STU DIO #2
Module 2.2: NOTES FROM KRAMATORSK led by Marieke Berkers
INTRO This is the outcome of MODULE 2.2 of CANactions School for Urban Studies STUDIO #2, that was to create a compilation of illustrated narratives (“notes”) made by each student (or small teams of students) which cover 4 spheres of Kramatorsk’ urban life: heritage & culture, society & politics, environment & infrastructure, economy and that are based on the findings of the field trip. Students produced well-written texts which include: ■■
a strong hypothesis based on key findings of each student,
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structured and clear explanations of narrative’s core idea(s),
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photos/diagrams/schemes/collages/etc. which support the narrative.
The module is aimed at shaping a framework for Block #3 - Urban Constitution Development - by means of “Notes from Kramatorsk” creation, based on field trip key findings.
KEY ELEMENT: ■■
7-day studio work on “Notes from Kramatorsk” development + finalization Tutor: Marieke Berkers / NL Dates: March 22 - 25, March 28 - 30
INTRODUCTION: The power of myths in Kramatorsk Field trip tutor Marieke Berkers
Cranes and lifts, winches, compressors, pumps, steam machines, presses and wire iron: business as usual for the Eastern Ukrainian city Kramatorsk at the turn of the twentieth century. The 1900’s were an exciting time. Kramatorsk developed from a cluster of small rural settlements into a bustling, modern industrial city. It was the place to be for hundreds of workmen; hands and brains to accomplish innovation. But also forces of leadership to manage plants and the city and architects that helped creating the city. The motor behind this development was industry: heavy machine production. Results of production were impressive and got awarded Grant Prizes in 1900 and 1910 at the international Exhibition in Paris. Quite an immaculate start of an era. But soon the new century brought turbulent political shifts. Two Word Wars and an extensive period of Soviet Union ruling, between 1922 and 1991, had a huge influence on the course of developments of Kramatorsk. Especially the systematic organization of all layers of society introduced by Soviet Union rulers influenced the lives of ordinary people deeply. The idea behind this holistic and systematic thinking was a believe in a make-able society. By conscientiously planning the future, an ideal society could be constructed. Kramatorsk is a sheer example of such a make-able society. Industry was still a key element in the development of the city, but it wasn’t the motor anymore. Motor of developments were the myths about the future of all aspects in life, that were presented as promising and true. Every aspect of the society was planned: the economics by multi-year plans, politics in a one-party rule with strict principles and central, hierarchically organized institutions, and cultural life by forcing artists to work with mental ‘malls’ in which results of their artistic processes had to fit. Soon these myths were given form in the tangible world. Looking at the spatial appearance of Kramatorsk for example, different ’ingredients’ of an ideal city catch the eye: axes in the ground plan, big open squares, a monumental house of culture, large-scale prospects, big statues of leaders and heros of the past in a realistic style and colorful mosaics showing the myth of eternal progress. When myths start to interfere with reality a peculiar process starts. On the one hand life develops via made-up, mental stories; on the other hand life develops via a physically growing reality. Because myths were translated into reality the day by day life of Kramatorski people - the way they acted and thought - became drenched in this ideal ‘truth’.
The make-ability of Kramatorsk became a fact. Facts we the team of students from CANactions - today are able to research. After the Soviet Union fell, the myths of Kramatorsk started to crack as well. The pillars of the make-able society are shaking. Some still turn out to be strong, a lot of them turn out to be rotten. Although myths of the make-able society might have disappeared, the tangible heritage of the myths are still present. And after so many years of living with myths, also mentally many people use traditional myths as incentives to act. It’s this moment in time that the students of Studio 2 of CANactions conducted their fieldwork in Kramatorsk. During the first days they might have felt walking in a city that belonged to history: a myth. But in fact, that turned out to be a myth itself. As our eyes went along the firm lines that form the axes in the city, we saw a giant muscled man made out of hundreds little pieces of mosaics holding a big red hammer, we met workmen and -women strolling out of the porches of the factories and we spoke to their leaders who still use a way of talking punctuated by terminology of a make-able promising future. We also captured many of these moments as images of memory in our phones. It was not a myth we were moving through, it was reality! At the same time we saw people forming new paths towards the future. The Economy Team spotted the rise and opportunities of small companies. Evidence of this trend was found in places and people. An newly formed entrepreneur club turns out to play an active role in organizing events for the community. Compared with the big factories these smaller companies tend to gather their network in small, more flexible locations like markets and fairs. The Infrastructure and Ecology team proved problems with ecology and health - a by-product of industrial ‘progress’ - to be evident and urgent. By using data and making graphics they made the invisible - polluted water and air - visible, a first step towards dealing wit an inconvenient truth. Also they reality-checked the system of infrastructure. Looking as a structure of connections on the map, it turned out to be a system that disconnect many people - like disabled people of bicyclists - from the possibilities of moving smoothly through the city. The Politics and Society team was eager to find new powerful players in the city like NGO’s. Their
research shows how people organise themselves in new ways, for example to work on improvement of their houses. But their research also showed that new webs of power are very vulnerable. The “warp yarns”, the lines that keep the frames of power tight, are still formed by oligarchs with a long history of power in the region and firm relationships with the leaders of the plants. The Culture and Heritage team accurately unveiled that Kramatorsk had a true golden age of cultural life in the past and a impressive collection of buildings and urban structures forming a valuable heritage. But they also saw themselves confronted with the mental and physical voids of culture that exist today, also a heritage of that colorful history. How to fill these voids? How to transform opportunities into successes? And how to deal with problems that most people tend to close their eyes for? Looking at Kramatorsk today makes you feel confused. The one ‘true’, straight line to march into a planned laid-out in the future has faded away. Nowadays any route seems possible. But taking new ‘roads’ still makes you stumble over norms and structures - myths
- you thought belonged to the past. The overall outcome of this field trip might be the discovery of this confusing reality filled with contradictions. But - as the students showed with their results - many opportunities rise out of this complex situation. Maybe the approach when working on future planning of Kramatorsk should be to organise complexity instead of aiming to solve it. As the idea of solving complexity looks like a new myth lurking around the corner…
Culture&Heritage
In the Shadow of “The Big White Elephant”: Discovering the Collective Memory and Heritage of Kramatorsk TEAM: Culture&Heritage
Intro Historically the development of the cultural sphere in the city was shaped by industrialization and urbanization – the driving forces that created the regional identity in Donbass in the late XIX and early XX centuries. However, the specific of Kramatorsk, its strong specialization in machine building (instead of coal mining) and relatively “young” age (city status since 1932) make it a very special place from social and cultural perspectives. After the first factories appeared in 1896 near the cossack-owned settlements, local cultural life became diverse, as numerous groups settled their roots around the banks of Kazeniy Torec. First theater “Era” was opened here in 1908 just on the territory of Kramatorsk Metallurgist Society (modern SKMZ) and the first famous cinema “Triumph” operated in the settlement near the railway station “Kramatorska” since 1913. The trend of modern cultural and leisure spread here with Germans, Poles and Czechs - industrial specialists, traders or administrative workers, who arrived to develop the industry and brought new progressive habits to the “Wild Field” (historical lands free of serfdom). Before the breakdown of Russian Empire here was also organized one of the most promising sportive society (physical culture and “active lifestyle” were promoted among engineers and metallurgists) with a stadium at Bernatskiy Garden.
