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Skadovsk Territorial Community
Kherson
Population:
The Skadovsk urban territorial community is located in the south of Ukraine and is part of the Kherson region. The town of Skadovsk is the center of both the community and the Skadovsk district.
Skadovsk is located on the shore of the Dzharylhach Bay of the Black Sea in the steppe zone. Its total area is 776.3 km2.
The community was created in June 2020 and united the town of Skadovsk and 27 population centers: 9 settlements and 18 villages.
Population of the community: 34,758 people.
Internally displaced persons: 15,237 (as of February 2, 2023).
History
In 1893, Serhiy Skadovskyi bought the Druhe Prymorske estate on the shores of the Dzharylhach Bay of the Black Sea. And this year is considered the beginning of the history of Skadovsk.
At that time, only traces of settlements remained on the site of modern Skadovsk. Historians assume that there was an ancient settlement called Tamiraka here in the 15th and 16th centuries. However, there were also human settlements earlier. This is evidenced by mounds with burials of the Bronze Age of Scythians, Sarmatians and nomads of the 9th-13th centuries.
On July 7, 1894, a foreign ship was loaded from the wharf in Skadovsk for the first time. In honor of the loading of the first ship, the people of Skadovsk celebrated the Town Day on the last Saturday of September.
July 5, 1894 is considered to be the exact date of formation of Skadovsk. Serhiy Skadovskyi personally appointed the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the founding of Skadovsk on July 5, 1904.
According to historical sources of that time, there were 226 houses and 1113 inhabitants in Skadovsk in 1896. In 1898, there were already 400 houses and 2,000 inhabitants in the town. The newspaper, Krymskyi Visnyk, wrote about the rapid growth of Skadovsk in 1898.
Skadovsk also developed as a resort. German doctors invited to the town noted that asthma is well treated on the shores of the Dzharylhach Bay. Since then, the resort has been popularized as a place for rest and recovery, as well as a children’s sanatorium. Thanks to advertising, in 1899, about 200 people rested in Skadovsk, and in 1902 – more than 500.
In 1899, the Maritime Ministry made a decision to construct the Dzharylhach lighthouse. The openwork metal frame of the lighthouse was made in Paris.
On May 30, 1921, a resort sanatorium was organized in Skadovsk. At the end of 1930, Skadovsk was declared a resort of republican importance.
During the Second World War, the town’s infrastructure was damaged. In the post-war years, the destructed assets were restored and the residential sector was developed.
In the mid-1970s, 59 recreation facilities and 1 sanatorium operated in the Skadovsk Medical Zone. In some years, the number of vacationers reached 130-150 thousand people.
In the 1980s, the town beach of Skadovsk stretched for more than three kilometers along the Dzharylhach Bay. It could accommodate more than 30,000 people at a time.
With Ukraine’s independence, Skadovsk continued to develop as a resort and port town.
Economy and Welfare
The Skadovsk community has always been one of the most promising communities in the Kherson region from an economic point of view.
The Skadovsk area is associated with the center of the resort zone of the region. Due to the shallow water and high water temperatures, the resort was positioned as a children’s health zone.
Health facilities received up to 100,000 people every year. A large number of vacationers settled in the private sector and on camping sites. Trade, hotel and restaurant business and passenger transportation developed in the town.
Stable crops were grown in the community thanks to irrigation from the Krasnoznamyanskyi canal. The community grew potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, onions, eggplants, and watermelons. An important place was occupied by grain crops. Rice was also grown here.
The community developed animal husbandry – pig, dairy and poultry farms.
The processing industry is represented by separate processing enterprises. They produced bread and bakery products, pasta, confectionery and sausage products, soft drinks, oil, canned vegetables.
Road transport enterprises carried out the transportation of economic and commercial goods and passenger transportation. Sea cargo transportation was carried out by the Skadovsk Sea Trade Port. Passengers were transported to Dzharylhach by private entrepreneurs. The presence of E97 highway contributed to the development of the transport industry.
The Dzharylhach National Natural Park was important for the development of tourism. Dzharylhach attracted tourists who came to Skadovsk to relax in the “Ukrainian Maldives”.
