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Irshansk Territorial Community
Zhytomyr
Population:
The Irshansk Community is located in the Zhytomyr Region in the northern part of Ukraine. The territory of the Irshansk Territorial Community is 245.2 km². The Irshansk Community consists of fourteen localities.
As of 01 January 2023, 9,214 residents lived in the Community, including 6,771 urban residents and 2,443 rural ones.
Pensioners: 1,609 residents
Working age population: 4,241 residents
Children: 1,456, including 341 children of preschool age
Youth (aged 18 to 39): 2,043 residents
1,406 residents are staying outside the Community.
Internally displaced persons: 473 people
History
The administrative centre is the settlement of Irshansk.
In October 2020, three more village councils joined the Irshansk Community: the Shershni, Meleni, and Kovali Village Councils. The Irshansk Territorial Community became part of the territory of the Korosten District of the Zhytomyr Region.
There are many tourist locations and architectural landmarks in the territory of the Community.
The Outdoor Museum is a gallery of twelve stands about the first geologists and Polissia miners; about the history of the construction and development of the Irshansk mining and beneficiation plant and the settlement of Irshansk from the 1930s to the present day.
The Museum of the History of the Village of Staryky was founded in the village of Staryky by local resident Nadiia Vasianovych. The main exhibits include a hundred handmade towels collected by the residents of the Community and a loom.
The Windmill is an informal architectural landmark dating back to the 19th century, located in the village of Dobryn.
Dobryn Oaks are a botanical nature site. The oaks are located on the former Cossack cemetery in the village of Dobryn.
Economy and Welfare
There are rich deposits of minerals in the territory of the Community. The mineral and raw material resources of the Community are concentrated on five deposits that are being developed. Extraction and processing of decorative and facing stone, if there is demand for products made of it, is categorized as a priority type of economic activities in the area as a whole. Mining, beneficiation, wood processing and stone processing industries constitute the main economic potential, on the one hand, and represent the main environmental threat to the Community, on the other hand.
One hundred and forty-five enterprises are registered in the territory of the Community. The mining industry is the leading one. The largest budget-generating mining enterprises involved in the extraction and beneficiation of titanium ore include the Branch “Irshansk Mining and Beneficiation Plant” of JSC “OGHK” and “VALKY-ILMENIT”. Traditional consumers of the products are enterprises of the refractory, foundry, ceramic, pigment, metallurgical, and glass industries all over the world.
The Community’s stone-mining and stone-processing enterprises are industry leaders in the Korosten District. The decorative stone products of these enterprises (monuments, facing materials) are in great demand in Ukraine and abroad. BLOCK Company is one of the most powerful enterprises.
The main agricultural enterprises operating in the field of plant and animal breeding are Zoria Stremyhorod and Organic System K. The main type of activity is the cultivation of grain crops, legumes and oilseeds.
Retail trade is developed in the Community involving almost 100 enterprises. The field of education works effectively in the Irshansk Community, to which the largest part of funds is allocated from the Community budget.
The Community runs three preschool education institutions, three general secondary education institutions, the Irshansk Lyceum (an institution where two inclusive resource rooms for children with special educational needs have been created), and three institutions of extracurricular education: Irshansk Children’s and Youth Sports School, School of Arts, Irshansk Centre for Aesthetic Education.
The Irshansk Children’s and Youth Sports School has 220 trainees of five Olympic sports (football, volleyball, judo, swimming, cross-country skiing). The educational and sports work at the school is carried out by seven coaches and teachers.
Today, the Irshansk Art School is one of the leading institutions of specialized art education and is a centre of children’s and youth creativity in the village of Irshan.
The art school has 350 students and 18 teachers. The school students participate in international, national, regional, local and municipal festivals and contests.
The brightest teams of the institution are the choreographic teams VERES and DYVOTSVIT. The teams constantly participate in competitions and festivals of various levels, where they always receive awards.
The Centre for Aesthetic Education has fourteen groups. The leaders of the groups are five teachers, one of them is a professional artist whose works are exhibited at various exhibitions in Ukraine and abroad; at present, he is fulfilling his civic duty and defends the country against the russian aggressor in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The event to commemorate the heroes of the Heavenly Hundred, which was held at the institution – a flash mob, which was started by singer and volunteer Anzhelika Rudnytska, has become so popular with the residents of the village that they decided to hold it annually. Every year, pupils make a hundred paper angels, which they bring to the Heavenly Hundred monument, hang them on the branches of trees and bushes together with the participants of the event.