Numerous spontaneous activities were conducted by local artists and promoters. Even the religious life was diversified between different churches – Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant temples existed in relatively small settlement before the installation of the communist rule. After the civil war in 1917-1920 socialistic ideology became the only game in the town for almost 70 years. The “old” imperial past was covered by the shadow of new ideas towards glorious future, where communistic mythology became the official “religion” of the new social identity – the soviet citizen. For that purpose, the old institutions were adopted and new ones formed to re-shape cultural and social practices of society. During the industrialization worker became a new hero of the industrial era, time of progress and hope “to built the bright future”. Social realism in arts and different experiments (constructivism, neo-classicism) in planning and architecture designed the modern image of the city. New Social City (Socgorod) near the giant and powerful Novokramatorskiy Machine building Plant (NKMZ) became a manifestation of the power itself. As an archaic beast, the technology had been tamed to serve the people. Nowadays the dominant building of Kramatorsk, that officially represents its cultural sphere, is located on the top of the central square (The Peace Square, previously Lenin’s Square). It is still impressive, even though the tile and trees around need to be renovated and probably reorganized after the removal of soviet symbols – the monument to the leader of the communist movement Vladimir Lenin was demolished in 2015 while the ideological slogans were taken off in the early 90s. All significant public events are held here (inside the building at the huge hall or outside just in front of the “White House”), but functionally the location is still more suitable for majestic events like marches and parades, than for comfortable interactions between independent individuals. The breath of the past is so evident, that it seems that if only there was no ATO, and Kramatorsk wouldn’t appear on the map, as a new “temporary” center of Donetsk region, nothing would change for 20 years more. Literally, the cultural clock stopped somewhere between 60s and 80s with punctuated intrusions of commercialization and privatization.
During our visit, we were impressed by the unrecognized historical heritage of the city, the absence of new unifying positive ideas and permanent uncertainty caused by the rapid changes of last years. So, we collected the stories about the past and tried to explain the development of the city and its cultural life through its cultural institutions in from the broad perspective, including observations, interviews with stakeholders and locals. Our main goal was to highlight the cultural blindness which appears under the brightness of the official culture, mainly inherited from the USSR and find what could be found beside it. Metaphorically the industry itself could be drawn as a huge elephant with a strong voice and powerful body, but rather clumsy and fragile in the situation of rapid changes and limited resources. The huge Palace of Culture and Technics, that represents the NKMZ, and it’s both material and cultural power, has a very loud voice, that is getting less influence with every year. This precious monument became a visiting card of the city, but what is hidden in the shadow of the past glory?
and history of the city museums) additionally supported this suggestion of a diverse cultural past of Kramatorsk. Digging deeply into the history of Kramatorsk and surroundings revealed its awesome treasure , that has been abandoned by now, but obviously may have a great potential for the city and region development as well in the future. In the second half of the 1920s, the first architectural project was due to be build. This is how the Oktyabrskiy district appeared. Oktyabrskiy is the oldest district of Kramatorsk.
Crystal vase The feast ended, guests left, the table is empty but the dirty dishes. Flowers are drying in the exquisite crystal vase. After the celebration often appears the feeling of certain emptiness and perplexity. And you probably have no idea when the next feast will take place. This metaphor depicts what I have experienced myself after visiting the Old City of Kramatorsk. I have never been to The East of Ukraine. What is more, I purposely didn’t collect the information about its architecture and history in general. I found it essential while working in this studio to be free of extra knowledge and to plunge into the Kramatorsk atmosphere during the field trip without any preconceptions. There were only a few widespread clichés concerning the Eastern regions of Ukraine in my bag. Nothing more.
Oktyabrskiy district of Kramatorsk
It has all rights to be valued as the historical and cultural heritage. Among others a remarkable building is located at the intersection of Lynacharskyi and R.Luksemburg Streets. The school was built in 30s. What is awesome about this peculiar school is the duration of its construction which took only 30 days. Nearby the school so called ‘100-flats’ house is situated (at the crossroads of Shkolnaja and Sadovaja Streets).
