Mezhova Territorial Community

Dnipropetrovsk region

Population&Priorities

Type: Urban-rural
Population: 14,646

Community and War
History
Development Strategy
Economy and Welfare
Sources

Community and War

The Mezhova Territorial Community is located near the front-line. So the full-scale Russian military aggression has become a serious challenge for the neighbourhood. Development processes slowed down and triggered the crisis in many spheres.

Agriculture, municipal services, civil defence, and food security faced the most serious challenges.Employees of the executive committee of the Settlement Council, education, culture, healthcare, and social facilities are currently working on urgent issues which include residents’ safety and security, support to the army, and assistance to people who fled the war.

There are three centres for the reception and distribution of humanitarian aid, two points of invincibility, and 12 heating points in the community. The Centre for Social Services is responsible for receiving, housing and providing psychological support to the internally displaced persons. Enthusiastic residents engage in volunteering.

The Community prioritizes war-related projects and issues: reconstruction of housing for people who lost their homes during the war; arrangement of civil defence facilities; supporting families of fallen heroes of the war; providing conditions for medical facilities; and expanding municipal services for a considerable number of IDPs (3,500 people).

The Community has changed the focus of its international cooperation. Ongoing dialogues are now concentrated mainly on ensuring the functioning of the critical infrastructure. They also involve attracting aid and humanitarian supplies for the armed forces, IDPs, and citizens in difficult life situations during the war.

Humanitarian aid for IDPs

Consequences of the missile attack in Demurino

Consequences of the missile attack in Volodymyrivka

History

The Mezhova Settlement Territorial Community was established in 2017.

The villages of the Community are located on the territory of ancient sites. This is confirmed by the Scythian mounds along the Vovcha River.

The Community’s territory was possessed by the free-spirited and courageous Zaporizhzhia Cossacks in the mid-16th century. The first Cossack winter villages were created here. The main occupations were farming, bee-keeping, hunting, and fishing.

There are 111 archaeological sites and 26 historical monuments registered and protected by the state on the territory of the Mezhova Territorial Community. All of them are of local importance.

Almost 9 thousand people lived in the village of Ivanivka at the end of the 18th century. The peasants were quite wealthy. There were four schools: two zemstvo and two parish schools. The community meeting decided to build another school – a college.

The villagers were engaged in auxiliary works during the construction of the school in addition to the contractor. Each family was obliged to work 5 days a year with their own equipment and tools.

In 1996, the Ivanivka school was awarded the status of the 19th-century architectural monument.It takes more than a day to walk along the historical paths in Ivanivka. The Intercession Church is one of the places where many interesting stories are concentrated.

There are historical buildings in Ivanivka dated from the late 18th century. Unfortunately, these historical buildings are being gradually wrecked. The authorities are currently unable to raise funds to save them.

The church in Ivanivka is certainly one of the oldest in the Mezhova Community. It was built in 1840 at the expense of the villagers. The building is made of sandstone rubble. The windows’ bars were forged by local blacksmiths. The church was slightly modified in 2006, but the original composition has been preserved. The church reflects the architectural traditions of the Left-bank Ukraine of the 17th and 18th centuries. It is an example of mature classicism. The stucco moulding and painting fragments have been preserved in the interior.

The Soviet era was the most terrible period in the church’s history. The authorities organized a real terror during this period. The bell tower and the upper floor were dismantled. The church was turned into a granary, then into a mill. Considerable parts were disassembled and remelted. The reconstruction of the church began in 2002, and it became functional again in 2004. This church needs to be repaired and recognized as an architectural monument.There is an outpatient clinic across the street from the church. Built in 1892, it is a former building of the volost government. The building also housed a library, which was deported from St. Petersburg for revolutionary activities. Various village meetings were often held in the library. That is why the population called this building “Zbornia” (meeting-room). A jail, a veterinary hospital, and a parish school were located in the same courtyard before the revolution in 1917. In 1923, the village elected a new authority – the Council of Peasants’ and Workers’ Deputies.

In 1924, the Ivanivka Inpatient Hospital was opened in this building.

Today, the building needs to be renovated and recognized as an architectural monument.The highest mound “Vedun” is located at the entrance to Ivanivka from the direction of Havrylivka. Its height is 7 meters and its area is 0.5560 hectares. It was Nestor Makhno who named this mound. According to the legend, Makhno used to ride on his horse and admire the beauty of the surrounding nature from this high mound. It was a viewpoint and a marker of his father’s village location. The well is another interesting historical landmark located not far from the church. Villagers called it the “church well”. It is made of sandstone rubble to a depth of 25 meters. It was dug at the time when the church was being constructed. This amazing spring is another village relic. According to the legend, when activists came to take away icons, silverware, gold and other valuable items during the collectivization period, the priest threw many ceremonial items into the well – even his large golden cross.

The water is very tasty, and its chemical composition is the best in the village. People from all over the village take water from it. It attracts tourists. The army of Budyonny, Shchuts’ and Lantsov’s troops stationed here. Also, Nestor Makhno himself stopped over here with his army to drink water from this spring. This well has been known since the 19th century. This historic building needs to be renovated and recognized as an architectural monument.

The building of the zemstvo school in the 20th century

The Holy Intercession Church

The Ivanivka volost

Sarmatian mound "Vedun"

"Church well"

Development Strategy

The Community is currently working in the following areas:

Green energy development.

SOLAR FIELD GROUP Company implements the project for the building of an industrial solar power plant with a capacity of more than 100 MW on the 257 hectares in the Mezhova community.Solar Power Plant in Mezhova with a capacity of more than 100 MW.
The first of five solar power plants was opened in December 2020. It is located on the area of 10.4645 hectares and has an inverter capacity of 5.25 MW.2. The development of competitive and sustainable agricultural production through the creation of multifunctional cooperatives. Their purpose is the production, processing, storage and distribution of agricultural products.Work with farmers and individual entrepreneurs to unite efforts for the creation of agricultural cooperatives has begun. This way they become more attractive for traders due to scale effect.

Solar Power Plant in Mezhova with a capacity of more than 100 MW.

The Dairy Complex

Economy and Welfare

There are about 500 business entities in the community.

Agriculture is a predominant industry here and has the following structure: crop production – 98%, animal husbandry – 2%. Agricultural land area is 55,685.4 hectares. Agricultural enterprises use 30,997 hectares of cultivated land.

Elevators with a storage capacity of 40,000 and 20,200 tons operate in the community to store grain.