Postby TheStrayCat » 2012-08-14, 13:28
Yes, with your hint I've managed to read the first word. It's Сальцгіттер, with Ukrainian "і" and with С instead of З at the beginning. So, chances are that it is the same word.
In the Chernihiv oblast, currently ~10% of the population are native Russian speakers (based on the latest census), but nevertheless there is nothing extraordinary in leaving a short note in Russian. The Soviet era was a period when its use was promoted in all the republics for the sake of "friendship of nations" and it was certainly understandable to the majority of people in that region. If it was written in that labour camp, it's more likely to happen if it was addressed to allies from other republics or Ukrainian regions, or kept for a personal diary. Perhaps the spelling error (use of ы where it shouldn't be) is indicative that he hadn't been educated in Russian, but it is a very slight clue to make any conclusions.