Zmiiv Territorial Community

Kharkiv

Population:

The Zmiiv territorial community is located in the central part of the Kharkiv region (north-eastern region of Ukraine). The total area of the community is 792.5 square kilometers. The Zmiiv territorial community was formed in 2020 by merging 10 councils.

The administrative center of the community is the town of Zmiiv. In addition to the town of Zmiiv, the community includes 1 urban-type settlement, 53 villages and 5 settlements, which are united into 7 Starosta-headed districts.

As of August 1, 2024, the registered population of the community was 39,644 people.

Men: 20,763
Women: 18,805
Children: 5,943
Elderly people: 11,392

Also, as of August 1, 2024, 29,566 internally displaced persons were registered here, 15,000 of whom permanently live on the territory of the community.

History

It is assumed that the first settlements on the territory of the modern Zmiiv territorial community appeared as early as the Stone Age.

There is a historical reference that back in 1180-1185, Prince Ihor Sviatoslavych founded the Zmiive hillfort, and earlier there were defensive structures there – the Zmiiv ramparts. Later, a guard settlement was started here by the Cherkasy Cossacks.

The exact origin of the name of the town has not yet been established; however, there are various versions – some of them are not connected with historical names, but with legends about Zmiy Horynych (a Firedrake), who lived in the forests surrounding the town. Also, nearby was the capital of the Polovtsy – Sharukan, known as the town of Zmiy (The town of Dragon).

So, historians consider the year 1640 to be the time of the founding of the town of Zmiiv.

The Homilsha Woods National Nature Park is located on the territory of the community.

On the territory of The Homilsha Woods, there are many valuable natural objects: the largest river of northeastern Ukraine – the Siverskyi Donets and unique ancient oak forests (some oaks are over 400 years old). In the forest you can meet wild boars, roe deer, deer, elk, a large number of typical and rare birds and insects. In addition, the territory is extremely rich in monuments of material culture of various archaeological eras, starting from the Neolithic era (4th millennium BC) to the era of Kyivan Rus.

Until today, the remains of the Cossack Saint Nicholas Monastery, founded in 1648 by Zaporozhian Cossacks, have preserved. Fugitive Cossacks hid and crippled and old Zaporozhians lived out their old age in this monastery. Many legends and tales are connected with this place. It is believed that the Cossacks, fleeing from the Russian army, simply threw themselves in their cassocks from the cliff into the river. By today, only its ruins have preserved at the foot of the high Zmiiv Cliffs (Kozacha Mountain) in the village of Koropove, because it was destroyed by the will of Empress Catherine II for disobedience to the royal decrees.

Remains of the Zmiiv Cossack Saint Nicholas Monastery, Koropove Source

The community operates the Zmiiv Local History Museum which stores more than 10,000 exhibits found by archaeologists on the territory of the community.

The Zmiiv community is also famous for its unique landscapes and views.

Interesting and notable places are located near Zmiiv. Near the town there is an ionospheric observatory on the basis of the Institute of the Ionosphere, which has no equal in Eastern Europe. Unfortunately, today it is included in the list of seven neglected wonders of Ukraine.

Economy and Welfare

As of January 1, 2024, 65 industrial enterprises were registered and operating in the territory of the community.

The manufacturing industry is represented by various types of activities, the leading ones being the production of food products, processing and production of paper craft products, central heating radiators and boilers, wood products, mechanical engineering, and others.

The Zmiiv Paper Factory has existed for over a hundred years. It is the only enterprise in Ukraine that processes Tetra Pak packaging. A package of milk or juice is disassembled into fiber and film. Packaging types of paper, kraft paper, and newsprint are made from the fiber and the film is processed into granules for plastic sand products and additives to the asphalt-concrete mixture.

Also, a powerful enterprise of the Zmiiv area, Mayak is a contemporary of Ukrainian independence and one of the leading domestic manufacturers of household heating equipment.

The Zmiiv community is one of the leaders in the agro-industrial sector of the Kharkiv region. The number of agricultural enterprises is 38, including 21 farms. The specialization of these enterprises includes the cultivation of grain, legumes and technical crops and poultry farming.

Rozdolne Poultry Breeding Enterprise Source

The field of education works effectively in the Zmiiv community. There are 14 institutions of general secondary education, 6 communal institutions of preschool education, 1 sports school for children and youth, and 1 center for children’s and youth creativity on the territory of the community.

Great attention is paid to children with special educational needs. The Zmiiv Inclusive Resource Center operates in the community, which provides correctional services to children not only from the Zmiiv community, but also two neighboring communities (Slobozhanske settlement community and Donets settlement community).

The community also has 15 cultural centers and village clubs, 24 libraries, 4 museums and 2 art schools. Also, the youth space “Hub_IDEY” is actively functioning here.