Lena
It turned out that Kramatorsk possesses a valuable heritage of the late nineteenth - the beginning of the twentieth century. While walking down the streets of the Old Kramatorsk you probably may feel that it has been ‘a feast’ in the past. Old city architecture depicts Kramatorsk’ replete cultural past. Various types of sources that were taking into consideration during the field trip (books, old postcards, interviews with locals, excursion to the Kramatorsk art
1950s, Lenin’s House of Culture
1906 - the school in Old city, also with Lenin’s name
Left: 100-flats house (was demolished). 1940 [5]
Uniqueness of the Old City atmosphere. In the second half of the 1920s the first architectural project was due to be build. This is how the Oktyabrskiy district appeared. Oktyabrskiy is the oldest district of Kramatorsk. It has all rights to be valued as the historical and cultural heritage. There is one distinguishing mark that makes this area as unique and precious. In contrast to other more or less alike locations, the Old city of Kramatorsk still remains untouched by outer influence of any kind! The original urban concept was not upgraded, rebuild or recomposed. The architecture of Oktyabrskiy district together with other urban components is still totally original and stays untouched by ‘polluting’ marks of this time like advertisement on the streets. Even sound in the Old City is tranquil. The project of the Oktyabrskiy district was designed in 1925 by the architect A. Dmitriev (1878-1959). 8-1959). The building of the district began in 1926-1927. By the early 1930s, the ideology of garden city movement was fulfilled in a completely urban area. This idea was not random. According to Kramatorsk industrial background, it was extremely important to preserve the eco-friendly green zones for citizens of Kramatorsk to live in comfort. The Oktyabrskiy district consists of a radical sector and rectangular blocks. There were schools, kindergartens, Metallurgist’s and Star squares [1]. ‘The aesthetics of the spotless mind’ this is how the Constructivism ideology may be described.Another significant point that makes the Old Kramatorsk atmosphere worthwhile to maintain and conserve is the constructivism heritage, which is also original: - new city-planning concept; - sanitary-hygienic norms both with economic ones; - mitigation of the social contrasts in the city appeared.
This is how Constructivism was established. In general, constructivism is not only about architecture and beautiful buildings. It’s more about space organization and the new form of social life. What is significant and brand new in Constructivism is a new way of ‘BEAUTY’ interpretation [4].
Club project by Glosov. 1927. Moscow.
Only with the erecting of a huge plant NKMZ on the Left bank of the river the “life” left the Old city. Actually, the city life split. From this moment onwards until now, there are two cities inside one Kramatorsk: the Old and the New city. Speaking about the people’s preferences the majority of locals would like to live in the New Social city. But at the same time those, who live in the Old city since the beginning adore their homes and are proud of being a part of it. For instance, inhabitants of the old part of the city do enjoy visiting the local Bykov House of Culture.
Constructivism heritage. Nowadays this building occupies military Commissariat. Lunacharskyi Street.
Constructivism Residential heritage. Sverdlova Street. Na Domennyh district.
Unique persisting Soviet atmosphere of Octiabrskiy District
Residential house on the Oktyabrska Avenue
Lenin Palace of Culture in the 30’s of the XX century. [6]
Lenin Palace of Culture nowadays renamed to Leonid Bykov
This turned out from the various talks to locals on the Old city streets. One lady, approximately 45 years old, (unfortunately we haven’t asked her name) kindly helped us in the city orientation. While walking together we had a little conversation:
The first House of Culture that was built in the Kramatorsk was Lenin House of Culture, that nowadays is named in the honor of a celebrity actor who was born in Kramatorsk Leonid Bykov. Origin building of the House of Culture was constructivist. After WW2 when Germans left the town they destroyed the House. Soon it was rebuilt and now it looks
- «Were you born here, in the Old city?
Conclusion
- Yes, i was born here, went to a local school and actualy i am working here now.
Quite often or probably in the majority of occasions, our personal beliefs or stereotypes, imposed by society, may not pretend to be 100% certain. In this case, Kramatorsk is a bright and picturesque example. It’s culture, heritage (architecture, art, etc.) exist in the subconscious of the inhabitants. From the local’s point of view, the preciousness and uniqueness of the city heritage and culture are blurred. Literally this is the backside of casual life when you are not able to distinguish the real value of an old exquisite crystal vase, hidden inside your commode.
- Do you appreciate living in this part of the city or would rather move to a New one? - Actually i do like this part of the city. You know, there is an unofficial spliting of local’s views upon this topic: inhabitants of the Old city both with inhabitants of a New city really enjoy places where they live and rarely leave them. Here we have our House of Culture together with other needed institutions.»
Pretty Soviet face
The House of Pioneers - modern Center for youth education `
The idea of visiting an eastern industrial city with influential Soviet past like Kramatorsk appears to be some kind fascinating because you probably think it is not worth seeing at all. This is kind of essential thoughts and probably you are one of them who thinks so. Indeed, Kramatorsk is cute but brutal, open but close, rich but poor, gray but sunny. It’s versatile. What does make it special? What is the quintessence of Kramatorsk? This is the story about Socgorod - a district risen in 30s to create a new city center near the big industrial zones. Such a position maintains till nowadays. 30s is the key point for Kramatorsk in terms its rise as a real city. The process of urbanization keeps step with All- union industrialization. The new plant NKMZ was found and Socgorod was raised. The core value of such conception is to create the versatile city with all amenities and infrastructure. Sounds like a blueprint, but it was fully implemented in Kramatorsk. All of us used to think workers and plants as something rude, dirty and brutal. But Kramatorsk is strictly opposite case. Our stereotypes and prejudices were totally ruined when we made some research in the Museum of History and noticed one photo among the others . It was a group photo captured well- dressed men and they looked as foreigners.
We asked Natalia Voloshyna - the head of the museum, who they are and she told: «They are workers, I can suppose they are engineers.» And we understood such a man cannot live in a so-so city. Indeed, a lot of professionals were sent here to develop a fresh industrial point. It is the city of intellectuals. Advice: go through Socgorod and grasp the charm of elegant Stalinist style architecture and Soviet aesthetics. Then catch yourself on mind that a stereotype is ruined because it is simply beautiful. Fact: One of the buildings had an elevator. It was extremely innovative because the elevators became ubiquitous only after Second World war.
House with an elevator. Mashynostroyteley Boulevard.
