Chmyrivka community
Luhansk region
General statistical information about the community
Chmyrivka rural hromada (or Chmyrivka rural territorial community) of Starobilsk district, Luhansk region.
In 2022 the population of the Chmyrivka rural territorial community was 9,647 people, with 5 026 females and 4 621 males.
The total area of the community: 511.98 km2.
The community consists of 22 villages.
Map
History
The village of Chmyrivka began to develop in 1810. Its first resident was Ivan Chmyr, who came to these lands with his family from the village of Pidhorivka, Starobilsk district. The Chmyrs are a Ukrainian Cossack family known for over 350 years. Chmyr is a popular surname among the Cossacks, including the Zaporozhian Cossacks. The surname comes from the word “chimir,” which means “strong,” “stocky,” and “dense” in Turkic. The family was engaged in farming. The head of the family was an experienced and educated man-he read the holy books, and he also played the huslia, retelling epics, and earned a lot of money. When the village grew, and Ivan Chmyr was a respected man, the village was named Chmyrivka in his honor.
Historical references. Archival photos of the community
The community is green and beautiful, with great tourist and recreational potential. The existing nature reserves include the forest reserve of national significance “Tserkvnyi Forest” and local significance “Pryhodivskyi”, the hydrological natural monument of local significance “Shpotynske Dzherelo”, and the protected tracts “Sosnovove” and “Shyroke”.
A foreign military cemetery is located on the territory of Chmyrivka village, where 48 Polish officers who died in Starobilsk while in captivity in 1940 are buried. Every year on November 1, the Polish Remembrance Day, representatives of the Polish diaspora and the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland visit the burial of officers.
Economy
The economic potential of Chmyrivka rural territorial community was based on the agro-industrial complex. The main specialization of the community’s agricultural enterprises was the cultivation of sunflower and cereals (wheat, spring barley, grain corn), processing of agricultural products, and milk cooling. Both small and medium-sized enterprises in the water supply, forestry, road construction (repair), higher professional education, and utilities sectors operated in the community.
The production of agricultural products in the community was carried out by 50 agro-industrial entities, including 32 farms, 5 limited liability companies, 1 state enterprise, 1 PJSC, 1 agricultural cooperative, 1 private enterprise, 9 individual entrepreneurs engaged in agriculture and private farms. There are 3 medium-sized enterprises, the rest are small and microbusinesses.
The community’s enterprises sow about 9 thousand hectares of grain and almost the same amount of sunflower. According to the main agricultural enterprises of the community, the gross harvest of grain and sunflower and their yields tend to increase.
In the livestock sector, there are 4 enterprises with about 1000 heads of cattle and 1500 heads of pigs.
The inhabitants of the community are engaged in beekeeping and poultry farming in private households. At the beginning of 2022, 924 bee colonies were registered with 15 owners.
Community and War
Since 26.02.2022, the entire territory of the community has been under temporary occupation, and during the full-scale invasion, the networks of Ukrainian mobile operators were shut down by the invaders. Currently, there is no Ukrainian mobile phone service throughout the community and no Internet connection. The population is under a complete information blockade and is under constant pressure from Russian propaganda, which distorts facts and spreads disinformation to quell the resistance of the pro-Ukrainian population.
Cases of persecution and abduction of residents who took part in the anti-terrorist operation in 2014 and are combatants have been recorded in the community. There is evidence that an ATO (anti-terrorist operation) veteran, a resident of the community, was convicted on the territory of the aggressor country on charges of “participation in a terrorist operation”.
In the village of Chmyrivka, there are graves of soldiers who gave their lives in the fighting in Luhansk and Donetsk regions in 2014, and the occupation forces vandalized them and removed the flags of Ukraine that stood near each grave.
Military cemetery. Chmyrivka village. Archival photos of the community
People of the community
In September 2022, the Chmyrivka Rural Military Administration was established by a Presidential Decree. Valeriy Vydysh was appointed as the Head by the President of Ukraine.
Before the occupation of the territory, the Chmyrivka rural territorial community was actively implementing reforms in the education, healthcare, and social sectors.
It was the first community to amalgamate in Starobilsk district and the fourth in Luhansk region, and formed a team of specialists who worked hard to achieve qualitative changes in the provision of administrative services to the population. Much attention was paid to the involvement of residents in the community management processes, with the introduction of the Public Budget, the Budget for Citizens, the Youth Council and the Gender Coordination Council.
On 24 August 2018, the community launched a tradition of holding an annual football tournament in honour of Ivan Kulish, a military man, local resident and activist from Butove village who died in 2014 for Ukraine’s independence. Ivan was an active participant in the events of Euromaidan, one of the organisers of resistance to separatism in Starobilsk.
Due to the occupation, the following projects have not been completed: the reconstruction of a complex of buildings to house the Centre for Social Services (with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the reconstruction of the kindergarten “Topolok” (funded under the Emergency Credit Programme for the Restoration of Ukraine)
At present, all the forces of the Chmyrivka military administration are concentrated on institutional and material preparations for the de-occupation of the community’s territory and support for internally displaced persons of the Chmyrivka rural territorial community.
The staff of the Chmyrivka Rural Military Administration in Rivne
Development strategy
In the summer of 2021, work began on updating the Community Development Strategy, which is valid until 2025, due to the addition of new territories to the community and the need to update operational goals and objectives. Unfortunately, the occupation of the territory did not allow us to complete the work. Currently, the Chmyrivka military administration has developed a programme of socio-economic and cultural development for 2024-2026, which takes into account possible challenges associated with a full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation.
The programme is aimed at:
– overcoming the consequences of hostilities and the effects of occupation on the territory of the community’s settlements;
– support for internally displaced persons;
– effective exercise of powers by the military administration under the conditions of temporary occupation of the community territory;
– creating conditions for the resumption of economic growth;
– attracting domestic and foreign investment.