The Highlands has become caretaker to a precious symbol of resistance to anti-Soviet rule over Ukrainians. And recently this poignant memorial, dating back to the 1940s, became the rallying point for modern-day Ukrainians standing courageously in the face of Russian aggression and tyranny once more.
Ukrainian Highlanders, who came here to seek shelter and security for their children following the illegal full-scale invasion of their country in 2022, gathered together in a wooded area close to a busy trunk road and marveled at what their forebears had created for posterity.
Among them was a very important guest, the Consul of Ukraine in Scotland, Andrii Madzianovskyi. He was so impressed by the stunning memorial that he has asked Highlands for Ukraine to try to have it officially recognised and adopted to save it for generations of Ukrainians and Scots to marvel over and pay respects to in the future.
The memorial is a huge concrete tryzub – the national state emblem of Ukraine representing freedom and heritage – created by displaced Ukrainians who refused to return to their own country under the new Soviet control. It became a mark of cultural pride and defiance against the Soviet Union where it had just been banned.
It was built in 1949 by Ukrainians who had been brought to the area during and after the Second World War. Some were prisoners of war, others displaced persons who refused to return to Ukraine after it fell under the communist Soviet regime. The Brahan Estate hosted one such postwar DP camp, making this an appropriate spot for their handmade memorial.
Just before the Covid lockdown the tryzub was rediscovered by a Scots-Ukrainian couple, Natalia and Bohdan Nastiuk who live in Perthshire. They travelled to the Highlands, were eventually able to locate the tryzub with the help of a local gamekeeper and set about cleaning and restoring it. They have made it their commitment to never let it be “lost” again as no-one in the nearby communities of Conon Bridge or Dingwall was able to tell them it existed, until the gamekeeper came to their aid. They now return regularly to ensure it is recognised and preserved.
It remains a humble but powerful symbol of resistance and peace.
** All pictures courtesy of our lovely Ukrainian Highlander friend, Olena Skiba.
** To find out more about the history of the tryzub and where to locate it, please visit www. weewildadventures.com/the-hidden-tryzub-ukraines-forgotten-roadside-memorial-in-the-highlands/
** If you would like to help care for the site or wish to support the Consul of Ukraine’s efforts to have it officially recognised, please get in touch with Highlands for Ukraine.
