Suvorove Territorial Community

History

The settlement of Katlabuh (Suvorove) has a rich history dating back to the early 19th century. It was founded in 1815 by Bulgarian colonists on the site of a nomadic Tatar camp, which explains its Turkic name – Shykyrly-Kytai. Throughout its history, the settlement was part of various states, including the Russian Empire, Moldova, Romania and the USSR. In 1941, it was officially renamed Suvorove in honor of the Russian commander Alexander Suvorov. In 2024, within the framework of the national law on decolonization and the elimination of toponyms associated with the imperial past, the settlement was renamed Katlabuh.

The times of the emergence of the settlement of Katlabuh are very ancient, tragic and date back to the period of the first flows of Bulgarian and Gagauz migrants who fled from Turkish oppression across the Danube River to the Bessarabian lands where they sought a “free life” from 1787.

There have been many changes, cataclysms, and historical events in the lives of the residents of Suvorove. In Soviet times, the settlement had the status of a district center with a million budget, a developed agricultural sector, and a large number of processing enterprises. There were also periods of decline during the “perestroika” period. The revival of the settlement began with Ukraine’s independence, and in 2020, during the administrative reform in Ukraine, the settlement of Suvorove became the administrative center of the Suvorove community, which merged population centers from the former Izmail, Artsyz, and Kiliia districts.

The Suvorove community has rich potential for tourism development due to its natural and historical monuments.

Last year, local residents of the settlement of Katlabuh created a project dedicated to the popularization of Bulgarian culture and the restoration of forgotten national rites and traditions. To this end, they collected many exhibits of everyday life and crafts, which will be placed in the museum “Shykyrliyska Keshcha” in one of the old houses in the settlement. The initiative itself grew into the creation of the public association “Shykyrliytsy”, which is looking for investments to arrange the museum.

On the territory of the settlement of Katlabuh and the surrounding villages there are numerous archaeological sites, in particular burial mounds, which testify to the existence of ancient settlements and cultures. The burial mounds south of Katlabuh and on its territory are part of the historical and archaeological landscape, which belongs to different stages of history – from the first settlements of the Trypillian culture to the late Scythian times. Archaeological excavations often uncover burials, as well as various artifacts that reflect the daily life and culture of local residents during different historical periods.

Lake Katlabuh is a natural heritage site. The lake is famous for the Troian Wall, built by the Romans, which is preserved on its northern shore. In the 16th century, a famous battle took place on the lake, when Stephen the Great defeated the Turkish army, forcing the enemy to drown in the lake.

Today, the lake is an important natural and ecological site, particularly for the local fishing industry. Its water is used for fish farming and irrigation. The nature of the lake attracts fans of fishing and water recreation, particularly on the northern coast, where there are beaches.

Economy and Welfare

The Suvorove community is historically an agrarian community, therefore, economic activity in the community is mainly conducted by agricultural enterprises that fill the community budget.

As of today, more than 230 legal entities have been registered, of which more than 100 are agricultural enterprises and about 370 are individuals who mainly engage in the wholesale and retail trade sector.

Among the large enterprises, in terms of the amount of cultivated land, the most famous are the farm “STOYANOVA A.A.”, the companies “AGRO PARTNER 777” and “AGRO-MIN-DUNAJ”, family farms “NYVA” and “ANDREEV I.I.”. Experiments are conducted on the fields of these enterprises on the cultivation of new crops in arid zones, for example, drip irrigation cotton, rice and popcorn.

Another very well-known company in the region, “Bessarabian Bread”, pleases residents and guests of the community with fragrant bread and bakery products baked using new technologies in Dutch ovens on alternative fuel – pellets. They use recipes of various ethnicities living in Bessarabia. The peculiarity of the enterprise is that it operates in a closed cycle configuration – from the production of its own flour to the sale of products in branded stores and shops – as they say “from the field to the table”.

The highlight of the Suvorove community was the creation of a new enterprise of the Water Users Organization “WATER OF LIFE” in 2022. This is Ukraine’s first enterprise to acquire ownership of the land reclamation network facilities and aim to restore irrigation in the community, which will provide a new impetus for the economic development and social well-being of the community.

The Suvorove community has sufficient conditions for the life and development of local residents. Education institutions have a high rating among schools in the region. They can also get medical services in outpatient clinics, which are available in every population center. On guard in the community are two community police officers and the local fire department, which they want to reorganize and create a modern Security Center according to European standards.

Much attention is paid to creating conditions for supervision of elderly people who have partially lost their ability to act both at home and in the Center for Social Protection of the Population. For leisure and sports activities, there are sports grounds, cultural institutions, and public catering establishments. Both adults and children are actively engaged in dancing, singing, and playing musical instruments.