Sotzgorod architecture
If we go further, the beauty of Socgorod enhances by another one conception to be happily innovated. And another one to ruin «Gray-hazed-moody- industrial city» clishé. This is the Garden-city conception. With our own eyes, we saw the impressive amount of plants, parks and green zones. Garden - city is the significant part of Kramatorsk’s DNA. Every plant or flower of city yards looks like a tiny tribute to this old tradition which people used to revere. All this staff contributes to the city mood with naive and sentimental glimpses. It is even not surprising that NKMZ is the gardenplant itself. At the beginning of NKMZ foundation, the parks with fountains were created as recreational zones for workers. It is worth to mention that the idea of Garden-city is vivid and lies at the base of the new urbanism conception. So, as it was said, Kramatorsk has two core ideas of developing. Due to them, the city was rising, the city was flourishing.
Inside the NKMZ plant. 1930s.
Bird’s-eye view on the city center.
Thanks to this extremely powerful progress, cultural and social life finally move from Old town to the opposite side of the river. It is immediately connected with the birth of tremendous, brand-new NKMZ recreation center in 1962 such a fresh point of Kramatorsk evolution. Simultaneously, a new huge park known as Yuvileynyi is growing and «stealing» all the infrastructure from Bernadsky Gardens (oldest city park).
Meanwhile, Kramatorsk is becoming the city which embodies typical Soviet image. If old part of Socgorod is about strict elegant Stalinist aesthetics then new one represents maybe little bit obvious but significant sights of the Soviet aesthetical code - mosaics and experimental typical project buildings. The most illustrative samples are: Experimental school (1962) decorated with mosaics and School of square classes (1965) designed by one of the most prominent Soviet architect Joseph Karakis and housing complex on Parkova street (1976-8) designed by Pavlo Vigderhaus.
During our field trip to Kramatorsk,we met Ivan Bazilevsky - an artist, who moved here in the very beginning of 60’s due to his work and being the active participant of culture life for decades. He made a great impression with his story of city florescence and that what he said:
Ivan Bazilevsky
Experimental school (1962) designed by Joseph Karakis.
«- 60s-70s is the Golden age of the city. People cared about Kramatorsk image, they were totally involved, they were full of joy. Our mayor Pavel Mostovoy did his best for the city development, he was a unique personality. One night I was sleeping and suddenly woken by telephone ring. It was Mostovoy. He just said : « -We need to talk, -Right now ?- I asked and was wondering because Mostovoy was having his vacation in Sochi (that is 879 km from Kramatorsk). - Just say «Yes» and a car will take you to an airport in minutes.» -I agreed (laughing) . When the plane arrived he took me to the one flower shop and said: «I want the same one in Kramatorsk. Just look at this beauty!» I made the sketch and in a few months, it was realized in Kramatorsk.»
The echo of Soviets - Yuri Gagarin on the wall at Akademichna St.
School with square classes, designed by Joseph Karakis.
Additional image-creative elements which absorb specific aesthetics of Kramatorsk are museums. Actually, there are 3 museums: the Museum of History, the Art Museum and the NKMZ Museum. All three overlap with their histories and the ways of city representation. But each has an own specific situation without any connection or collaboration with each other. The NKMZ Museum and the plant itself are really significant points to be impressed with industrial splendor. The Museum of History is gently curated by its head Natalia Voloshyna but the financial issues are tangible.The Art Museum is an extraordinary case. Your great expectations to meet nice Soviet realism paintings will be destroyed from the moment you overstep the doorsill. The current exposition of the Museum is full of disgusting pictures made by unprofessional local painters who use ignorance of head. In the same time, the collection of good paintings (~2000 titles including Valentin Serov , Tetyana Yablonska, Mykola Hluschenko and plenty of Kazakhstan Soviet artists) jailed in a cellar and are dying because of unusable conditions.
Hluschenko M. Garden in blossom. 1975. Oil on canvas
Hluschenko M .Skiers, 1975. Oil on canvas
In the Art Museum warehouse.
Art Museum visitors.
The excuse of museum workers sounds like: ÂŤPeople eager to see new paintings if we do not provide them with new exhibitions the museum will be closed.Âť Now the Art Museum is more about the platform to connect the people rather than an aesthetical education. But we understand the problem lies in more wide cultural issue. Talking to people and walking through the city depicted such tendency that people perceive all this beautiful Soviet heritage as something obvious and not so precious as it appeared for us. It is a pity because in some years it could be simply destroyed.
To conclude As the city which has significant Soviet background, Kramatorsk is full of contradictions, paradoxes and provocations. Its central hero - working people which proud of their city, because it is vacant for proper and diverse living in. Multilayered history, current war, ideology debates make the situation so blurred but, simultaneously, it provokes city for changes and to save (or reinvent) its unique face.
Birth and death of public spaces: «Broadways of Kramatorsk» «Broadway is typically a central street of the city, served as
a meeting place for dudes»
Brief dictionary of soviet hipsters (stilyagi)
The first main street of Kramatorsk, founded in early 20’s was also called “Broadway” by inhabitants, referring to the street Broadway, filled with theaters, in New York. This first street had official name Bolshaya Street, later renamed to Triumfalna (as in 1913 the cinema “Triumph” was built here) afterward to Lunacharskogo and now is just Siverska Street that connects the Railway Station with Old City Center. A century before here was a Market Square, where the first public events took place, but in general, there was no exact cultural center, as the settlement was developing spontaneously with the rise of industry. After the communist revolution and setting its rule over Kramatorsk in 1920s new planned decisions were made in an up-to-date way. The social activity was spread over the Oktyabrska Avenue. A summer stage was placed at adjacent Metallurgs Square. In the 1930’s the building of the plant NKMZ was in its full swing. A new city appeared around the factory with new attractive places. During and after WWII, increased international affairs of Soviet Union lead to “leaking” of American culture into the USSR. But the interest in USA life was here long before it became a recognizable trend.