From 2016 until the beginning of the full-scale war, the community hosted the annual “NametFEST” – a free largest tourist festival, which took place at the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower. The festival featured interesting lectures by unusual travelers and bloggers, master classes, sports games, and musical bands.

There is a modern stadium “Avangard”, many sports grounds for various sports and football fields on the territory of the community. Inter-district football competitions are often held at the “Avangard” stadium. Football is one of the most popular sports in the community.

Football match “Avangard” – “Taranivka” Source

The community has 1 hospital, 20 dispensaries and 5 paramedic stations, as well as an emergency medical care department.

Community and War

The Zmiiv community is located next to the line of hostilities, which is why the community’s population centers are occasionally under fire. The town of Zmiiv, the villages of Kostiantivka, Vodiane and Koropove were hit by rockets, as a result of which 1 person died, and 107 infrastructure objects were damaged, of which 99 are residential buildings.

Consequences of rocket attacks on Zmiiv Source

The Zmiiv Town Council together with the “Polish Center for International Assistance”, the charity foundation “Stay with Ukraine – Kharkiv” and the government of TAIWAN helped in the restoration of housing.

Today, more than 3,500 men from the Zmiiv community defend Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. By now, 100 soldiers from the community have died, 8 are considered missing, 6 have returned from the war with disabilities.

Alley of heroes in the village of Taranivka of the Zmiiv community Source

Those residents of the community who cannot fight at the front today join various volunteer organizations and help the Ukrainian military by working at the home front. They are collecting money for military vehicles, drones and other ammunition. Charity auctions and other events are constantly held in the community, the purpose of which is to collect funds for the needs of the military.

Making trench candles, NGO “My:KOLO” Source

A lot of attention in the community is given to helping internally displaced persons. Since the beginning of the war, more than 29,566 internally displaced persons have found shelter in the Zmiiv community, and to this day, about 15,000 people have stayed in the Zmiiv community. The large number of displaced people caused issues with their accommodation, therefore the town council developed the project “Reconstruction of the former boarding school into a residential building at 26, Proletarske Shosse in the town of Zmiiv for the temporary accommodation of internally displaced persons”. Currently the town council is actively looking for investors for the implementation of this project.

The building of the former boarding school to be used as a residential building for the temporary accommodation of internally displaced persons

People of the Community

Pavlo Holodnikov, the Mayor of Zmiiv, has 25 years of work experience, including over 10 years as head of Zidky village of the Zmiiv district, Kharkiv region.

He was elected by the residents of the united Zmiiv community to the position of Mayor on October 25, 2020 after the completion of decentralization process.

Meeting of the Zmiiv Mayor with the NGO “Desiate Kvitnia”, the NGO “Proliska” and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Source

With the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion in 2022, he organized the work of the humanitarian headquarters, medical and communal facilities of the community. Pavlo Holodnikov initiated the collection of funds to support the Ukrainian military. Local residents actively participated in this campaign.

Children’s spaces are actively functioning in the Zmiiv community, which were opened with the assistance of the charity organization “Posmishka UA” and the charity organization “Lumos Ukraine Charitable Foundation”. In these spaces, children can actively relax, as well as learn with the help of educational games and materials.

Also, with the support of UNDP, a unique educational and artistic space – Music Space “Soul” – was opened for psycho-emotional relief with the help of music.

The community also became a participant in the “Common Future” project, which is implemented by the NGO “Urban Reforms” as part of the “Join!” Public Activity Promotion Program with the financial support of USAID and is carried out by Pact in Ukraine.

Development Strategy

In 2023, the Zmiiv community entered the list of communities that received expert support from U-LEAD in the preparation of local development strategies within the framework of the U-LEAD with Europe Program.

The strategic vision of the development of the Zmiiv territorial community will be achieved through the implementation of the three strategic goals:

Strategic goal 1. Strengthening the competitiveness of the community’s economy and development of its investment potential

Strategic goal 2. A socially oriented community with a high quality of life and effective management of spatial development

Strategic goal 3. Environmental well-being of the community

The selected strategic goals will be implemented through the system of operational goals and objectives.

Operational goal 1.1. Sustainable development of entrepreneurship and industry on the territory of the community

Operational goal 1.2. Formation of a positive investment image of the community and preparation of investment products

Operational goal 1.3. Development of tourism and preservation of the community’s cultural heritage

Operational goal 2.1. Formation of a cohesive territorial community by providing attractive living conditions in the community, taking into account gender equality

Operational goal 2.2. Effective management of spatial development

Operational goal 3.1. Preservation of the environment, increasing the level of environmental safety

Operational goal 3.2. Sustainable use of natural resources, implementation of energy efficiency measures.

Children's space in the village of Pershotravneve of the Zmiiv community Source

List of Sources

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