Also, the Day of the Ukrainian Kerchief event is held in early December when group leaders and their pupils bring their kerchiefs, often old ones, associated with a family history, and organize a photo session.
Also, the team and pupils of the institution prepare two large-scale events: on the day of St. Nicholas and the Children’s Day, which have become traditional events.
The Community runs the Irshansk public library and five village libraries, six clubs and two culture centres.
Medical services to the population of the Irshansk Settlement Territorial Community are provided by the Irshansk Primary Health Care Centre, which includes an outpatient clinic and four paramedic stations. The Irshansk Primary Health Care Centre consists of the paramedic stations functioning in the villages of Dobryn, Staryky, Shershni, Meleni.
Community and War
During the first days of the full-scale invasion, the residents of the Irshansk Community rushed to defend the Motherland from russian aggression. Today, more than 300 men defend Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Those residents of the Community who cannot fight on the front lines join various volunteer organizations and help the Ukrainian military in the rear.
Women cook, dry vegetables and fruits, weave nets, make trench candles, knit socks, and volunteer.
Men and boys repair and deliver machines along with goodies to the front lines. Even children do not stay idle: they raise funds, collect sweet gifts, socks and drawings that warm the hearts and souls of the defenders.
Charity auctions and campaigns are constantly held in the Community to raise funds for the needs of the Ukrainian military.
Great attention in the Community is paid to helping internally displaced persons.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the russian federation, 473 people from the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine have moved to the Community.
Under the SHELTER program, 57 households sheltered 163 internally displaced persons.
People of the Community
Settlement Council Head Serhii Sakhnenko was elected at the local election on 25.10.2020.
On 21 October 2023, the 19th Rainbow regional festival of creativity for children and youth with disabilities was held in Irshansk. The organizer of the festival was the I-aktiv nongovernmental organization. 225 participants from different parts of the region came to the art festival.
In May 2022, the Settlement Council submitted an application for participation in the international USAID project “Improving the efficiency and accountability of local self-government bodies (HOVERLA)”.
Two communities were selected from the Korosten District: the Korosten Urban and Irshan Settlement Councils. In August, a letter of intent was signed between the Irshansk Territorial Community and DAI Global LLC regarding the USAID HOVERLA Project. During cooperation, consultative and methodical support is provided to the Community with the help of various tools, including trainings, webinars, the sharing of experience and best practices. The support plan also strengthens the Community’s capacity to respond to emergency situations. Local nongovernmental organizations receive access to grant programs.
As part of the implementation of the project, the Community is included in the list of recipients of international technical aid. Three aid packages are provided to the Community: “Local council and administrative services”, “Rescuer”, “Energy”.
To supply water to the settlement in the event of an emergency, a GUCBIR diesel generator with a maximum capacity of 88.0 kW has been installed at the filter station and the generator with the maximum capacity is planned to be used as a backup.
A tractor-excavator has been received for improvement and repair of communication networks.
Development Strategy
There is an approved strategy for the development of the Irshansk Territorial Community for 2022-2027.
Strategic areas of development of the Irshansk Territorial Community:
- Development of economic potential and higher financial independence of the local budget and efficiency of use of budget funds;
- Formation of a positive image of the Community;
- Stimulation of the development of agricultural production;
- Implementation of policy in the field of construction and land relations;
- Spatial planning, infrastructure development, improvement of the ecological situation and environmental protection;
- Development of tourism and preservation of historical and cultural heritage;
- Support and implementation of energy-efficient policy in the Community, promotion of the development of alternative energy;
- Digitization and improvement of digital literacy of the Community;
- Security, and law and order.
- Development of education and culture;
- Support of the medical services;
- Development of the social security system in the Community and formation of a socially responsible community;
- Support of physical culture and sports activities in the Community and youth policy;
- Promotion of the development of civil society and social cohesion.
List of Sources
- Official website of the Irshansk Settlement Council: irshanska-gromada.gov.ua
- Official website of the Settlement Council: facebook.com
- Collection of photographs of the Centre for Aesthetic Education, the Irshansk Art School, the Children’s and Youth School of Arts, A. V. Yermakov, O. S. Holiachenko, and N. V. Samchenko taken in the territory of the Irshansk Community and provided for free use to the Irshansk Settlement Council.
- Official website of Irshansk-based volunteer N. V. Andriichuk: facebook.com