One of the articles in local newspaper from 1955 is full of indignation - young guys are dancing swing on the floor while dressed unacceptably. Unfortunately it is not clarified if it was already at the Old city of on the newly buil dancing stage at Pushkin’s Park. Kramatorsk keeps the trend of unofficial calling each new main street as the “Broadway”. It became the commonly recognized name for the current most popular street of the city, where people were hanging out from early morning till late night. A true public place. In Socgorod it was the segment of Shkadinova street between the central square and Pushkin’s Park. The courtyards were filled with amateur musicians, playing among the groups of young people. The orchestra playing in the concert shell of the dance platform in Pushkin’s Park. Nearby was also the summer stage for performances, the library, the billiard room, the attractions, the stadium and the house of culture. Concerts and movies, performances, and lectures, meetings, datings, conversations and interactions – all day long. In the evening, people and buildings are illuminated with street lights and fun goes on. Not accidentaly «Rodina» cinema was built in the middle of the Shkadinova Broadway in 1950. Official and unofficial cultures existed here together since «Triumph» was destroyed by fire in 1964 and the main square mowed from the Old City to Socgorod from 1965 till the end of the USSR.
«Triumph» cinema-hall at Lunacharskogo Street (Old «Broadway») 40s
Bright, free from prejudice stilyagi broke into the postwar life of the USSR as valiant dandy, spontaneously denying the grey realism of everyday life. They were dressed mainly by the principle of «the brighter, the better». The subculture of stilyagi has been a kind of natural protest against adopted in Soviet society stereotypes of behavior, and against uniformity in dress, in music and in fashion. Meanwhile, their image was derided in the press because of its contradiction to the aesthetics and ethics of proletarians.
Rodina cinema hall on the «Broadway» at Shkadinova Street in Socgorod 60s
Spaces are (FOR) people If we determine the existence as something touchable or at least perceptible, can we declare that space exist without observer? No. Only human can bring life into the space, and maybe animal. The specific of public spaces is in their accessibility and, consequently, vulnerability. Here are no strangers in public space, everyone here is creator and experts in this space. Responsibility is small and pleasant: just be. One human look – and space is created. One small step – and it moves on. Human touch – and the space is blossoming. The public space in Soviet city had the higher priority than private for ideological reasons. It was accessible for all social groups, anytime. Parks, roads, pavements, streets, public squares: places where communication between people is available and comfortable, while individuals are able to maintain their privacy within a crowd. The theaters, libraries, government buildings are also considered as public spaces to a limited extend. The “Broadways” of Kramatorsk were the places where people could meet each other, where cultural programs were situated, where identity of Kramatorsk was formed, where people could learn and be entertained. Theese Broadways played the key role in the cultural development of Kramatorsk. Theese Broadways played an important role in defining the urban hierarchy in the city and they were places where cultural initiatives had a chance to grow. In the late 80s, the social movement around the Broadways began to decline. The dance platform and summer stage in Pushkin’s Park became abandoned and later ruined, like many others public spaces. Only old people remember the meaning of the term “Broadway” nowadays. It’s a pity that minority of people is aware of this rich cultural
heritage of Kramatorsk. Historical value of public spaces should be revealed. Shkadinova Street is still the main street of the new city with some cultural activities. “Rodina” cinema is still functioning, not only as a movie theater, but also as bar and night club. Old but saved architecture reflects the spirit of the past days. In the Old town, the Oktyabrska Street remains attractive to the people of all ages: school kids, young parents and old grannies. But often a sad drunkard may be noticed as well on the bench. Maybe, he misses the times when some cultural activities could be found any day and social initiatives were encouraged. What if he could go back and become the part of the community again, step-bystep reacquire the features of a social creature, would it be fun? Around the former and existing public spaces, the cultural heritage is accumulated. It is important to be aware of the behavior patterns of ancestors, so person can build own behavior with confidence. Otherwise, individuality turns into the cultural vacuum which cannot be creative in the social context. Personal growth tied to the interpersonal communication one way or another. The value of the “Broadway” heritage is in the image of highly efficient communication between the people. Simply with taking this image into consideration, one may reveal the good old mindset: naturally continuous social development is based on ordinary human interactions. Unfortunately, nowadays nobody cares about public spaces as it was before. Private ideals became dominant in the city life, as trends of commercialization appeared. Fortunately or not, but there is a high potential to renovate teritories again.
2016, Abandoned summer stage in the middle of Pushkin’sPark
and concentration
B C
A
LEGEND 1. ‘Era’ theater 1909 2. ‘Triumph’ cinema 1913 3. Bernadskoho Garden 1910s 4. Bykov’s (Lenin’s) Palace of Culture1930s 5. Oktyabrskaya Street 1920s 6. ‘Cementnik’ Hous of Culture 1954 7. Pushkin’s Palace of Culture and Park 1930s 8. ‘Stroitel’ Palace of Culture 1954 1981, The fountain in the Jubileyny Park
9. ‘Rodina’ cinema, Broadway 1950 10. NKMZ Palace of Culture and Technique 1965 11. Yuvileyniy Park 1967 12. Museum of Art and City History 1967 13. Central Library 1986s 14. ‘Fiesta’ club 2000s 15. ‘Vilna Hata’ 2015 Historical Pedestrian Streets: a. Lunacharski Street (Triumphalna St.) b. Shkadinov Boulevard (Academichna Blvd.)
2016, Remains of the dance floor at the Pushkin’s Park periphery
c. Oktyabrskaya Avenue (Metallurgists Ave.)
Instead of conclusions: Culture abhors a Vacuum, doesn’t it? The Big White Elephant shines with its backs - no political slogans on the front and the communist past is slovly moving away. The powerful forces are vacant to pull new ideas and symbols to better future. A small yellow-blue flag flies on the top symbolizing the belongingness of Ukrainian identity and presence of the state in the city. But is it a relevant answer to the question of cultural (and humanitarian in a broad sense) issues of disturbed society? Undoubdtfully there is much more to do in the city than just paint buildings in patriotic colours. The Palace of Culture and Technics stays white despite all the challenges of time, uniting the past and present. And this is a real function of culture - to unite.
