Mezhova. The Land of Grain-Growers

There are on the map of our country small settlements that do not shine with tourist attractions, and few people know of them. But these villages and settlements have their own history, which is part of our common history. Let us look at how the working people live and the coming generation grows up in the urban-type settlement of Mezhova in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

Mezhova. Dnipropetrovsk region. The "Kolosok" (Ear of Grain) sign, erected in 1984 for the settlement's 100th anniversary

During the construction of the Katerynoslav-Yuzivka railway branch in the 1880s, the settlement of the area around the newly opened Mezhova station began.

Mezhova. The railway station

The year 1884 is considered the year of the settlement's founding; it was formed in 1956 by the merger of the villages of Kamianka, Hryhorivka and Novoslovianka.

The park. The "I Love Mezhova" stele, unveiled in 2014 on the pedestal where a tractor had previously stood — a monument to the settlement's toilers and to the machinery of the first five-year plans

The villagers worked the fertile lands of the boundless steppes and produced a variety of agricultural goods. At the beginning of the 20th century, enterprises for processing agricultural raw materials were built — steam mills, an oil-press, a foundry, a leather enterprise and a plant for repairing agricultural machinery. In 1935 a school opened to train 150 machine operators. Agriculture was one of the key factors in the economy's growth in the Mezhova district.

Mezhova. The grain elevator

Mezhova. The ruins of the grain-products plant, 1901

Now the former Mezhova grain-products plant is a complete ruin. The buildings, erected in 1901, which could have served for some time yet, are being dismantled for their bricks.

The historic industrial building is being taken apart brick by brick

I walked freely onto the territory of the grain-products plant; there was no one at the gatehouse. I wanted to see up close the destroyed monument of industrial architecture and the pre-revolutionary bricks with their maker's stamp.

Mezhova. The ruins of the grain-products plant, 1901

From goodness knows where a guard came running, having abandoned his post at the gatehouse; he did not like that I wanted to photograph the death of a unique agricultural facility, and permission for that had to be asked of the "boss", who would only be here tomorrow. To my question, "Is it really in a good master's way to destroy what was the great enterprise of the whole district, and where for more than 100 years the master was the people?", the watchman — who had not made the slightest effort to squeeze out of himself even a drop of servility and serfdom — found not a single answer, except the fawning one: "You have to ask the 'boss'."

Mezhova. The ruins of the grain-products plant. 1901

The grain-growers had their own House of Culture.

Mezhova. The abandoned House of Culture of the grain-products plant

The bustling life in the emptied building has long since died away, but the image of dancing village women surrounded by ears of grain, korovais, the sun, stars and flowers has survived, as a reminder of the times when collective-farm achievements were celebrated and record-setting grain-growers were awarded.

The abandoned House of Culture of the grain-products plant. The image of dancing village women

The leisure of the residents of the Mezhova area was, apparently, meaningful and fruitful.

Mezhova. The district House of Culture

Another centre of culture, erected across the road, is decorated with mosaic hospitable grain-growers and dashing dancers.

Mezhova. The district House of Culture. A mosaic panel

In September the district House of Culture hosts the popular annual festival "Stepova Perlyna" (Steppe Pearl), with the participation of amateur groups from various regions of Ukraine, where the young talents of the Mezhova area display remarkable abilities.

A mosaic panel depicting grain-growers

Sadly, I did not manage to get acquainted with the museum exposition housed in the House of Culture, just as I failed to in the neighbouring district centre of Vasylkivka. The museum worker had gone on leave with the birth of a child, and a volunteer is not obliged to sit and wait for visitors. The library turned out to have a decent book collection and a dozen personal computers, at which schoolchildren were working.
 

Mezhova. The district House of Culture. The library

Next to the House of Culture is the Central Park.

Mezhova. The Central Park. Bas-reliefs

Mezhova. The Central Park. The former fountain

Of the fountain only the basin remains, filling with rainfall and rubbish, but the dance floor gives the impression of being in use.

Mezhova. The Central Park. The dance floor

In the park, 49 Soviet soldiers are buried in a common grave.

Mezhova. The Central Park. The war memorial

On the fronts of the Second World War, 14,000 residents of the district fought. Six thousand died on the field of battle, in partisan detachments and in concentration camps. During the Red Army's offensive in 1943, on the approaches to the Dnipro, fierce fighting was waged, and 1,579 soldiers and officers died for the liberation of Mezhova and the nearest villages.

