Skvyra Territorial Community

History

The first documentary mention of Skvyra is contained in the charter of Prince Volodymyr Olgerdovych from 1390. In the last quarter of the 14th century, Skvyra became the center of a large county, which included Trilisy, Fastiv and a number of other volosts. However, due to repeated Tatar acts of devastation of the town in the 14th-16th centuries, it lost its administrative functions, which were transferred to other centers. After the Union of Lublin in 1569, Skvyra passed to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

On June 12, 1591, the Polish king Sigismund III issued a charter to the Kyiv voivode, Prince M. Ruzhynskyi, granting him the right to own Skvyra, settle the surrounding lands, and build a castle. In 1615, it was declared a sloboda (township), as a result of which local residents were exempted from all taxes and duties for 30 years. This attracted fugitives from the outlying farms, and a year later, Skvyra had 30 houses.

At the same time, to promote the development of crafts and trade, the town was granted Magdeburg rights in 1616. It was governed by a magistrate. In 1629, Skvyra became part of the Kyiv Voivodeship. The bulk of the town’s population consisted of small artisans, peasants, and Cossacks.

The beginning of the twentieth century entered the history of the region with tragic pages – civil war and famine. Even more tragic were the historical events of the mid-20th century – World War II. During the two years of occupation, the Nazis killed thousands of citizens, burned a number of villages, and took away the people’s property to Germany. Today, the Skvyra area is an agrarian neighborhood of the capital region, which has great reserves for development.

Economy and Welfare

The structure of the local economy is determined by enterprises of agriculture, industrial production and the service sector. The main areas of agricultural specialization include crop production (8 5%) and livestock breeding (15%). There are also 15 industrial enterprises, 7 communal enterprises, 1 market, 280 shops and 31 restaurant facilities.

The basis of the industrial potential is made up of 14 enterprises, which provide over 16% of the local budget revenues. The largest of them are: “Skvyra Grain Processing Plant” (production of buckwheat groats, flakes, corn grits, flour), “Firma Hrona” (production of confectionery, cookies), “Shamraivskyi Tsukor” (production of sugar), and others.

The education sector in the Skvyra community is effective for which the largest part of the community budget is allocated. On the territory of the community there are 14 secondary education institutions, 6 preschool education institutions, 1 children’s and youth sports school, 1 town and 30 village libraries, as well as 30 Houses of Culture.

There are also many sports grounds for various sports, football and basketball fields, and a youth sports school on the basis of which such sports as handball, football, table tennis, boxing, freestyle wrestling, athletics, cycling, chess are taught. Besides, there is a mixed martial arts section.

Community and War

The humanitarian headquarters of the Skvyra Town Council became operational on February 25. For almost a month, the community worked to provide overnight shelter for Ukrainians who were evacuated to Western Ukraine and abroad. To this end, preschools in the town and villages of the community were provided with places for overnight stop and food.

To address the social and household problems of internally displaced persons and provide assistance to health care facilities and social institutions in the community, a humanitarian headquarters was established, where the priority is to resolve issues of providing food, hygiene products, clothing and footwear, etc. At the headquarters, internally displaced persons received food packages twice a month, and a two-month supply of food was formed.

Since 2022, the humanitarian headquarters for internally displaced persons living in the community has issued more than 200 tons of humanitarian aid received from the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, the Bila Tserkva District Military Administration, the regional humanitarian headquarters, international organizations UNICEF, GoodWill, World Central Kitchen, a medical corps that collaborates with UMC Ukraine Medical Consortium IRM Polish Institute for Emergency Medicine, and also the assistance provided independently by representatives of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society, local volunteers, and community residents.

Since February 28, 2022, more than 300 tons of humanitarian cargo have been sent to affected communities, military units, and institutions in Kyiv and the region: Okhmatdyt, Children’s Regional Hospital (Boiarka), Children’s Hospital No. 7 in Kyiv, Kyiv City Hospitals No. 3, 5, 10, 12, 18, Regional Oncology Center and Tuberculosis Dispensary, Todurov Institute, occupied hospital in Makariv (Byshiv); products necessary to weave nets for territorial defense formations of Kyiv, Vasylkiv, Boiarka, Irpin, Bucha, formations of the National Guard. After the de-occupation of the region, aid was sent to Borodianka, Ivankiv, Irpin, Bucha, Makariv, and goods were also delivered to Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Bashtanka in the Mykolaiv region.

Community People

Valentyna Levitska has been the town mayor of the Skvyra community since 2020. Her significant initiative was the creation of a humanitarian headquarters under the town council and the provision of assistance to war victims.

The community has introduced the “Public Budget” program, which was first implemented in 2023 and is still in effect today. The public budget is part of the community budget which is used to finance publicly available activities, work, services, and the purchase of material and commodity values (easy and free access and free use of the results of project implementation by anyone interested) which are determined directly by the residents of the Skvyra urban territorial community in accordance with the registered projects that became the winners of the competition.

On September 1, 2024, a gazebo was opened at Skvyra Academic Lyceum No. 2, which was built with budget funds allocated within the framework of the “Public Budget”.

At the initiative of the town council leadership, charity fairs and festivals are constantly held in the community.

Development Strategy

Over the past three years, the community has implemented a number of important projects aimed at developing infrastructure and socio-economic potential. Major repairs have been carried out on the roofs of the town house of culture, academic lyceum No. 2 and the Voropai sports school, an educational center has been opened on the basis of the town library, the heating network has been modernized and the latest equipment has been purchased for the central hospital. The construction of gas pipelines to two settlements has been completed, a water desalination station has been installed and water supply networks have been partially replaced. An investment project has been implemented to build modern retail establishments, road surface repairs have been carried out on 12 streets that had not been renovated for over 30 years, and new equipment for utility companies has been purchased for over UAH 11 million.

Strategic areas for the development of the Skvyra community:

1. The Skvyra community is among the top ten small towns in the Kyiv region in terms of its economic capacity.
   • Ensuring stable economic growth.
   • Attracting investments for infrastructure modernization.
   • Support for small and medium-sized businesses.
2. Services for the population correspond to European standards
   • Improving the quality of medical services and modernizing hospitals.
   • Development of educational, cultural and social institutions.
   • Ensuring high-quality water supply and other housing and utility services.
3. Modern and functional infrastructure and public space
   • Repair and reconstruction of social infrastructure facilities.
   • Development of the transport and road network.
   • Creating comfortable public spaces for residents.

List of Sources

• Facebook page
• Community website