Stavysche district

Stavysche is the most southern district of Kyiv region. Its center, a township of Stavysche, is located on the Hnylyi Tikych river (Southern Buh river basin), six kilometers from the Kyiv-Odesa highway, far away from Kyiv — 136 kilometers.

The land of Stavysche has an ancient history. The evidence of this are the finds of Neolitic Age implements. And numerous mounds, mound complexes, and settlements justify the fact that culture and life existed in this land in the ancient Rus’ times. In Kievan Rus’ the tribes of Berendei and Mountain Klobuky lived here along with the Slavs, protecting the southern borders of the state.

The most ancient settlements in the district are mentioned in the chronicles of the ninth-thirteenth centuries. The modern villages of Torchytsia, Vynarivka, and Stryzhavka are located over their territory.

In the late sixteenth century a big town of Lubomyr was established on the lands, which at those times belonged to Bila Tserkwa headman S. Lubomyrs’kyi. (This glorious town is the pride of Ukraine up to our times! Ukrainian patrol boat Lubomyr is named in honor of this town. The appearance of that boat at the Ukrainian island of Tuzla in 2003 during an aggravation of the borderline conflict became a convincing argument that proved determination of our country to protect its territorial integrity.) It is also known that Lubomyr was located on the right or southern bank of the Tikych, nowadays known under the name of Rozkishna. The town of Lubomyr was a lot bigger than Stavysche. The remaining archives prove the fact that under Sigismund I Lubomyr belonged to the king. Destroyed by the Crimean Tartars, the town was not inhabited for a long period of time, and when they began to settle down again, there were only hundred ponds on a twenty verst area in it.

It is difficult to determine the date, when Stavysche was established. The written sources mention that in 1600 Polish magnate Ruzhyns’kyi already received a number of land grants for his participation in a successful campaign in Moldavia. Stavysche was among them. That document is the first written record of its establishment.

In 1635 Stavysche is mentioned as a township with fortifications and a military garrison.

The villagers and the Cossacks of the township took an active part in the war of 1648 — 1654. After the victories of the Cossack troop at Zhovti Vody and Korsun’, a peasants’ uprising spread across the whole of the southern Kyiv region.

Bogdan Khmel’nyts’kyi visited Stavysche for many times during the people’s liberation war. During 1649 — 1650 the township became one of the places, where the Het’man gathered his troops in the runup for Moldavia campaigns.

During 1702—1704 the peasants of Stavysche took part in people’s uprisings led by S. Palii and S. Samus’, as well as in Haidamaks’ movement led by M. Teslia. The folk tales have it that Ivan Honta, a famous Haidamaks’ leader, used to visit the village of Sykhyi Yar. The water well that he had dug up is still called Honta’s.

Later, in 1774, the Polish King Stanislav Poniatovs’kyi presented Bila Tserkva, Stavysche, and 134 villages of the Bila Tserkva Regiment to Crown Het’man K. Branyts’kyi in life-long use. Branyts’kyi’s descendants lived in Stavysche till 1918.

Upon reunification of the Right-and Left-bank Ukraine within Russia, Stavysche district was incorporated into Tarascha county of the Kyiv province. Stavysche became the center of Stavysche district on 7 March 1923.

Mass collectivization during 1927— 1932 was disastrous for the inhabitants of Stavysche. Artificial famine of 1932— 1933 took the life of almost every one in five residents of the district. Seven hundred people died in the village of Zhuravlykha only. Hundreds have been subject to repressions during 1937 — 1938.

And then there broke out the Great Patriotic War, taking the lives of 3,939 sons and daughters of the land. The post-war generation had to rebuild the ruined economy.

The district withstood, survived, and built the national economy up…

Stavysche district, the southern pearl of the Kyiv region, lives and works on the lands of the agricultural tribes. Having come a complicated and thorny path since the Day of Proclamation of Ukrainian Independence, and notwithstanding many difficulties, the district became an all-sufficient and colorful administrative entity with peculiar economy, original way of every-day and spiritual life of its residents.

A cultural center of Stavysche is the Regional Studies Museum, founded in 1985. It houses a picture gallery of the famous Ukrainian painters, interesting halls, dedicated to nature and regional history (since the most ancient times), arts and crafts, and many others.

The museum building belonged to the counts of Branyts’ki, and is considered to be an architectural site of the late eighteenth century. It is located in the old park, considered to be founded by the academician Anton Adzheyovs’kyi.

The park serves as decoration of Stavysche, as well as a recreation place for its residents. It is easy to notice an unusual pine-tree among the decidious trees: its huge trunk reminds of a musical instrument — lyre. This ‘beauty’ has reached the age of 200 years. S. Chernilevs’kyi, telling about Stavysche, mentions it this way: «Not only people, but also pine-trees grow in the shape of lyre to honor the arts!»

A monument to the participants of the Afghanistan war, who were born in Stavysche and perished while fulfilling their international duty, was inaugurated in the park on 5 July 1997. «The glory to you is boundless, the memory of you — eternal», such words are carved on granite.

The land of Stavysche gave Ukraine a prominent education figure and ethnographer Tadei Ryl’s’kyi, a famous Polish painter Leon Vyhulovs’kyi, poetess Maria Vlad, a singer Peter Ordyns’kyi and many others.

Stavysche lands are rich in not only with figures in the area of education, science and culture, but also in diplomats. Anatolii Zlenko, twice the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, was born in Stavysche.