A Special Project on the Unique Lifestyle of Mountain Dwellers and the Status of Mountainous Territories
“I would love to live in the Carpathian Mountains,” goes a popular Ukrainian folk song. Yet, the romanticization of life in the highlands often overlooks the daily hardships endured by mountain dwellers.
In reality, life in mountain settlements is a relentless daily struggle. It involves long, harsh winters and short summers. People face logistical challenges and poor transport infrastructure, along with difficulties in accessing adequate healthcare and education. There’s the constant risk of natural disasters, with news reports of floods in the Carpathians appearing almost annually. Moreover, the lack of local employment opportunities forces many residents into labor migration.
Due to the region’s unique and valuable landscapes, a significant portion of the mountainous areas of Zakarpattia region is classified as nature reserves. The region boasts 459 protected areas spanning over 182,000 hectares – roughly the size of Tyachiv – the largest district in the region, or 45 times the area of Uzhhorod. Economic activities and industrial development in these areas are strictly limited, in accordance with the international Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians, ratified by Ukraine.
The first attempt to balance the sustainable development of the Carpathians with support for local communities occurred at the dawn of Ukraine’s independence. However, this effort culminated only in the adoption of the law “On the Status of Mountain Settlements in Ukraine.”
The next attempt to revisit the approach to managing mountainous regions emerged 15 years later, in 2020, during the decentralization reform. Yet, progress was stalled by the onset of the full-scale war.
The Synevyr Community. Photo by Natalka Pavlyk
A Chance for Development Amidst War
Currently, Ukraine is home to 714 mountainous settlements across 86 communities in four regions: Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, and Lviv.
Zakarpattia region alone accounts for 218 of these settlements, making up a third of the region’s total.
The primary criterion for granting mountain status is an elevation of 400 meters or more above sea level.
This designation is crucial due to the specifics of service provision in these areas: due to challenging logistics and limited development opportunities, such settlements require special attention and tailored responses, explains MP Vitaliy Bezhin.
In July 2021, following administrative-territorial division and an updated government decree on the “List of Mountain Settlements Granted the Status of Mountainous Areas,” Vitaliy Bezhin became one of the MPs who joined the newly formed inter-factional association “For the Development of Mountainous Territories”.
Vitaliy Bezhin
The parliamentary association included 16 MPs (seven of whom were from Zakarpattia) representing regions with mountainous areas. The inter-factional association’s goal was to serve as a key platform for developing a strategy for the sustainable growth of mountain regions and to draft and adopt relevant legislation.
However, just over six months later, the full-scale war broke out, shifting national priorities from the development of the mountainous areas and the development of the country as a whole, to the issues of survival and protection of the state.
“As of now, the government updated its national development strategy until 2027. The next scheduled period for its update in Ukraine is 2028–2034. By then, new approaches to certain functional types of territories will likely emerge, with mountainous areas undoubtedly being one of them. In this context, it is highly likely that we will see a draft law on the management of mountain areas as early as next year. If passed, this will finally provide comprehensive legislative regulation of this issue,” Bezhin predicts.
Living in the highlands: the example of Kolochava
High-altitude Kolochava is one of the most famous villages in Zakarpattia region, Ukraine. It is so popular because of numerous museums (there are as many as 10 in Kolochava alone), unique monuments, and the picturesque Carpathian landscapes. The village is located in the mountainous Tereblyanska Valley, within the Synevyr National Nature Park.
However, for many years, Kolochava, like dozens of other Ukrainian high-mountain villages, has been a subsidized settlement. There are no and cannot be any large industrial enterprises there, and the majority of the working population has long supported their families through seasonal labor migration. In 2011, a thematic monument called “To the Migrant Workers” was even unveiled in the village center.
Winter in Kolochava. Photos were provided to Varosh by the village council
From Soviet Collective Farms to Working Abroad
The head of the Kolochava village council, Vasyl Khudynets, explains: during the Soviet era, a large part of the village’s population, mostly older men and young people, regularly traveled to work in collective farms in central and eastern Ukraine.
