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Svitlovodsk Territorial Community
Kirovohrad
Population:
The Svitlovodsk Urban Territorial Community includes 10 settlements.
Population: 53,582 people (as of 01 January 2022).
Internally displaced persons arrived after 24 February 2022: 7,344 persons, including 1,861 children.
The community is located within the Southern forest-steppe region of the Dnipro terrace plain. Most of the Svitlovodsk Community is located on the right bank of the Kremenchuk Reservoir.
History
The town of Svitlovodsk was founded in 1961 when a settlement of builders of water facilities of the Kremenchuk Hydroelectric Power Plant (its construction began in 1954) was merged with the town of Novoheorhiivsk, which was moved from the flood zone. It was called Kremhes, but in 1969 it was named Svitlovodsk meaning light generated by water.
The area where Svitlovodsk is located was inhabited in ancient times. It was surrounded by wild nature and had access to large rivers such as Dnipro, Tyasmin, Tsybulnyk.
In 1944-1950, the national economy of the town and the district destroyed during the war was reconstructed. In the spring of 1954, the first builders of water facilities came to the village of Taburyshcha on the bank of the Dnipro, and, within a short period of time, they built the Kremenchuk Hydroelectric Power Plant and a new town of Svitlovodsk.
There are archaeological, historical and architectural landmarks in the territory of the Svitlovodsk Urban Territorial Community.
In the very center of the town, there is a park of culture and recreation named after Taras Shevchenko, where a monument to Kobzar was erected in 1978.
Economy and Welfare
The most popular tourist destinations in the territory of the Svitlovodsk Urban Territorial Community are sightseeing tours of the town.
Local residents and tourists like visiting the Crystal yacht club, the Holy Transfiguration Church in the village of Talova Balka (one of the oldest churches of the Kirovohrad region that has survived to our time), the town’s local history museum, the Park of Culture and Recreation named after T. H. Shevchenko.
The Svitlovodsk Community has a developed network of cultural and sports centers. The Town Palace of Culture, the Local History Museum, the Park of Culture and Recreation named after Taras Shevchenko are open to the residents and guests of the town; there is also a sports complex with training and athletic halls, a center for children’s and youth creativity.
The creative and artistic teams of the town actively participate in general town events, regional and Ukrainian national festivals.
The town’s local history museum has become an excursion center. Overview and thematic tours of the Svitlovodsk Community are organized here.
The Svitlovodsk Community pays great attention to digitization. For example, computers with Internet access were installed in the local libraries, thanks to which the residents can study and learn about the world online.
The agricultural sector is perhaps the most important in the community. There are about 70 agricultural enterprises working there, which manage almost 13 thousand hectares in total.
The vast majority of land is allocated for the cultivation of wheat, barley and sunflower.
The industrial complex of the town is represented by industries of a town-forming significance:
- extractive industry: development and production of granite and sand quarries, manufacturing industry,
- production of non-metallic mineral products and mechanical engineering, repair of machines and equipment,
- food industry, production of sausage products, meat delicacies, confectionery, production of sunflower oil, mayonnaise, mustard, sauce, sunflower oil, vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard, tomato ketchups and sauces, sunflower seeds, sunflower oil.
One of the main development areas of the Svitlovodsk Community is medicine. There are 22 healthcare centers functioning in the community. And in 2023, the community plans to complete a project of reconstruction of an infectious department of the Central District Hospital in the town of Svitlovodsk.
The educational sector is actively developed as well. In total, there are 19 preschool educational institutions in the Svitlovodsk Community, to which more than 1,500 children go.
As a result of active efforts of the local authorities, it was possible to obtain a subvention from the state budget for 1.5 million hryvnias to purchase modern furniture and computers for schools.
Community and War
Russian federation’s invasion of Ukraine affected the Svitlovodsk Urban Territorial Community, too, and its residents have been fighting to defend the integrity of Ukraine.
The town mayor created a coordinating council to deal with internally displaced persons, which has been making decisions on accommodation of displaced persons, provision of humanitarian aid, and their employment.
To help people who found refuge in the Svitlovodsk Community, a hotline and an information community in messengers were set up. The call center worked around the clock during the first 6 months of operation.
People of the Community
The Svitlovodsk Urban Territorial Community is run by its mayor Andrii Malitskyi.
The community has its champions. For example, multiple champion of Ukraine in cyclocross Anton Pustovit from Svitlovodsk, who started cycling in 2004, when he was 17 years old. Thanks to his efforts, a cycling department was set up in Svitlovodsk, where future champions are trained.
The community has not only its champions among athletes, but also talented artists. Like Vitalii Kulikov, a Ukrainian artist, painter, graphic artist, graphic designer, a resident of Svitlovodsk. Vitalii Kulikov was born in 1935 in a town that no longer exists. His native Novoheorhiivsk drowned under the waters of the Kremenchuk Reservoir. His works are part of prestigious collections of Ukraine and Europe.
Development Strategy
Currently, the Development Strategy of the Svitlovodsk Urban Territorial Community until 2027 is under development. The priority areas of the community development include social infrastructure development (development of education, healthcare, culture, sports and tourism) stepped up with high quality services.
The most important community development areas include:
- increasing the number of agricultural enterprises;
- developing IT technologies;
- overhauling educational institutions;
- the “New Ukrainian School” program continues to be implemented.
List of Sources
- Official newspaper “Visti Svitlovodshchyny” (Ukrainian)
- Website of the Svitlovodsk town party organization of the Ukrainian National Association “Batkivshchyna” (Ukrainian)
- Official website of Svitlovodsk (Ukrainian)
- Online media outlet “Svetlovodsk” (Ukrainian/Russian)
- Svitlovodsk Photo Gallery (Russian)
- Svitlovodsk Information and Resource Center (Ukrainian)
- About Svitlovodsk on the website of the Ukrainian-American community partnership program (Ukrainian)
- Photos of Svitlovodsk (Russian)
- A place from the memoirs of Khrushchev’s son, where there is information about Khrushchev’s visits to the town and his reaction to naming the town after him (Russian)
- Encyclopaedia of Ukrainian studies: Dictionary part: [in 11 volumes] / Shevchenko Scientific Society; chief editor, professor, doctor Volodymyr Kubiiovych. — Paris — New York: Young Life, 1955—1995.
- Official website of the Svitlovodsk Urban Territorial Community