Novooleksandriivka Rural Territorial

History

The history of the Novooleksandriivka community is extremely rich. There are 4 churches, 115 barrows, magical banks of the Dnipro River, and the Falz-Feins’ Palace.

The Falz-Feins’ Palace is located on the right bank of the Dnipro near the village of Novooleksandriivka in the north of the Kherson region. The Falz-Feins are famous German landowners, industrialists and philanthropists. The estate was built by Oleksandr, the brother of Friedrich Falz-Fein, the founder of the Askania-Nova nature reserve. Now the palace is in ruins, but once it was a real pearl of Southern Ukraine.

There are 4 temple buildings on the territory of the Novooleksandriivka community:

– The Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist in the village of Zolota Balka, built in 1992 with community funds;   

– The Church of Saint John, the holy Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord of the Eparchy of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in the village of Zolota Balka, also built in 1992 with community funds.

– The Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord in the village of Mykhailivka, built in 2015 with community funds;

– The Church of the Holy Supreme Apostles Peter and Paul in the village of Havrylivka, built in 1995 – part of the funds for the construction of the church were donated by a descendant of Baron Falz-Fein who once owned these lands, and another part was collected by the village community.

Economy and Welfare

The community’s economy is dominated by agriculture. The largest cultivated areas are used to grow grain crops, including winter wheat. They also grow barley, peas, buckwheat, corn, soy, rapeseed, and sunflower.

86 main taxpayers are registered on the territory of the community, of which 43 are legal entities and 43 are individual entrepreneurs.

The largest budget-generating enterprises and institutions on the territory of the Novooleksandriivka community include:

• Nikol enterprise which is engaged in the cultivation of agricultural crops,
• Prydniprovske which is engaged in the cultivation of agricultural crops and pig farming,
• ATK VLADIS (trucking company), which provides services for the transportation of agricultural products,
• Agro Breeze 2015, which is engaged in agriculture,
• Rivnenskyi KhPP (grain receiving station), which provides services for the storage and processing of agricultural raw materials.

As a result of military operations, most of the territory of the community is unsuitable for agricultural work.

A significant share in the sectoral structure of the community’s economy before the full-scale russian invasion was occupied by retail trade in food and consumer goods, in which 35 enterprises were engaged in 2021, three of which were public catering enterprises. In 2022, the number of entrepreneurs decreased significantly (due to the occupation of the entire community),

The education sector is operating effectively in the Novooleksandriivka community, for which the largest part of the funds is allocated from the community budget.

Before the full-scale invasion, 5 lyceums and the Petropavlivka Primary School of the Novooleksandriivka Village Council, as well as 3 preschool education institutions, operated in the community. 

As of January 1, 2024, the network of educational institutions of the Novooleksandriivka Village Council consisted of 5 lyceums (2 of which include preschool education), and 3 preschool education institutions. Due to the constant shelling of the community’s population centers, all institutions operate remotely. The Petropavlivka Primary School of the Novooleksandriivka Village Council has suspended its activities. 

The number of students in educational institutions is 683 in 49 classes, of which 3 children are in 3 classes with an inclusive form of education. There are 58 children attending preschool educational institutions.

Due to the aggression of russian troops, artillery shelling and missile strikes, all educational and cultural institutions of the Novooleksandriivka community have been damaged to varying degrees and require major repairs and reconstruction of buildings:

The Petropavlivka Primary School is being prepared for demolition because it was completely destroyed and cannot be restored.

Cultural institutions in the community were also affected significantly.

The medical infrastructure of Novooleksandriivka Territorial Community includes two medical clinics and six paramedic and midwifery centers.

Emergency medical assistance to the population of the community is provided by the Beryslav station, the Novovorontsovka substation of emergency medical assistance of the communal non-commercial enterprise “Regional Territorial Center of Emergency Medical Assistance and Disaster Medicine” of the Kherson Regional Council.

Medical workers of the international humanitarian organization “Doctors Without Borders” make visits to the population centers.

As a result of hostilities, health care institutions of the community suffered damage of varying degrees, from large-scale destruction to partial damage.

Community and War

The difficult period of occupation of the community lasted from March 15 to October 3, 2022 and will be remembered by every resident who was unable to leave their home and who had to meet with the russian military. Constant illegal searches of houses, robberies, torture, murders, bullying of people who spoke Ukrainian, forcing to cooperate.

Destroyed infrastructure, damaged or destroyed housing, and most unfortunately, broken destinies of people, including children.

Constant problems with the supply of electricity (or its absence), water, food, survival at the expense of gardening and farming, lack of mobile communication (in order to call relatives, residents climbed onto the roofs, where there was sometimes possible to pick a signal), the Internet, medical services – that all that “liberators” could do in our community during its occupation.

Residents of the village of Mykhailivka joined their efforts and restored the operation of the mill and bakery, which had not worked for more than 14 years, and thus provided the Novooleksandriivka community and the village of Dudchany, Mylove community with bread and flour. 

Residents of the village of Havrylivka also showed their solidarity by setting up a line for processing barley and peas and making cereals and catered for the residents of the village and IDPs numbering 420 people.

The Novooleksandriivka rural territorial community was deoccupied at the beginning of October 2022. Since 2023 the territory of the community has been in the zone of active and possible hostilities. The population centers located in the coastal zone experience losses due to bombing, shelling, destruction, face such problems as mobilizing own funds and finding additional funding for the restoration of damaged infrastructure, demining, financing defense expenses.

People of the Community

Development Strategy

The program of socio-economic and cultural development of the Novooleksandriivka Rural Territorial Community for 2024 was approved by Order of the Head of the Novooleksandriivka Rural Military Administration dated December 20, 2023 No. 323.

The main goal of the Program is to create conditions for:

1. Overcoming the consequences of combat operations and ensuring livelihoods and proper living conditions for the population on the community.
2. Restoring the economy and improving community development management mechanisms on the basis of efficiency, openness and transparency.
3. Strengthening investment activity.
4. Ensuring proper functioning of social and utility infrastructure.
5. Adhering to high environmental standards, thus increasing the competitiveness of the community and ensuring the availability of a wide range of administrative and social services and improving the population’s welfare.

In 2023, the Novooleksandriivka Territorial Community and Global Communities, an implementer of the Decentralization Offering Better Results and Efficiency (DOBRE) Program, concluded a Memorandum of Cooperation regarding the implementation of the Program in Ukraine.

As part of the USAID DOBRE Program emergency response project, the Novooleksandriivka community received modern machinery and equipment for communal enterprises: C110B-Max tractor, water tanks, water tubs on a single-axle APV3 automobile semi-trailer, pipes for replacing damaged water lines, pumping equipment, automatic control stations.

 List of Sources

• Official website of the communit