“The employment crisis has always been severe. During Soviet times, we had a factory that employed up to 700 people, and another 500 worked on the local collective farm. Some men worked at the Bushtyn Forestry Combine, spending five days on the job and returning home for the weekends. The population of Kolochava then reached 10,000, with 6,000 of working age… A lot of young people went to collective farms outside the region: to weed the beets in spring, and to harvest crops in autumn. There was a large ‘diaspora’ from our village in Chernihiv and Sumy regions. This became very noticeable at the start of the full-scale war when our girls who had stayed there returned home in whole streets, bringing their acquaintances with them,” says Vasyl Khudynets.
With the advent of independence, the routes of labor migration changed: in search of work, local villagers mostly went to the Czech Republic, as well as to England and Spain. Since demand creates supply, the logistics of connections with some European cities are now better here than with the regional center. For example, while the bus to Uzhhorod from Kolochava runs only once a day in the morning, buses to Prague run three times more frequently.
Vasyl Khudynets
10 Kilometers Through the Snow to Study
One of the characteristic features of mountain villages is their scattered nature and the vast distances between homes across hills and valleys. Sometimes, to walk through the village from one end to the other, you have to cover a considerable distance, climbing uphill and descending again. Kolochava is one such village: the main road here stretches for 16 km. Side streets branch off for several kilometers into hamlets, which are called “zvory” here.
Because of this scattered settlement and to ensure local children have access to education, the village has four kindergartens and the same number of schools. Currently, their student numbers are small: first due to the introduction of visa-free travel, and then due to the full-scale war, Kolochava has been experiencing educational losses for several years.
Despite this, organizing centralized education in the village is not feasible. Otherwise, mothers with young children would be forced to travel long distances across mountain roads, from one end of the village to the other, in the cold season—through darkness, rain, snow, and blizzards.
“We have one kindergarten for 30 children and another for 70. The smallest school has 111 students. Theoretically, all preschoolers could attend one kindergarten, and all schoolchildren could study in one school: the largest building of our School No. 1 is designed for 950 students. But, agree, walking a child to kindergarten for 10 kilometers is difficult. And in winter, it’s simply impossible because so much snow falls that there’s nowhere to clear it. So, we have to divide them. Though, this also leads to additional expenses,” says Vasyl Khudynets.
Walk of Fame in Kolochava
Reservation with Minimal Compensation
The issue of additional expenses is mentioned briefly and subtly by the village head. However, in reality, filling local budgets for mountain villages and communities is one of the most painful issues, as the means of accumulating funds are limited due to several reasons.
According to Vasyl Khudynets, many legislative acts regulating various spheres of activity are developed without considering the specifics of mountain regions. For instance, the Land Code prohibits construction within 25 meters of any body of water. However, in mountain settlements, it’s considered a blessing if you can step back even 10 meters from a river or stream.
Due to non-compliance with State Building Standards for managing solid waste in mountainous areas, solving the problem of littering is also challenging, says the village head.
“According to these standards, it is practically impossible to organize solid household waste landfill in the Carpathians. For example, the regulations require that the groundwater level at the landfill site must be at least two meters deep. Again, there’s a requirement for distance from rivers and streams, but here, they flow through almost every street – they’re everywhere!” explains Vasyl Khudynets.
A Mountain River in the Kolochava Community. Photo provided by the community council
The greatest difficulties with management and financial self-sufficiency are felt by communities located within nature reserve territories. To preserve the fragile and vulnerable ecosystem of the Carpathians from human impact, many types of activities that are common in lowland areas are prohibited here. Kolochava, for instance, lies entirely within the protected lands of the Synevyr National Park.
To compensate for the loss of financial opportunities due to these restrictions, nature reserve sites are supposed to pay a land tax to local communities. If these funds actually reached the village budget, they would be sufficient for maintenance and even initial development. However, in reality, the village council has to go to court every year to claim the money they are entitled to.
