Rotmistrivka Territorial Community

History

The settlement of Rotmistrivka arose at the end of the 15th century on the border between the possessions of Poland and the Crimean Tatars. There was a border guard post of the Polish army here. Under its protection, this area, after numerous raids by the Crimean hordes, began to be settled again by Rotmistr Omecinsky, thus the village got its name – Rotmistrivka.

The population has been engaged in agriculture here since ancient times.

In 1962, the construction of a two-story secondary school began. The school has survived to this day – now more than 190 students from 4 villages of the community study there.

Also, in the 1970s, a village council was built, which still operates in the same building.

In the Nadezhdivka tract, which is located in the community, there was once a manor estate, a picturesque place with an oak forest and walnut alleys. Remains of the landlord’s bridge made of large blocks of granite have been preserved.

Rotmistrivka Crater is a protected gem of the Rotmistrivka area located on the outskirts of the village. This crater is one of the seven explosion craters on the territory of Ukraine that were formed due to the fall of space bodies. And there is also an opinion that this is actually the mouth of an extinct volcano. The formation of the crater can be attributed to the late Jurassic period, approximately 137 million years ago.

There is also another architectural monument in Rotmistrivka, which is mentioned in the archives from the 1820s. This is an old Jewish synagogue, in the premises of which the Rotmistrivka Children’s Music School is now located. This monument is maintained in good condition by the efforts of the school staff.

The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in one of the villages of the community was built in 1846. Until the 1960s, the church was active, but then it was closed. Restoration work began in 1989. After the arrival of Priest Vasyl Sharko at the village, restoration and renovation work began with renewed vigor.

Nowadays, in addition to the restored and repaired church, Father Vasyl is actively restoring the ancient catacombs under the church, having also organized a mini-museum of ethnology in the basement.

In the Rotmistrivka community, the clergy and numerous believers gather in the small village of Buda-Makiivka on the 10th Friday after Easter. It is there, in a forest tract, that there is a spring of the Mother of God, glorified by many miracles and folk legends, known since the 18th century.

Laboratory studies have proven the unique properties of crystal clear water that flows in the depths of the ravine. People testify to the fact that the water here is really holy because it helps to heal from diseases and various physical and spiritual infirmities which is evidenced by numerous facts.

In recent years, a chapel was built here and a neat well was arranged from where people can draw the water. Also, a cross was installed and the road from the village was cleared.

In 1946, excavations of a burial ground were carried out in the community’s village of Makiivka, where two burials dating back to the IV-III centuries were discovered.

Granite deposits were developed on the territory of the village in Soviet times. After these works, a blue quarry with healing white clay remained. Local residents discovered its feature to treat the musculoskeletal system.

Economy and Welfare

The community is rich in minerals, namely sand, gabbro stone, apatite and ilmenite ores. It also has a deposit of artesian water.

Agricultural, forestry lands and lands of the nature reserve make up 95% of the community area.

An industrial enterprise for the production of compound feed operates in the community. It improves the employment situation of the population, fills the budget of the territorial community and contributes to the community’s development as a whole. Also, a powerful transformer substation is located in the village of Rotmistrivka. The village also has free lands and premises.

There are also three farming enterprises in the community whose activities go beyond the borders of Ukraine

The community has 9 preschool education institutions, 8 institutions of general and secondary education and a children’s music school.

During the martial law, Rotmistrivka handed over 3 of its school buses to meet the needs of the Armed Forces. Despite everything, even during the war, it managed to get a new bus, as well as a large tour bus as humanitarian aid from France.

The community’s education institutions still need to be modernized in compliance with energy-saving measures and its material and technical facilities and playgrounds require renovation.

Cultural, recreational and artistic events are held for the residents on all public and professional holidays every year. Days of the community and its villages had been held annually in September until the start of the full-scale invasion.

Medical services in the community are provided by 2 outpatient clinics, a medical and obstetrician station, 5 paramedic stations and 2 temporary deployment points. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention also operates in the community.

Before the full-scale invasion, the Rotmistrivka community was famous throughout Ukraine for its novelty aviation festival-exhibition of home-made aircraft YASLA FEST.

Professionals, fans of air sports, just interested spectators and connoisseurs of spectacles and extremes flocked to the community’s former military airfield. Equipment exhibitions, fairs, concerts and refreshments were arranged here. It was possible to fly over the community on a real airplane or paraglider. Unfortunately, the festival is not organized during wartime.