But also, we should state, that for the creation of comfort conditions for locals it still needs both material and human resources to imply. In the cultural sphere, it could be even more obvious because the way how it is managed and sponsored directly influence on social processes that are happening with the transition of society and healing its traumas and radicalization. Museums, theaters, galleries and parks could become the space for communication and finding the dialog both between Kramatorsk and the World, but also with past, present and future. Nowadays these communications are rare and the diffusion is obvious in the public sphere. Finally, the inherited hard and soft infrastructure leads the city in the certain direction and by analyzing cultural institutions we clarified some major trends that could be useful for further analysis.
privatization: Visits to the major cultural institutions proved that city has its own unique and multilateral cultural sphere that is strongly willing to survive and create new senses to inspire individuals despite all the complexities of the hard times and ruination of its physical environment. However, its power and resources are rather small, as both museums, galleries and Palaces of culture inherited the centralized (mostly stateowned) institutional design with the same soviet habits and modes. It caused serious problems for satisfaction of modern cultural needs, so part of sociaty somply does not recognize this powerful centers anymore, as they lack promotion and adaptation to provide more valuable services. Alternative centers of cultural life are mostly private and stays out of the main stage. However, such phenomenons as independent space «Vilna Hata» or the indie-bar «Fiesta» provide new possibilities and shows the demand for new private initiatives to appear. Besides privatization could be succesful even in Kramatorsk - famous cinema hall «Rodina» was closed since 1997 till 2004, while re-opened after the private investor came. Now it is functioning as both a cinema, a club and a bar. Also, it seems that new laws on public service and management in culture may stop the misuse of beautiful buildings and atract skilled managers.
Postcard from the postwar period - celebration of life and memory, 1950s
The shadow of socialistic past had a significant impact upon us. It appeared that our own perception and expectations were formed in a very different social and cultural conditions. At large we were fighting with our own stereotypes from the beginning. On the other hand this «another glasses» on local culture, heritage (architecture, art, folk art, etc.) helped to recognize the hidden facts, which comes simply too obvious for the residents or in fact stays out of the sight.
We were impressed by the value of the historical and architectural heritage of the city. The existence of old and new industrial zones, constructivist buildings, mosaic and socialistic architecture in its natural environment creates an illusion of the atmosphere of XX century that could become an important factor for the city development (tourism?).
spirituality: Kramatorsk showed us both pretty and forsaken face at the same time. Carefully conserved city center with its dominant «White House» (Palace of Culture and Tech of Novokramatorskiy Machine building Plant) on the central square, the outskirts of the «Old City», where good-old-times buildings stays without any care or attention and the lonely Central library, that is situated in the honorable loneliness either show the glory of the socialist project heritage and it’s neglected in recent times. «What should you find in Kramatorsk except our industry? Nothing special. Go to Svyatogorsk, there are really beautiful, blessed places», some of the locals say without any doubts. And it is a paradox, but despite the implemented ideas of the «city garden» people still don’t recognize their city as the
Kramatorsk Palaces: «optimization» of culture
1965 - 2016 Palace of Culture and Tech built by NK MZ (main city hall, operated and owned by NKMZ)
1930s (1946) - 2000s Pushkin’s Palace of Culture owned by NKMZ (now belongs to the protestants community since 2000s)
1930 - 2000 Lenin’s Palace of Culture SKMZ (now under city ownership as Bykov’s Palace of Culture)
1954 -1998 Stroitel Palace of Culture belonged to Donmashstroy till the enterprise transfered it to the city (now in communal property, will be reconstructed soon)
1955 - 2011 Club Cementnik belonged to Kramatorsk Concrete Plant, one of the oldest manufacturers that was closed in 2015 (2011 - 2016 operating as a church)
recreational or cultural place itself. «Spirituality» as a new trend in post-soviet society spreads quickly with new cultural centers – churches of all religions are raising on the ruins of soviet heritage. It was rather unexpected to find that since the 1990s almost 50 religious institutions appeared in Kramatorsk. The role they play is arguable and spreads beyond this article, but it is truly visible.
life, etc. However, currently, these components tightly faced with a new active history - the debate about patriotism and national identity. It appears that the collective memory is undergoing a moment of confusion as it is on the crossroad, which is typical and expected for a given situation. Culturally it could be explained as a post-colonial trauma of the previous experience, if we recognize Ukraine as a colony of Russian Empire and USSR. However this optics is not recognized in society, that inertially links the state and culture with previous myths unwilling to recognize old «brothers» as aggressors...
decommunization: The collective memory of Kramatorsk residents is majorly linked directly to the Soviet past and its diverse myths including the WWII, cult of Leonid Bykov with his heroic social and military topics, ideas of progress, labor solidarity as praising the heroism and the path to a happy, rootless
It is believed that decommunization started from the renaming of streets in last years. Indeed, it was a very visible political act as it touched 72 streets in the city and was highlighted in the press. But if we dig dipper we will see that the symbolical change of local identity started long
72 re-named Streets of Kramatorsk according to decommunization
Both symbolical «stories» are telling about the same industrial past of the city: first machine building and metallurgist industries, implementation of the ideas of the garden city, etc. The innovative part of modern symbols include a specific ukrainian national yellow and blue colors and references to the traditions - the «noble» forms and two crusts that tells about the origins of the settlement and its connection with the building of railway station. This small but visible details shows that the reintegration of socialist heritage without its communist ideological burden is possible and livable. Soviet Emblem of Kramatorsk, 1970
Ukrainian Emblem of Kramatorsk, 2008
From the human scale decommunization is also possible, but provides more complex and specific visions towards bridging the stereotypes and building a dialog:
«I lived here for all my life and I know what it cost to achieve a good result - my career from the ordinary specialist to the chief of the department at the factory is just the case how people can work hard and don’t give up under the hardest circumstances. And I’m proud of that. We passed the collapse of USSR, the economic crises, times of bandits... We didn’t stop while other surrendered, we were adopting to the situation, modernizing our production and optimized the processes. And you know, we became successful because we believed that we can. We can produce valuable stuff in machine building for Ukraine, both for internal market and for export - our state needs currency to push the reforms, I know that very well. But please, explain me, why people there «on the hills» (* - national government) does not accept us as patriots of our land? Why after 60 years of my life it appeared that I became «vatnik» (* - person with outdated mindset and pro-russian mentality) in the eyes of «patriotic» society? Tell them, that they are mistaken».
