Mykhailo-Kotsyubynske community

Mykhaylo Kotsyubynske History

The earliest settlement appeared in this ancient, legendary part of Chernihiv region more than 400 years ago. Here was the center of Kozlyanska volost during the Kyevan Rus times.

Until 1935, the settlement of Mykhailo-Kotsyubynske was called Kozel, which comes from the name of a Polish nobleman who owned lands when the Chernihiv-Siverskyi region was a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

In the documents Kozel is first mentioned in the Census Book of 1666 as the property of the Chernihiv Borisoglibsky Monastery, which was built with the assistance of Hetman Ivan Mazepa.

Andriyivski Lakes

The beauty of the community is the picturesque Balyn lake. In a cozy corner of
Polissya, 23 km from Chernihiv, the air here is saturated with the scent of healing
herbs and age-old traditions. In the homesteads of locals you can try doing
various crafts yourself, such as weaving, pottery, and wickerwork.

Hub of agricultural producers

In 2018, a large modern enterprise Dobrodiya, producing cereals, was opened in
Mykhailo-Kotsyubynske. The company is one of the largest in Europe.

There are also more than 120 other enterprises in the community, which are
engaged in growing crops, wood processing, and trade.

Healthcare in the community

As a result of state medical reform, only one outpatient clinic remained in the
community. There is a single ambulance in the community, which is not enough to
provide medical services for all citizens. The local hospital serves 27 settlements.
The radius of public services is about 50 km.

During the war, the outpatient clinic was closed and all doors and windows were
blocked so that it would not be looted by the occupiers. The hospital survived.

Volunteer fire brigade

Long before the full-scale war, the active residents of Mykhailo-Kotsyubynske
community established a volunteer fire brigade in the village of Pakuli. The
brigade is financed from the village budget and serves the neighboring villages.
Volunteer fire brigades are extremely effective. They are the first to get to the fires
and assist professionals.

The fire truck of the volunteer fire brigade and fire brigade

The community and the war

Almost all settlements in the community have suffered from the Russian
aggression. The community has been under occupation for 35 days.

Throughout the Kyiv offensive, thousands of columns of enemy vehicles moved
through the community. Enemies set up positions near villages in the local forests.
They shelled the community day and night, with short 2-3 hours breaks.

After communications lines were cut, the residents of the community found
themselves in complete isolation. Food was not delivered to the shops. People
suffered from hunger. The enemy shells hit the Mykhailo-Kotsyubynskyi farm
where horse stables were damaged. Fortunately, animals were not there at that
time. This farm provided people with milk free of charge during the occupation.

Many houses and barns were demolished in the village and several shops were
robbed.

Lyceum in Mykhaylo-Kotsyubynske

On March 4, a shell hit the Mykhailo-Kotsyubynsky Lyceum. At that moment,
about a hundred village citizens, including 30 children, were sheltering in the
school basement. Only one woman, a school cleaning lady, was in the utility room
and died under the rubble. Another rocket hit the school stadium.

Before the war, the lyceum was a role model for others. It had warm and bright
classrooms, comfortable training conditions, introduced energy efficiency
measures.

During the retreat from Chernihiv region, the invaders stopped for the night in
Mykhailo-Kotsyubynske, broke into residents homes, robbed, intimidated and
mocked them.

«They were drunk. They were probably stoned. They didn’t even realize what they
were doing. They took locals to the cellars, interrogating them all night long. And
people thought if they went to the cellar, they would be shot. People were in pain,
they were crying. They begged to be released, but the occupants did not respond,»

said witnesses of Russian atrocities in the community.

These «gifts» were left by the Russian «liberators» in the fields of Agricom Group,
one of the enterprises of Mykhailo-Kotsyubynske community.

Nina Vorokh, the head of Mykhaylo
Kotsyubunske community

She was in the community and performed the duties throughout the occupation.

«They behaved as if they were hosts here. When I approached them and asked to
let me in into the village council, they did not let me in. Then, I understood that
they took away all computers, and damaged everything inside. That was why they
did not let me in» remembers the community head.

The village council after the visit of occupants

The people were so united. The local government cooperated with businesses,
they jointly provided citizens with milk, cereals, diapers. People brought anything
they could from Chernihiv.

«We organized the bakery. Our bakers baked bread. We circulated it among the
citizens. It was such a pain to see a child sniffing it with such hunger», –Nina Vorokh
said.

Vision of future

The community actively promotes gender balanced budgeting, which allows using
local public funds more effectively.

After the victory, the Mykhailo-Kotsyubynke community sees itself as an
innovative agricultural cluster.

In addition, the community plans to continue to be open to the outside world and
become an attractive tourist pearl of Chernihiv Polissya.

Sources:

• Interviews with community representatives
• Facebook page of the Andrew’s Lakes
• UNIAN news agency
• Official site of Mykhailo – Kotsyubynske community
• Website of the city of Chernihiv 0462
• Public. Media
• Wikipedia