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Korosten Territorial Community
Zhytomyr
Population:
The Korosten Urban Territorial Community is located in the Zhytomyr Region in an area of the Ukrainian Polissia. In 2020, after decentralization reforms, the town of Korosten became the centre of the Korosten Urban Territorial Community, which included 44 settlements.
Korosten is a town of regional significance, one of the main highways connecting Ukraine with the EU countries passes through it. And it is also located at the railway junction of the South-Western Railway.
Surface area of the territorial community: 807.3 km²
Population of the community: 73,365 residents
Urban population: 62,833 residents
Rural population: 10,532 residents
Internally displaced persons: 2,751 people, including 688 children
History
Korosten is one of the oldest Eastern European towns, which is more than 1,300 years old. The development of local self-government began back in 1589, when the town of Korosten was granted the Magdeburg rights.
Until 1917, Korosten was called Iskorosten or Iskorost. The first mention of the town, which was the capital of the Drevlians, is found in Nestor the Chronicler’s “History of Bygone Years” and dates back to 945.
Numerous archaeological finds indicate that 705 is considered to be the beginning of the history of Korosten. In February 1918, after the capture of Kyiv by the Bolsheviks, the Central Rada moved to Korosten, which became the capital of the Ukrainian People’s Republic for a few days.
In the town of Korosten, the Central Rada approved the TRYZUB as the coat of arms of Ukraine
During the 18th century, Korosten developed from a small urban-type village into a fairly powerful industrial and transport centre of the Zhytomyr Region. Important international road and railway mains pass through the territory of the community, which makes the town logistically attractive.
Economy and Wellbeing
The Korosten community is famous for its valuable rocks of granite, marble, peat, and titanium.
The Korosten Industrial Park, which has turned into a woodworking cluster, operates in the territory of the community. There are 25 industrial enterprises operating in the Korosten community in the following sectors: mining, engineering, woodworking, chemical, metallurgical, food, pharmaceutical.
3,000 business entities operating in the sectors of production, trade and services are registered in the community. In 2022, almost 30 legal entities relocated their businesses to the territory of the community.
The area occupies one of the leading places in Ukraine in terms of reserves of forest resources: – conifers (60%), – hardwood forests (oak), – deciduous forests (birch, alder, aspen).
There are 16 libraries, 3 culture and recreation parks, and an amateur theatre functioning in the territory of the Korosten community.
There are 132 historical landmarks in the town, including the Skelia Military-Historical Complex – a unique museum complex located in the dungeons of the former command post of the Korosten fortified district.
The Deruny Festival is an annual festival in Korosten dedicated to potato pancakes. It takes place on the second Saturday of September in the town’s Drevlian Park.
The following institutions function in the Korosten Urban Territorial Community:
- Korosten Central Municipal Hospital, 24-hour hospital with 350 beds
- Korosten District Hospital of the Ushomyr Village Council
- ntre for primary health care for adults and children, 7 outpatient clinics of general practice of family medicine
- Regional inter-district diagnostic centre
- Private diagnostic centres and research laboratories
Education is effectively developing in the Korosten community. The community has:
- 29 preschool institutions attended by 2,413 children;
- 22 secondary general education institutions attended by 8,592 students;
- 189 clubs attended by 2,822 children.
In 2022, 1,840 children will profit from the after-school education services of the “Children & Youth Creativity Centre” of the Korosten Town Council.
There are two stadiums, a physical education and recreation complex, twenty gyms, and sixty-seven sports grounds (including nine with artificial grass) in the territory of the Korosten Urban Territorial Community. Clubs and sections function there as well.
Community and War
The territory of the Korosten community was not occupied, but it experienced the hostilities and suffered from missile attacks causing casualties and destruction. Almost 300 buildings were destroyed at various levels.
After the full-scale war broke out, fruitful cooperation of enterprises and institutions with foreign volunteer organizations and foundations to ensure support of residents began in the territory of the Korosten community.
