Velyka Dymerka Territorial Community

History

The symbolics of Velyka Dymerka, in particular, its Coat of Arms, is an image of a burning log with a column of smoke, which reveals the name of the village [“Velykyi Dym” translates as “Great Smoke” in English], and is associated with the industries that were widespread here in the past. The residents produced saltpetre and tar by burning wood, thus, there were pillars of smoke all the time. The image of Archangel Michael imitates the icon located in the local church, which is highly revered by local residents, because Archangel Michael is considered the patron saint of Velyka Dymerka. The white colour is also associated with smoke, which gave the village its name.

For more than a thousand years, the territory of the Velyka Dymerka community was inhabited by hunting tribes of Severianes, who later began to engage in economic activities and reclaim forestered lands.

There were especially many birch groves here, where tar was extracted, and saltpetre and potash were obtained after burning the raw materials. The settlement residents of the Dymer ancestors were also engaged in tar smoking. For decades, smoke rose above the village. This is one of the main versions of the origin of the name Dymerka.

Economy and Welfare  

Industry, agriculture and logistics are the leading sectors of the community’s economy.

Before the full-scale Russian invasion, which caused death and destruction, the Velyka Dymerka community was a neighbourhood with a dynamically developing economy, in particular, in terms and its manufacturing industry and agro-industrial sector.

More than 300 private enterprises worked here. This included retail trade and restaurant business, gas stations and pharmacies, other small businesses and 2 food markets.

There are 49 farms working in the agricultural sector and engaging in growing grain, leguminous, oil crops, vegetables and melon crops.

Before the full-scale Russian invasion, the Velyka Dymerka community played an important role in the economy of the Kyiv region. The industrial complex of the Velyka Dymerka community was based of large enterprises, including the manufacturer of dry building mixtures and a meat processing complex. There is also a Coca-Cola factory in the community, whose team made great efforts to save jobs and quickly resume production immediately after the occupied territory of the Kyiv region was liberated.

A sorting station with a capacity of up to 300,000 tons per a year is currently being built in the community.

Unfortunately, many enterprises were destroyed or significantly damaged, which makes it impossible to quickly restore their production operations.

Community and War

To this day, the Velyka Dymerka community has suffered from the barbaric invasion of Ukraine by the Russian enemy troops. Out of the 23 settlements of the community, 18 were occupied and 5 experienced military operations. This, in turn, led to numerous losses. The most terrible thing is that 96 people of the community died.

The mass destruction of both industrial (about 40 enterprises), residential facilities (more than 2,000 damaged buildings and more than 300 completely destroyed buildings), and various infrastructure facilities (educational and medical) was also registered.

The owners of the Coca-Cola foreign company, which has been operating in the community for about 25 years, took initiative to participate in the reconstruction of the kindergarten in the village of Bohdanivka, which was destroyed by the Russian troops.

People of the Community

Anatoliy Bochkaryov has held the office as Head of the Velyka Dymerka community since 1985. In 2021, he set a Ukrainian record for the longest uninterrupted term of office: 36 years in a row.

In his work, Settlement Head Anatoliy Bochkaryov directed all his efforts and competencies to the development of large, medium and small businesses in the community. Even today, the Velyka Dymerka community remains one of the most investment-attractive communities of the Kyiv region.

The Kalynonka Folk Ensemble has been operating for more than forty years. It united people of different ages and professions. The collective’s repertoire includes folk and author’s songs.

The Kalynonka Folk Ensemble often performs for the residents of the district and the community, constantly replenishes the repertoire with new works and actively cooperates with various creative groups of the entire district.

The repertoire of the Dzhereltse Children’s Vocal Ensemble includes both Ukrainian contemporary and folk songs. It has been performing for more than 15 years. The ensemble successfully combines its songs with interesting choreographic productions. The ensemble performed in the city, regional, all-Ukrainian and international competitions. It is the winner of many international competitions.

Development Strategy

The primary current tasks include the reconstruction of both the housing stock and social infrastructure assets – the destroyed and damaged educational institutions, and the restoration of the damaged and stolen material and technical resources.

 Among the pre-war strategic focuses of the Velyka Dymerka community development are the activation of investment attraction, the developing of entrepreneurship and recreational and tourist potential.

Another focus is the creation of a community comfortable for residents, which includes as follows: development of engineering infrastructure; repair and construction of roads and sidewalks; improvement of transport network; improvement of water supply and drainage; increasing of energy efficiency level; improvement of energy management system; development of alternative sources of energy supply; increasing of the level of educational, medical and cultural services; improvement of public safety, security and order.

Among the implemented projects, is the opening of the Administrative Services Centre in July 2021 which provided the population with access to quality administrative services.

List of Sources

• Official Website of the Velyka Dymerka Settlement Council
• ua.coca-colahellenic.com
• brovary.net.ua