The war memorial. A T-34-85 tank

Small settlements were not defended as strongly as the cities and were therefore destroyed by the fascists with particular cruelty. As they retreated, the Hitlerites destroyed the railway station, the machine-and-tractor station, the mills, the oil-press, and the buildings and dwelling houses.

Mezhova. The old water tower at the railway station, with traces of shelling

Rebuilding the school, the hospital and other institutions, the collective farmers had already sown the fields by the spring of 1944, and in the autumn they shared their harvest with the neighbouring Donbas. In recent years, memorial signs have been erected in the park in honour of other sorrowful events endured by the district's residents.

Mezhova. The monument to the victims of the Holodomor

Mezhova. The monument to fellow-countrymen who died in Afghanistan

Mezhova. The monument to fellow-countrymen who died in the ATO zone

The residents of Mezhova consider the most beautiful building to be the house of children's and youth creativity, in which children from all over the district study at a school of aesthetic education and in various clubs.

Mezhova. The house of children's and youth creativity. The school of aesthetic education

The building with columns is faced with tiles, like many others in Mezhova.

Mezhova. A mill

Mezhova. A shop

Mezhova. The training-and-production centre for labour education and career guidance of schoolchildren

Mezhova. A shop

Mezhova. The tax inspectorate

Mezhova. The settlement council

Mezhova. Oshchadbank, the treasury

Such is the style of the settlement.

Mezhova. The "Barvinok" kindergarten

Mezhova. The consumer cooperative

Mezhova. 3 Vchytelska Street. A dwelling house

Mezhova. An internet club

Mezhova. The district court. Almost no tiles are left

The first church on the territory of the modern district centre was built in 1830, but in 1970 it was destroyed to the very ground. Now on this spot stands School No. 1. The walls of the educational institution were insulated with modern materials, and the windows have already been replaced with metal-plastic ones.

Mezhova. School No. 1

In the yard the pupils were conducting a lesson in basic military training, and on the sports ground they were diligently doing physical education.

Mezhova. School No. 1. The sports ground

In yet another school, which I came across on Soniachna Street, an agricultural lyceum-boarding school has been created.

Mezhova. The agricultural lyceum-boarding school

In honour of the 100th anniversary of the settlement's founding, and as a gift to mothers, the "Sonechko" kindergarten opened in 1984.

Mezhova. The "Sonechko" kindergarten

Despite the radical changes in the field of health care, the district hospital provides all the necessary medical assistance to the population living within a radius of 50 kilometres, for the distance to Dnipro is almost 190 kilometres.

The district hospital, where the health of each is the wealth of all

The streets in this settlement of about 9,000 people are straight and asphalted, which you do not always see in settlements of an equivalent administrative level.

Mezhova. Hrushevskoho Street

Mezhova. The sports ground in the Chkalov park

Mezhova. A shop on Hrushevskoho Street

Some of them have changed their name.

Mezhova. A public garden on Hrushevskoho Street

Mezhova. Hrushevskoho Street. An announcement on a gate

Mezhova. Soborna Street. A shop

Mezhova. Independence Avenue

Mezhova. Soniachna Street

A resident of the street named in honour of the 'first-throne capital' has immortalised an inscription on the facade of his house.

Mezhova. Moskovska Street

Mezhova. Moskovska Street. A pharmacy

Mezhova. Moskovska Street. A dwelling house with an inscription on the facade

The rowan and the blue spruces could well be the plant symbols of Mezhova.

Mezhova. A spruce and a rowan

Mezhova. A rowan

In the 1970s the head of the district centre brought in conifers, unusual for the steppe zone, and they took root successfully in the settlement.

Mezhova. A public garden. Spruces. The flagpole

The Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God was consecrated in 2002 in the adapted premises of a former "Tekhnika" shop.

Mezhova. The Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God

Besides private houses and a dozen two-storey buildings, I came across houses for railway workers, built, according to their residents, at the dawn of the 20th century.

Mezhova. Transportna Street. An old house for railway workers

Some apartments have communal amenities, but most of the residents use them in the yard.

Mezhova. Transportna Street. An old house for railway workers

In farewell to this grain-growing land, I bought a loaf of bread in a shop, because only where they know how to grow it do they also know how to bake it — without harmful additives, aromatic and tasty.