Bibliography 1. Крихтенко В.И., Шугалий Н.А. Я люблю тебя, мой Краматорск. Краеведческий очерк. - Краматорск, 2009. - С.112 2. Шкуратова, Н. В. Краматорск : Путеводитель / Н. В. Шкуратова. - Донецк : Донбас, 1978. - 56 с. 3. Краматорск [Донецкая область] : план старой части города [Изоматериал] : чертеж, масштаб 1:2000, синька / МКХ-УССР Трест Геотопосьемка. - [Б. м. : [б. и.], 19--]. - 1 л. - (в пап.) : 0010.00 р. 4. Милютин, Н. А. Конструктивизм и функционализм [Текст] / Н. А. Милютин // Архитектура СССР : ежемесяч. теорет., науч.-практ. журн. - 1935. - № 8. - С. 5-10 5. Форум газеты ПОИСК, last modified March 30, 2016, http://forum.gp.dn.ua/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=662&start=135 100-flats house 6. USSR IN CONSTRUCTION. Illustrated Magazine. 1931 No. 3, accessed March 28, 2016, http://www. russianartandbooks.com/cgi-bin/russianart/02604R.html 7. Архитектура и строительство Краматорска краеведческий очерк. 2010 accessed March 28, 2016, http:// ru.calameo.com/read/0028742814f28b6671f87 8. Краматорськ - місто реальних можливостей - сайт міськради, accessed March 28, 2016, http://www.krm.gov.ua/article/view/12#met45 9. Гавриленко А. И. Ноткина А. Ф.Звезды не гаснут. - Краматорск: 2005. - 203с. 10. Краеведческий очерк, Краматорск в пятидесятые годы, Краматорск: 2012, accessed March 28, 2016, http:// lib-krm.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1 %80%D1%81%D0%BA-%D0%B2-%D0%BF%D1%8F%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%8F%D1 %82%D1%8B%D0%B5-%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%8B.pdf
politics& society
Let my people go. where the future and what is reality now? Politic and society. TEAM POLITICS & SOCIETY: Holovko M., Ovsianko O., Karelshtain E..
In order to understand the political and social situation in the city today, we raised a lot of historical data from the moment of the foundation of the settlement on the territory of today’s Kramatorsk. Studying this material, we have formed a picture of the processes that created the city. An important factor which influences today’s Kramatorsk is the management structure and ideology of the USSR. This is important both in terms of political processes in this area and the public today. Our study is divided into two large parts of politics and society, and for each topic we have identified the main themes. Each of these 1860
1870
1880
1890
YASNOHORKA
1900
1910
BELAYA
SVABELKOVKA
1930
YASNOHORKA
ARTSEBESHEVO
KONTEMIROVKA
1920
•
Each of these studies found an interesting trend, which differ from each other, but at the same time create a full picture of the situation. Below is a chronological range in which you can see: • • • •
1940
Formation of the city Personality and forces that set the direction of development of Kramatorsk Communication between Kramatorsk and another countries The composition of society at different times 1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
ARTSEBESHEVO
KONTEMIROVKA BELAYA
SVABELKOVKA SHTEIHEROVKA
SHTEIHEROVKA
YASNOHORKA
ARTSEBESHEVO
TEMIROVKA
NTEMIROVKA
KRAMATOROVKA
BELAYA
SVABELKOVKA
PETROVKA PETR
SHTEIHEROVKA
PETROVKA PET
BELYANSKOYE YE
YURIEVKA
BELYANSKOYE
VESELYI
VESELYI PETROVKA
PETROVKA BELYANSKOYE VESELYI
MARYIEVKA HORODESHINO
MARYIEVKA KRASNOHORKA
DMYTRYEVKA
HORODESHINO
KRASNOHORKA
MARYIEVKA HORODESHINO
DMYTRYEVKA
KRASNOHORKA
RYEVKA
NGO TECHNICAL ELITE
REPRESENTATIVES OF RELIGION
TRADERS
REPRESENTATIVES OF RELIGION
TECHNICAL ELITE
TECHNICAL ELITE
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF FACTORY
GUEST WORKERS
GOVERMENT PARTY WORKING PEOPLE PEASANTS
CREATORS OF I NDUSTRIAL BUSINESS
1-th stage of industrialization
AGENTS OF RELIGION
BIG INDASTRIAL BUSINESS
PUBLIC ACTIVISTS
TECHNICAL ELITE GOVERMENT PARTY
WORKING PEOPLE PEASANTS
2-th stage of industrialization
WORKING PEOPLE PEASANTS
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF FACTORY
CULTURE ACTORS
GOVERMENT PARTY
CULTURE ACTORS
WORKING PEOPLE PEASANTS
OTHERS BUSNINESS WICH IS NOT RELATED TO THE INDUSTRY
MILITARY
GOVERMENT
2020
YASNOHORKA
YASNOHORKA
ARTSEBESHEVO
KONTEMIROVKA
ARTSEBESHEVO
KONTEMIROVKA BELAYA
SVABELKOVKA
BELAYA
SVABELKOVKA
SHTEIHEROVKA
SHTEIHEROVKA
KRAMATOROVKA KRAMATOROVKA KRAMA ATOROVKA PETROVKA PETR
PETROVKA PET
YE BELYANSKOYE
BELYANSKOYE VESELYI
VESELYI
MARYIEVKA HORODESHINO
MARYIEVKA KRASNOHORKA
DMYTRYEVKA
SOCIALISTIC CITY A city is a phenomenon of human culture. People create its physical reality: homes, factories and infrastructure. What are the needs and desires and what are the goals of further development? For each city answers to these questions are important when reflecting on further development. But for every city answers will be different. In this article we are going to discover change of the city function in the process of country developing from beginnings to 2016, from Russian Empire to independent Ukraine through USSR period.
