Khutoro-Chaplyne. What Are the Villages of the Synelnykove Area Like, and How Is Life There?

In the morning, on the way to the suburban train, there was a good omen, one that foretells luck. A rainbow band began from the dark clouds, curling into an arc, then became double and astonished me with its illusion of light for several minutes.

 

Today I am setting out for the Synelnykove district (the Vasylkivka area) of Dnipropetrovsk region, to the small river Chaplyna, on which the village of Khutoro-Chaplyne came into being and thanks to which appeared the name of Chaplyne station. The steppe streamlet rises 6 kilometres east of the railway station and flows through gullies and ravines in a northerly direction, emptying into the Samara (the Dnipro basin).

 

A pond on the Chaplyna river

The little watercourse was named by the herons. This long-legged, fish-eating bird with a slender neck and an elongated beak nests in wetland country, and the bed of a calm lowland river is to its liking.

 

The coat of arms of Chaplyne. An image of a heron with a railway spike

On 19th-century maps the river was called Mokra Chaplynka, but in the 20th century the dams and embankments that were built affected the river's fullness of flow, and the hydronym lost one word.

 

Its source can no longer be found in the reed thickets; a barely noticeable blue ribbon appears on the south-western side of the village of Khutoro-Chaplyne, which stretches along the Chaplyna for 10 kilometres.

The slopes of the picturesque little gully, along whose bottom the Chaplyna winds, are covered with caps of blackthorn. On the riverside pastures with their juicy grass, the little cows raise their milk yields.

 

The riverbed is dammed several times to create ponds, one of which is called Traktorny, because the road along the dam leads to the tractor brigade.

 

Dams on the Chaplyna

The reservoirs were used to irrigate the fields and have noticeably grown shallow. The anglers cannot boast of a rich catch, but now and then something can be caught.

A pond on the Chaplyna river

From the settlement of Chaplyne to the village of Khutoro-Chaplyne a dirt road has been laid, on both sides of which the fields are ploughed and sown.

The traveller was first met by playful little goats on Sadova Street.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. Sadova St.

Adjoining the street is a small park, in which grazing livestock is forbidden.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. The park

Set in the green Chaplyne massif, the club with its library works 5 days a week; on Saturday this hearth of culture is open until 22.00. A notice on the door warns those fond of drinking, smoking, cursing, and littering of the inadmissibility of these acts on the premises.

Khutoro-Chaplyne. The village club

On the grounds of the park stands a war memorial with bas-reliefs of front-line soldiers. In the common grave are buried 95 soldiers of the Red Army who fell on 14 September 1943 in the battles for the liberation of the Chaplyne land. The monument is looked after by the community.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. The war memorial

Formerly, pupils of the local school were enlisted to keep order in the park; the school was closed in 2016 as a result of education-system reforms. Now the village schoolchildren get their education in Shevchenkove or in Zelenyi Hai, and for that they must cover a distance of 10 kilometres one way.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. The closed school

It is a great pity that the emptied two-storey building of white brick is in no way put to use, for Khutoro-Chaplyne houses two large agricultural enterprises. The former collective-farm office passed by inheritance to the "Chaplynske" LLC.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. The "Chaplynske" LLC

The new agrarian company has preserved the good traditions of collective labour and even its own canteen, where the bread-growers are fed tasty meals, including on holidays. During the sowing and the harvest the workers have no days off, and the holiday comes when the harvest is in the bins.

Khutoro-Chaplyne. The former collective-farm canteen, which has not lost its purpose

Another large agricultural enterprise, "Prohres-Agro", stands on Molodizhna Street.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. "Prohres-Agro"

It is forlorn in the deserted schoolyard, unusually quiet and sad.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. A little cow mows the lawn in the schoolyard

Taras Hryhorovych keeps watch alone on the grounds; the monument to the poet is in need of repair.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. Monument to T. H. Shevchenko

The sports and play equipment on the playground is incomplete. At the entrance it is noted that this is a gift to the Dubovikivka amalgamated community, of which Khutoro-Chaplyne is a part.

Just as deserted and unused looks the school stadium.

 

Two Rozhnovsky water towers have nestled up against each other — together it is easier to survive.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. The water-supply towers

The central street is part of the T-04-06 motorway, which links Chaplyne, Prosiana, Mezhova, Demuryne, Udachne, Pokrovsk.

Khutoro-Chaplyne. Tsentralna St.

The homesteads on the main street are well kept and drowning in flowers.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. Tsentralna St.

The residential sector is represented by private housing; the only multi-apartment two-storey building is on Molodizhna Street.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. Partyzanska St.

Khutoro-Chaplyne. Molodizhna St.

The old 100-year-old adobe cottages are living out their days ownerless.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. Roof tiles from an abandoned cottage

In one of the empty cottages the Orthodox community has arranged a chapel; there is no ordinary church in the village.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. A chapel in an old house

By the small shop located in the very centre of the village, cyclists park, for one must cover about 5 kilometres to reach the outermost houses.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. Tsentralna St. The shop

The feldsher post is housed in a building of 1967, put up for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution, as a commemorative plaque attests. Besides the plaque, the past socialist prosperity is recalled by a preserved mural on the wall depicting the symbols of Socialist Realism.

Khutoro-Chaplyne. The FAP. 1967

In one of the rooms of the medical facility, representatives of the local authorities hold receptions according to a schedule.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. The FAP

A contemporary of the FAP, the closed and neglected building of the shop and post office keeps on its facade, like a medal for conscientious labour, the same 1967 plaque.

 

Khutoro-Chaplyne. The closed shop on Tsentralna St.

By the passenger shelter of red brick, whitewashed with lime, there is no one waiting for a bus. Buses between Pavlohrad (80 km) and the settlement of Pokrovske (30 km) run through the village a few times a week. With the district centre Synelnykove there is no direct bus service.