History 

The territory of the Verkhniy Rohachyk community has a rich history dating back to ancient times. The settlement of Verkhniy Rohachyk (former parallel name — Kazenne) was founded at the beginning of the 19th century. The first written mention of resettlement in this area dates back to 1786, but archaeological excavations show that this area was inhabited since the Bronze Age by various peoples due to its favorable geographical location and fertile lands.

There are 202 barrows on the territory of the community. Numerous grave finds helped recreate the history of the peoples who once inhabited the local lands – from the pre-Cimmerian, Cimmerian, Scythian, and Sarmatian to the Slavic period. The most famous on the territory of the community is the mound “Danikov’s Grave” – the famous Verkhniy Rohachyk royal Scythian mound.

The settlement of Verkhniy Rohachyk was named after the Rohachyk river, whose name, perhaps, comes from Turkic “arkach” that means “slope, foot of a mountain” or from “irgak” – “big hook, fishing rod”. It is also probable that the name comes from “rohach” (Eng. “fork”), as the place where the river seems to spread into two parts used to be called. Later, it changed to the name “Rohachyk”.

Since 1806, Verkhniy Rohachyk was actively settled by state peasants and Cossacks from the Poltava and Chernihiv provinces, and since 1864 by German colonies, which had a significant impact on the development of the local economy. The Germans brought with them advanced agricultural techniques, including new methods of land cultivation and crop cultivation. In 1865, a brick factory functioned there, later a vodka factory was built, and two brick and tile operated.

During the times of the Soviet Union, there were 5 large collective farms, a hatchery and poultry station, a compound feed plant, a food factory, and a butter factory in the territory of the Verkhniy Rohachyk District.

With the declaration of Ukraine’s independence in 1991, the Verkhniy Rohachyk community became part of the Ukrainian state. The modern development of the community is aimed at the revival of agriculture, the support of cultural traditions and the development of local infrastructure.

On the territory of the community there is the Verkhniy Rohachyk Museum of Local History. One of the exhibits is a Polovtsian sculpture of the 12th- early 13th centuries. It was found near Verkhnyi Rohachyk in 1991. 

Economy and Welfare

Agricultural production is the basis of the economy of the Verkhniy Rohachyk settlement territorial community. The land area exceeds 70,000 hectares, of which 65,000 hectares are arable lands.

Before the full-scale russian invasion, 96 farms, 8 private enterprises and more than 200 individual entrepreneurs were registered on the territory of the community, specializing mainly in the cultivation of grain crops, corn, peas, sunflower, rapeseed, etc. Fertile soils, the use of modern varieties of seed material adapted to the arid climatic conditions of the area made it possible to obtain good harvests of these crops.

Horticulture has just begun to develop in the area. Several small farms that grew fruit, berry and vegetable crops were created in the community. Early results are encouraging and indicate great potential for this industry. However, investments in infrastructure, the latest technologies and personnel training are necessary for further development.

Beekeeping is an important component of the development of agriculture and the ecosystem in general. There were 52 apiaries on the territory of the community, where 1,560 bee families lived. Thanks to the variety of plants, there was linden, acacia, and sunflower honey, which is known not only for its incredible taste, but also for its healing properties.

The Elita farm, registered in one of the villages of the community, began to actively develop the livestock industry – they kept about 3,000 pigs and more than 1,000 sheep. They actively invested in modern machinery, equipment for feeding and keeping animals, as well as in the latest veterinary services.

The livestock industry has significant potential for further development. The growing demand for products both in the domestic and foreign markets creates favorable conditions for investment and expansion of production. Improvement of technologies and product quality and efficient management of resources will allow the livestock industry to become an important part of the area’s economy.

Significant deposits of construction materials are concentrated on the territory of the Verkhniy Rohachyk community. These are the Verkhniy Rohachyk and Chystopillia sand deposits and the Oleksiivka and Pervomaivka limestone deposits.

Shortly before the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, a bakery began to function successfully, providing bakery and confectionery products to the population not only of the Verkhniy Rohachyk community, but also of neighboring settlements.

An extensive network of educational, cultural, and health care institutions worked in the community, namely: 14 health care facilities, 6 preschool education institutions, 7 general secondary education institutions, an art school, a local history museum, a cultural center, and a public library.

Before the start of the full-scale invasion, a number of successful projects were implemented here. Major repairs were made to canteens and catering facilities in educational institutions.

A modern sports ground with artificial turf was opened on the premises of one of the educational institutions, where sports were actively practiced throughout the year.

The community also took care of arranging free access to medical and educational institutions for persons with disabilities and other groups of the population with reduced mobility. No less attention was paid to comfort in the health sphere – repairs of premises were carried out and medical equipment was purchased to provide quality services.