Community and War

The community met the war stoically – there was not a single day that employees of institutions and enterprises did not go to work. The men of the community were among the first volunteers who went to the frontline. Currently, there are 15 fallen Heroes in the community who gave their lives for Ukraine. One of them is the Hero of Ukraine pilot Yevhen Lysenko.

Also, Rotmistrivka is one of the communities that received the largest number of forcibly displaced people during the full-scale war. Now there are more than 1,000 of them in the community. From the very beginning of the war, all educational and cultural institutions of the community, without exception, provided their premises for the overnight stay and temporary stay of internally displaced persons. There, the residents of the community brought essential items for everyone who was fleeing the war.

The community, its employees and ordinary residents take an active part in volunteer activities every day: they bake goodies, prepare canned food and make souvenirs for the Warriors. Almost every day humanitarian aid is sent from every village of the community to the front and to hospitals throughout the country.

Nadiia Lebedko and her colleagues are an example of indomitability.  They organize themselves every week to make dozens of boxes of pastries, candies and souvenirs, and individual entrepreneur Valerii Brovarskyi sends them directly to the frontline.

Cooperation was established with the volunteer organization SICH and chaplain associations of the town of Smila which handed over 15 computers to six community schools for distance learning in war conditions. Now schoolchildren and teachers have the opportunity to learn using more modern technology and in comfortable conditions.

The education department of the village council often holds various campaigns and volunteer activities in support of the military.

There are many Army aid collection centers in the community.

People of the Community

Volodymyr Khovaiba is the head of the Rotmistrivka village territorial community. Over the past six years, the community has implemented many projects of varying complexity: from street lighting to warming the premises and repairing the roofs of social facilities.

The head of the community is one of the oldest and most experienced heads of the Cherkasy region. However, he will give even young people a head start – he has time not only to deal with everyday chores, but also to think ahead about how to develop the community, go on educational trips and learn from experience where it can be adopted. He skillfully plans and directs the work of the village council and the deputy corps to solve the daily problems of the territorial community.

Thanks to Volodymyr Khovaiba and with the support of farmers and entrepreneurs of the community, the streets of the villages of the Rotmistrivka rural territorial community are lit, the roads are periodically repaired, children’s playgrounds are equipped, a park area and a square in the center of Rotmistrivka have been opened, churches are being built, and improvement works are being carried out.

The Administrative Services Center for community residents was also opened in the community.

In order to ensure a comfortable life for residents, the communal enterprise Rotmistrivka was created, for which machinery and equipment were purchased. It is planned to purchase a grader for the community. Containers for centralized garbage collection were installed in the villages. There are also plans to separate containers for garbage collection into those that correspond to modern eco-technologies.

Development Strategy

The community has an advantageous geographical location: on the border of Cherkasy and Kirovohrad regions, on a road of national importance, with the Odesa railway passing through its area.

Right now, the process of creating a comprehensive plan for the Rotmistrivka community is underway. Measures are being developed for the implementation of aerial photography and the formation of development indicators. In October 2023, a large-scale survey of community residents and the first public meeting on the creation of a master plan and a development strategy were held.

The presence of agricultural enterprises on the territory of the united territorial; community, whose activities go beyond the borders of Ukraine, allows planning the further development of the community and revenues to its budget.

The Development Strategy of the Rotmistrivka United Territorial Community for the period until 2025 has been approved.

A number of strategic goals were identified and some of which were already achieved. Thanks to participation in state programs, the energy efficiency of buildings of community institutions and educational institutions was increased; reconstruction and restoration of street lighting systems were carried out in villages; high-speed Internet was installed in all community population centers.

Now the community is working on increasing the level of safety and security (it participates in the “Community Police Officer” program) and finishing the arrangement of the police room in the village council. It is also planning to purchase a police car.

To improve solid waste management, garbage collection containers were purchased and the staff of the utility company was increased. There are also plans to improve the quality of health care facilities and the network of educational institutions, create tourist products and popularize the community’s tourist opportunities.

The agro-industrial sector, tourist industry and rehabilitation services for military personnel on the basis of the Rotmistrivka dispensary are promising areas for development in the community 

List of Sources

• Photos and information: Anna Zdorovko and the Rotmistrivka Village Council.
• rotmistrivska-gromada.gov.ua/