Community and War

From the first days of the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine, residents created a territorial defense unit. Also, the owner of Victoria Café initiated round-the-clock meals for the military and male volunteers in its kitchen. Also, a humanitarian headquarters was very quickly created, which is still working and provides the local population and internally displaced persons with food, hygiene products and other necessary things.

From the beginning of the war, the Suvorove community was mainly a point through which the displaced people went to the cities, but there are families who remained to live in the community. For two families from Mykolaiv, residents of the village of Ostrivne raised funds and purchased two houses. Specialists of the Suvorove settlement council also helped them purchase everything they needed with a grant from the charitable organization “Faith, Hope, Love”.

In 2023, funds were allocated from the local community budget to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Students and employees of the lyceum, together with employees of the settlement council, held charity events to help the military.

Students and employees of education institutions collected parcels for military personnel throughout the year. The defenders were given food, clothing, hygiene products, and letters with wishes that they return home victorious. Cultural institutions hold various charity events and concerts in support of the military.

To help the occupied community, a Memorandum of Cooperation was concluded with the Andrivka Rural Military Administration of the Berdiansk District, Zaporizhzhia Region and funds were allocated for the implementation of the de-occupation plan.

The Humanitarian Headquarters and the employees of the settlement council organized a collection of aid for people from the Kherson region under the slogan “Let’s help the Kherson people!” Together with the Regional Branch of the All-Ukrainian Association of United Territorial Communities in the Odessa region, they coordinated the logistics and delivery of the goods (canned food, water, blankets, warm blankets, towels, personal hygiene products, diapers for children).

The public library became a center for weaving camouflage nets. A mobile LED lantern was purchased and donated to the military with funds from local farmers.

Community people

Oleh Bosikevych is the head of the community.

Before the full-scale invasion and during martial law in the country, despite the challenges facing the communities, the community leader constantly organized events to support the development of the community, youth, military personnel, their families, and the population as a whole. Under his leadership, events were organized aimed at bettering social conditions, supporting education, attracting investment, and improving the environment.

For example, the community recently opened the Alley of Glory to honor the memory of fallen heroes, which has become a significant social project for the community. They also signed a memorandum of cooperation with the International Humanitarian University, which demonstrates interest in developing educational opportunities in the region.

Oleh Bosikevych actively collaborates with local businesses, investors, and public organizations to create new jobs and develop infrastructure, in particular, to provide the community with new services and equipment, such as mobile generators for social needs.

The Suvorove community is an active community and a regular participant in many pilot projects together with the ULEAD with Europe Program, the EGAP Program and the Eastern Europe Foundation, the NALAS Program, which helps the community develop and makes it popular in the region and in Ukraine.

This year, the community held the Public Budget and Public School Budget competitions for the first time, in which schoolchildren and residents of all community population centers actively participated. Currently, the implementation of school competition projects has begun, and the Public Budget competition projects will be implemented in 2025.

Development Strategy

The Strategy for the Socio-Economic Development of the Suvorove Community for 2023–2028 was prepared and approved in 2024, focusing on effective resource management, supporting economic growth, and improving the quality of life of community residents. 

The Suvorove community has identified several key areas for strategic development:

• Economic development. The community has developed a Program for the Support and Development of Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Community, a Program for the Development and Support of Livestock Breeding and Agricultural Product Processing on the territory of the Suvorove community. The programs attracted a grant from USAID Agro for business and reimbursed expenses for individuals for animal identification. The community also initiated the creation of an industrial Agro-Eco Park, which is currently at the stage of developing documentation for state registration.

• Infrastructure. With the participation of the Katlabuh Settlement Council, a service cooperative “VODOHOSPODAR” was created, to which water supply networks in the settlement of Katlabuh were transferred for use. In 2024, community specialists attracted grant assistance to purchase the necessary equipment for the functioning of the cooperative.

Funding is constantly being raised to carry out road surface repair work in the community.

• Social sphere. In order to ensure a safe and comfortable stay in education institutions for participants in the educational process, the community is constantly carrying out work on the improvement of the adjacent areas and premises of institutions. 

In 2024, major renovations began on the inpatient care building of the Social Services Center for Permanent and Temporary Residence.

• Ecology. Employees of the municipal enterprise “Vidrodzhennia” constantly take care of the proper sanitary condition of the territory of the community’s population centers and clear it on a daily basis.

List Sources

• Official website of the Katlabuh Settlement Council
• Official Facebook page of the Katlabuh Settlement Council
• MAHALA online publication
• Head’s report for 2023
• Official Facebook page of WATER OF LIFE
• Official Facebook page of Oleh BOSIKEVYCH