrible atmosphere of this place of human suffering remains.

In the history of Ukraine there were a lot of heavy pages, one of them is clearly demonstrated by the unique Ternopil museum of political prisoners. It was opened in 1996 on the initiative of the Union of Political Prisoners and the organization "Memorial".

The building has long been no dungeons of Soviet special services, and in the cellars do not languish patriots of Ukraine, opposed to totalitarianism, but the eerie atmosphere of this place of human suffering has remained. From 1944 to 1986, there were the investigative prison and the NKVD-KGB administration. 17 cells for political prisoners were in the basement. The convicts were questioned on the upper floors, using instruments of torture.

Visitors to the museum can see cameras, and punishment cells, and instruments of torture, and objects of prison life- all this has now been reproduced. There is a map of the USSR where the places of the GULAG camps for political prisoners in Siberia are placed. Also models of such concentration camp and the so-called cattle-car with bars are presented. In such cars, which differ little from freight cars, prisoners were transported.

A lot of materials were collected, telling about the activities of the OUN-UPAand its leaders: Roman Shukhevych, Vasily Sidor and others. The scientists of the museum will tell about political repressions in Western Ukraine.

The Museum of Political Prisoners is a branch of the Ternopil State Museum of Local History.