Since February 2022, the community has established cooperation with seven international funds (UNICEF, Person in Need, World Central Kitchen, EMMANUEL, Caritas, Rokada, HelpAgeInternational), two charities such as iCare, Humanitarian Aid to the World, and received 20 tons of humanitarian aid. 250 requests from the residents of Korosten were registered, whose property was destroyed as a result of hostilities for a total amount of UAH 1.6 million.
People of the Community
In October 2020, Volodymyr Moskalenko, the mayor of Korosten, was elected mayor of the town of Korosten for the fifth time and is in office today.
The mayor of the town implements the policy of creation and development of modern institutions of social protection and rehabilitation services.
Since 2000, the first hospice in Ukraine has been functioning in the community on the basis of partnership with a nongovernmental organization.
In 2001, one of the four Centres for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation of the Population in Ukraine was opened; in 2003 – the Vira, Nadia, Liubov Municipal Children’s Rehabilitation Centre; in 2012 – the Source of Hope Municipal Rehabilitation Centre for Children with Disabilities.
The Administrative Services Centre and the social office of state aid and subsidies work to provide for the population.
The mayor of the town actively pursues the policy of renaissance and development of historical and cultural traditions. Since 2004, on the initiative of the mayor, five international conferences have been held in the town dedicated to the results of archaeological research of the Slavic era.
In 2005, the 1300th anniversary of the town foundation was celebrated. The town has approved the Statute of the Territorial Community, the Coat of Arms, the flag and the Anthem of the Town.
In 2018, the town received the Patent of the Ukrainian Institute of Intellectual Property for the holding of the International Deruny (Potato Pancake) Festival.
Also, famous composer Ruslan Kvinta was born in the town of Korosten, who collaborated with famous Ukrainian singer Sofia Rotaru and other stars of Ukrainian pop music. Since 2018, he has been a music producer of Eurovision. National Selection. In 2022, he organized children’s music festivals in Europe with the aim of preserving and popularizing Ukrainian culture abroad.
Development Strategy
Strategic Development Plan of the Korosten Urban Territorial Community until 2030: https://korosten-rada.gov.ua/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/opysova-chastyna.pdf
Today, all the communities need to recover and unite for the sake of restoring Ukraine; the Korosten community is no exception and has a large number of planned and unrealized projects due to the invasion of the country. The priority projects, for the implementation of which the whole community is currently working fruitfully, include:
- reconstruction and repair of the 8th floor building of the hospital for the rehabilitation building of war veterans (The main goal of the project is high-quality and affordable specialized medical care for combatants, persons with disabilities due to the war, war participants, including long-term psychological, medical and labour rehabilitation.
- Reconstruction, overhaul of buildings to provide housing for internally displaced persons (three thousand people) (The precondition for the project development was the relocation of more than three thousand people to the territory of the Korosten community who need a place to live. The existing buildings of the former polyclinic and hall of residence, which need reconstruction and relevant arrangement.
- Construction of a modular town, for which a plot of land has been allocated, negotiations are underway with house manufacturers. The projects will solve the problems of accommodation and provision of housing for the internally displaced persons wishing to stay as permanent residents in the territory of the community.
- Construction and arrangement of shelters in educational institutions (Shelters are used by 52 educational institutions – 8,000 students, including 29 kindergartens attended by 2,000 children. Not all the educational institutions are equipped with shelters where children and residents being nearby during an air raid can hide. Therefore, the aim is to equip the existing and, where necessary, build new shelters to be used during air raids.
- Creation of a regional Solid Waste Landfill in the territory of the community. Construction of a landfill with a surface area of 60 hectares in the territory of the Korosten community is a necessary project to improve the sanitary-epidemiological and ecological condition of the territories of the communities in the district by ensuring an effective waste management system.
List of Sources
- Official website of the community
- Official Facebook page
- The photos were taken by the Information and Advisory Support Department of the Korosten Town Council.