“The land tax should be paid by the Ministry of Ecology. The maximum tax rate is 5%, but we set only 3%. Yet, we receive mere «crumbs» every time: in 2020, out of the 12 million UAH owed to us, we received just over 300,000 UAH, and around 600-700,000 in 2021. Only after we started filing lawsuits did we receive 5 million UAH, although we should have gotten at least 15 million. It turns out that the state has created a reservation for us with numerous restrictions that make farming and other economic activities nearly impossible. The compensation through the land tax was supposed to offset this, but unfortunately, this agreement is not being fulfilled,” says Vasyl Khudynets.
Inescapable Dependency on Subsidies
The high-altitude location, remoteness from central roads, lack of satisfactory logistics, and strict regulations on various economic activities often deter serious investors from mountain villages. The full-scale invasion only reinforced this isolation, driving away nearly all businesses that had considered relocation. “We were ready to showcase available premises, assist with settlement, but the moment we shared the location, the conversation would end,” says Vasyl Khudynets, the head of Kolochava village.
To somewhat level the playing field, residents of mountainous settlements are entitled to certain benefits. Official status as a resident of such an area is granted after at least six months of residence and confirmed with a certificate. Civil servants receive a 25% salary bonus, and pensions, scholarships, and all state financial aid programs are increased by 20%.
Yet, as Vasyl Khudynets points out, these additional payments often serve only to lift many salaries up to the legal minimum wage.
The regional authorities attempt to provide financial support for mountain communities as well. According to the Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration, budget transfers are allocated to cover wages in public institutions. In 2024, 15% of the additional state subsidy was distributed among communities that include mountain villages to help fund local education and healthcare facilities.
The high-mountain village of Chorna Tysa in Rakhiv district. Photo by Diana Tyshchenko
Tourism as Hope and Driving Force
The practice of supplementing salaries and pensions in remote areas is a relic of the Soviet system, still prevalent across many post-Soviet states. MP Vitaliy Bezhin believes this approach must be rethought—mountainous regions should be developed through economic investment rather than kept on financial life support.
Local communities should be the first to drive this change. The initial step, according to Bezhin, is the process of developing and adopting local development strategies. In the case of high-altitude settlements, the focus should be on tourism.
Vasyl Khudynets partly agrees. He recalls past discussions among legislators about the possibility of introducing a special separate state fund to support mountainous areas specifically for the development of the inhabited highlands. At the same time, he says, it is necessary to preserve benefits for residents of mountainous areas: with their low salaries and no additional allowances, highlanders who remain working in the public sector will be more likely to leave mountain villages. This is particularly true of the border regions.
Tourism, he emphasizes, is the key to the region’s future. However, in Kolochava community, this sector has been developing sluggishly. Therefore, there is still a lot of work to be done in this area in the future.
“Tourists come mainly in summer. In winter, we see an influx only during the holiday season. Because we’re on protected land, ski resorts are out of the question—despite the fact that we have plenty of snow. That’s why we’re now considering developing and promoting ski touring. But again, logistics must be improved. At the initial stages, municipal subsidies could help, but for that, the local budget needs consistent revenue. Unfortunately, like many other mountain communities, ours remains reliant on external funding,” says Khudynets.
Lake Synevyr
Tatiana Klym-Kashuba, Varosh
Main photo: Karl Smutko
This material has been prepared within the framework of the Dutch-Slovak-Ukrainian project ‘Strengthening the Rule of Law at the Local/Regional Level in Ukraine: The Case of Zakarpattia Region’, which is implemented with the support of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands under the MATRA program, a leading Dutch initiative for social transformation support.
The project is being implemented by the Institute for Central European Strategy (ICES) in collaboration with the Dutch organization Foundation of Justice, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (FJIAC) and Transparency International Slovensko (TI SK), in partnership with the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration and the Regional Council.
Important: The content of this material does not reflect the official position or opinions of the project’s implementers or donors. The content of the publications is the sole responsibility of Varosh.