Motor transport played one of the leading roles in both internal and external relations of the community. There is a bus station on the territory of Verkhnyi Rohachyk. Transport connections ensure accessibility to the regional centers of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

The russian invasion brought enormous destruction, losses and problems to the economy of the Verkhniy Rohachyk settlement territorial community. Many projects and activities were never completed or even started.

Community and War

From the first days of the full-scale russian invasion, the territory of the Verkhniy Rohachyk settlement community was under temporary occupation. The local authorities, together with the population, rallied and began to act in order to prevent a food and humanitarian crisis. It was decided to create an “Anti-Crisis Headquarters”.

Regardless of the danger, all services continued to work in increased readiness state, providing residents of the community with water supply, electricity, medical services, basic necessities, and Internet access. 

The community authorities organized resistance to the temporary occupation, residents supported and went out in various localities for patriotic actions, including those called “Not a ribbon, but a symbol of the invincibility of the Kherson region”, meetings, rallies. Such events demonstrated the indomitable spirit of the community and their determination to fight for the freedom and independence of Ukraine and united people in a common struggle.

Even after half a year of temporary occupation, the residents of the community were not afraid to show their civic position – they secretly raised the Ukrainian flag on the repeater which is the calling card of the community. It was a symbol of indomitability and resistance to the invaders, hope and devotion to the Motherland, reminding everyone that Ukraine is invincible, and its people will never break before the enemy.

The temporary occupation led to restrictions on the rights and freedoms of the population. Many people were forced to leave their homes due to the threat to life and health.

Currently, the leadership of the Verkhniy Rohachyk settlement military administration works on the controlled territory of Ukraine, maintaining constant contact with the residents who remained in the temporary occupation, helping the servicemen who bravely defend our land. Specialists are developing plans and strategies for community recovery after liberation from the russian invaders. 

The war and the temporary occupation of the Verkhniy Rohachyk community are part of the tragic history of Ukraine, which is going through difficult trials, but at the same time demonstrates the strength of spirit and steadfastness of the Ukrainian people.

People of the Community

The community has been headed by Artur Davydov, head of the Verkhniy Rohachyk settlement military administration since September 2022.

Before the full-scale invasion, much attention was paid to the sports education of the younger generation. The Tavriyska Zirka team of young basketball players from Verkhniy Rohachyk is known not only within the region, but also throughout Ukraine.

The community constantly organized and held football and volleyball tournaments, invited teams from different settlements to participate, created opportunities for communication, development and support of community sports talents.

Development Strategy

The development of tourism and recreation potential plays an extremely important role in the economy of the community. The proximity to nature reserves and landscape parks makes the settlement attractive for nature lovers. And taking into account the agricultural focus of the area, it is possible to develop agritourism, offering visitors to take part in harvesting or tasting local products. Another important feature is the location of such villages as Babyno, Nyzhniy Rohachyk, Pervomaivka, Berezhanka, Ushkalka near water bodies, which can contribute to the development of water tourism, including fishing, boating and other activities. A comprehensive approach to the development of tourism in the community will significantly increase the attractiveness of the area and contribute to its economic development.

Preserving nature and the environment is one of the priority tasks of the community, therefore, increasing the environmental awareness of citizens through a growing number of green areas, the implementation of energy saving programs and effective waste management is one of the important elements of this strategy.

Picturesque nature, fertile lands are not the only values of the community. The greatest treasure of a community is the people who live there. Therefore, an extremely important step for improving the quality of life of the population is to improve the state of transport accessibility, update the water supply network, modernize and reconstruct street lighting, and improve the quality of medical, educational, administrative, and social services.

Improving the community’s investment attractiveness and creating conditions for investment attraction are possible through strengthening international cooperation and creating the community’s investment passport. The development of the business environment and agricultural complex of the community can be reached thanks to the creation of targeted programs to support small and medium-sized enterprises, promotion of the creation of additional jobs through the expansion of the range of maintenance and support services.

The development plan of the Verkhniy Rohachyk community envisages the active participation of the population and transparent management, which is the key to the successful implementation of the set goals. The implementation of this strategy will create favorable conditions for economic and social development, improve the quality of life and make the community more attractive for both investors and tourists.

List of Sources

• Official website of the Verkhniy Rohachyk Settlement Military Administration
• Facebook page of the Verkhniy Rohachyk settlement military administration
• Official website of the Kherson Regional State Administration
• Facebook page of the Association of Ukrainian Cities
• Olenkovskyi, Mykola Petrovych. Archaeological sites of the Verkhniy Rohachyk district of the Kherson region: archeological map: [directory]