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Konotop Urban Territorial Community
Sumy
Population:
General Statistical Information about the Community
The community includes the town of Konotop, its administrative centre, and the villages of Podlypne, Kalynivka, and Lobkivka
Area: 102.94 km2
Population: 88,758 people
Male population: 40,350
Female population: 48,408
Internally displaced persons: 3,000
History
The first mention of the town of Konotop as an outpost on the border dates back to 1625. The status of the town was assigned to Konotop in 1648 which is considered the year of its foundation.
In the historical context, the town is known primarily for the glorious Battle of Konotop in 1659 — the main and turning point when the Cossack troops led by Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky completely defeated the advanced detachment of the Russian army. The battle was the culmination of the Ukrainian-Moscow war of 1658-1659.
In the cultural context, the town is famous thanks to “The Witch of Konotop”, an outstanding satirical novel by Hryhoriy Kvitka-Osnovyanenko
The world-famous artist Kazimir Malevich lived and worked in the town for several years, and the writer Taras Shevchenko also visited the town.
Economy and Public Welfare
The community is a powerful railway junction of the South-Western Railway. It is the only community in the region that operates a municipal environmentally friendly transport – a tram. There is also a unique museum of aviation here.
The sectoral structure of the local economy is represented by industrial enterprises, trade and services, a developed housing and utility services complex, civil engineering, and the public sector.
The community has a well-developed network of cultural institutions and a powerful educational base that unites a number of secondary schools, vocational schools and branches of higher educational institutions.
Konotop is a sports community, where 16 sports federations are represented. Among the sportsmen of the community there are international prize-winners, prize-winners of the World Cup and European Cup.
Owing to the cooperation of local authorities with civil society, a number of projects aimed at improving the welfare of displaced persons and their social adaptation in the community have been successfully implemented. Thanks to the help of the Eastern Europe Foundation and EU funds, it was possible to create a Support Centre for IDPs, which was organized with the participation of the international charitable foundation IZOLYATSIA. With the support of ISAR Ednannia, internally displaced persons and vulnerable categories of the population are able to receive social laundry services. Compact living spaces for IDPs are being created in cooperation with UNDP and the International Renaissance Foundation.
Community and War
Konotop had been under enemy siege for more than a month since February 24, 2022.
The Russian military demanded that the local authorities hand over the town under control, and delivered an ultimatum: resistance would be punished by artillery. However, the people did not give up and gave a severe rebuff to the occupiers, drove them out of the town indicating the direction of movement “following the Russian warship.”.
Military aggression by the Russian Federation resulted in a number of residential buildings damaged during street fighting. There are houses with shot-off roofs, and some are completely destroyed by explosions; a part of the road infrastructure and the technical base of utilities system are damaged.
Access routes were completely blocked and the town teetered on the brink of a humanitarian disaster. Thanks to the support of partners, the town was able to stabilise the situation and start recovery after the blockade. However, the Konotop community is still at risk.
People of the Community
Artem Semenikhin is the headman of the Konotop urban territorial community. He was re-elected Mayor of Konotop in 2021. He was a member of the ATO since 2014, served as a platoon commander in the 92nd mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He participated in the defence of the town of Shchastya and was awarded the medal “For the Defence of Shchastya”. In 2015, he was a battalion psychologist officer in one of the military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
From the first day of the armed invasion of the Russian army, the local authorities, headed by the community headman, took care of the issues of finding and delivering humanitarian supplies, medicines, organizing “green corridors”, creating proper conditions in shelters, etc. The deputy headman personally got behind the wheel of the bus and transported residents who were unable to get to safe places on their own. Critical infrastructure workers ensured uninterrupted operation of their facilities.
Development Strategy
The key strategic goals of the community are balanced economic development, the creation of comfortable living conditions and the formation of a cohesive community with a high quality of life.
Among the priority tasks are the creation of an industrial park and a logistics centre, the modernization of housing and communal facilities, the development of alternative energy and social infrastructure.
List of Sources
- Town Council page on Facebook
- Town Council website.
- Wikipedia
- Konotop Town website
- Suspilne Sumy television and radio company
- Vezha KST television and radio company
- O. M. Lazarevskyi Meseum of Regional Ethnography of Konotop.
- Photo archive of executive bodies of the Konotop Town Council