Throughout the year, festivals and competitions for children and youth were held in the community. The most famous are Black Sea Games and Jazz over the Sea.
Education was provided by 16 kindergartens, 11 lyceums and various institutions of out-of-school education. The Shevchenko Skadovsk Town Culture House and the library system provided opportunities for the development of culture. Historical values were preserved in the Skadovsk Museum of Local History which was located in the “house with columns”
In order to popularize a healthy lifestyle in the community, new sports and children’s playgrounds were created and the existing ones were renovated. Stadiums, gyms, school sports grounds were improved.
Community and War
On February 24, 2022, russian troops invaded the Kherson region. In the course of the russian offensive, the occupiers constantly moved around the territory of the community.
On March 16, the russian military kidnapped the Mayor of the town, Oleksandr Yakovlev. On the same day, local residents gathered for a rally which was brutally dispersed. Later, Oleksandr Yakovlev was released. On April 6, 2022, after numerous threats from the occupiers, the Mayor was forced to leave the town.
During the first months of the occupation, the Humanitarian Headquarters organized by the legitimate local authorities together with public activists operated in Skadovsk.
Since the beginning of the occupation, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have periodically “welcomed” the occupiers with explosions. Instead, the occupation administration continues to commit crimes against the life, health and property of the residents of Skadovsk. Along with terror, the seizure of free housing of evacuated local residents continues.
On October 15, 2022, in Skadovsk, the russians publicly executed a 56-year-old local resident, Tetiana Mudrenko, who shouted “Skadovsk is Ukraine!”
During October-November 2023, the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit the places of concentration of the occupiers on the territory of the community several times. Thanks to a series of explosions in Skadovsk, several dozen Russian soldiers were killed.
People of the Community
Oleksandr Yakovlev was elected Mayor for the first time in the fall of 2015. In the fall of 2020, voters re-elected Oleksandr Yakovlev as the Mayor.
Oleksandr Yakovlev currently exercises the authority of the Mayor in the controlled territory of Ukraine.
During the war, IDP residents unite to volunteer and help the Ukrainian army. Thanks to the activities of the Guardian of the Tavria Charitable Foundation, cars were purchased for the military, meetings are organized for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and humanitarian aid is provided to internally displaced persons. Residents also weave nets, make candles, and make dumplings for our military.
The Mayor of Skadovsk, together with proactive residents, constantly participates in events that present the Skadovsk community, including abroad.
Dmytro Chumak and Kateryna Dudchenko are Olympic champions from the Skadovsk area.
Dmytro Chumak is a record holder of Ukraine and an honored master of sports, silver medalist of the 2018 World Championship, bronze medalist of the 2015 World Championship in all-around, three-time European champion, participant of the 2016 Olympic Games, 7-time champion and record holder of Ukraine.
At the end of May 2023, Kateryna Dudchenko from Skadovsk won the European Academic Rowing Championship. Today, Kateryna Dudchenko is a master of sports of Ukraine, a European champion and a medalist of the European Championship.
Development Strategy
The development strategy of the Skadovsk community includes measures aimed at the recovery and development of all branches of the community’s economy and infrastructure after deoccupation.
Plans:
- restoration of work of state and local self-government authorities;
- inspection of community territories for mine safety and demining;
- restoration of service provision in administrative service centers;
- restoration of the document pool of the community;
- identification of Ukrainian citizens and issuance of Ukrainian passports;
- restoration of education and overcoming of the consequences of the militarization of education; teaching children according to the principles of Ukrainian identity;
- providing community residents with humanitarian aid;
- infrastructure restoration.
List of Sources
- Website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
- Website of the Kherson Regional State Administration
- Website of the Skadovsk community:
- Website of the Skadovsk District State Administration:
- Wikipedia
- Ekonomichna Pravda website
- Kavun.Town website
- Omore.Town website
- Ukrainiskyi Pivden website
- HedgeHog Stories website
- Ucluster website
- Telegram channel: Andriushchenko Time
- Facebook-page of the Skadovsk Town Council