Gamper
The case of our research was an industrial city in Ukraine Kramatorsk. The history of the Kramatorsk starts with the development of the Donbas railway and the founding of a first industrial plant by Swiss entrepreneur Gamper in 1886. The decision to develop Donbas region was grounded on the result of Crimea War Company in 1856, or rather on the defeat of Russian Empire in the Crimean Company, that’s when the Russian government decided on the development of rail transport solutions for primarily military tasks. So the first basis functions of this territory were logistic and industry. Since the arrival of the Bolsheviks at 1917, Soviet city Kramatorsk attracted and absorbed tens of thousands of
HORODESHINO
KRASNOHORKA
DMYTRYEVKA
people with the same, old government strategy – develop heavy industry. Before the first five-year plans in 19281932, Commissar Ordzhonikidze founded flagman of USSR heavy industry – NKMZ-plant. This plant was one of the most important projects in the period of industrialization. To understand the specifics of the industrial city, it is necessary to take into account the fact that Kramatorsk is not a traditional city. It is a city that has been created and designed to perform a specific function in the vast scale of the MIC (military industrial complex) of the USSR. At that time the priority of development for the new soviet country was industrialization and creating a strong professional army.
Gamper
The term «SocialisticCity» itself is well-known, but only a few people understand what is beneath of it. Our team focused our research on the phenomenon of SocialCity, which was born in the 1920’s in the heads of the young Soviet state managers, based on the ideas of Lenin. SocialisticCity - these are new conditions of life of the new socialist man, based on the maximum state control over its citizens and forcing them to implement decisions of the governing bodies.
YASNOHORKA NTEMIROVKA
ARTSEBESHEVO
TEMIROVKA BELAYA
BELAYA
SVABELKOVKA
SHTEIHEROVKA E VKA
SHTEIHEROVKA YURIEVKA
PETROVKA
PETROVKA BELYANSKOYE VESELYI
HORODESHINO TRYEVKA
Therefore, SocialisticCity concept asserts the value of the construction of new cities as places that are free of stereotypes of the old life, the old nature of interpersonal relationships, the old forms of activity, the old culture
MARYIEVKA HORODESHINO
KRASNOHORKA
RYEVKA
Decentralization, which came from European Charter of Local Self-Government (1985) and was ratified by Ukrainian society in 1997, is going to reform the existing space using new democratic principles, and bring new administrativeterritorial division of the state. «Centralized decentralization» and «Power to the Soviets 2.0», it can be called in different ways, but we see the introduction of new public management through the change of the administrative network. The first who introduced the administrative division of this territories was Russian tsar Peter 1 in 1708 with the introduction of townships, Lenin followed with reformation of administrative structure at the beginning of the 20th century. With current reformations, an interesting story line occurs: Peter 1 - Lenin - Poroshenko (Peter 2) and their influence to real world by implementation. History repeats itself, and now we are the witnesses of attempts to introduce new ideas. During heavy five-year plans, Kramatorsk workers, stimulated by the repressive and punitive organs as well as by the bright
Gamper
- that is, on the whole, as the other type of settlement, rather than the existing city, favoring artificial introduction outside of new forms of organization of work and life. («Soviet social policy of 1920-1930: ideology and everyday life», editor Paul Romanov, author Meerovich)
Implementation of new ideas of the Soviet state happened to be possible partly due to administrative division of territories. The basic principle of the division was to take the factor of «industry concentration», which meant that now the whole life had to be developed around the industrial centers. Lenin established the theoretical basis of administrativeterritorial division on the 7th Congress of the RCP (b), converting men workers and peasants to the «gears» of the huge Soviet military-industrial complex machine.
ideology, had been building and developing the SocialCity. Total state control and enforcement of decisions from the outside - that’s the principle of the formation and construction of the SocialCity - product of Lenin’s ideas, that city walls, streets and palaces of culture of Kramatorsk had absorbed. This influence we can see in the city today. They are imbued with the entire city and many citizens. Study of the history of elections of local authorities, private chats with activists and ordinary residents of the city have shown us that
management techniques of the Soviet period are still working. What is the real situation in city now? The ideology of the state of Ukraine is not yet formed as a strategy, and its absence in the period of 1991 to 2016 on the territory of Donbas probably led to the situation that we are now seeing in the east of Ukraine. Who did control the city and the people? «Red Commanders» (new
the entire infrastructure management. A good metaphor for these structures is an example of the «feudal state» in Ukraine. Business executives are now the leaders for factory workers and for their families. And smart active people who are able to adapt to the new Ukraine opened a small independence business or simply left the depressive Donbas region. In this situation, characterized by weakness of leaders of public organizations and huge social influence of the large «factory», with its so-called ngo’s, we can see two developments: • active citizens are emigrating, • the state is trying to convey the «responsibility» decentralization for those who remained. Only here it is not clear yet whether the residents of Kramatorsk are ready to take this responsibility. Example of manipulation with people without responsibility is a story with additional emission stokes at «NKMZ» and concentrated power of one man. So we assume that the same thing may happen to the decentralization process in this region this time. Are the citizens of Kramatorsk ready for the responsibility and provide new ideas of decentralization?
capitalist grounded at 80-90) converted into leaders of organized crime groups in the 1990-2000, and then the representatives of big business in the face of regional parties. Competent managers of the old school were able to use the inertia of the «Soviet ideological machine» and privatized large enterprises in Kramatorsk together with the workers and
What kind of policy will government or local municipality provide to implement new ideas of democratic society? With these questions we ended our field trip to Kramatorsk.
SquareS: TRADE - ADMINISTRATIVE - IDEOLOGICAL The settlement structure can distinguish the central part, the place of communication, exchange. Later this space in way to give more administrative function became the core of the future city. Kramatorsk Development of the settlement to the station, from a small urban settlements to the regional center can be traced by examining the place of concentration of people - Squares. The first place of the inhabitants of the collection becomes
a place traditionally landside trade - Railway Station area, the areas function was trade and transport. At the end of 19th century rise of industrial production pushed creation Postal area. Probably this area consisted first administrative function in beginnings of industrial period. This square situated very close to the Railway Station and were reconstructed in USSR period. Soviet Union produced new area as a part of project
TRADE SQUARE
Lenin`s Park
SocialCity. New square was formed as new cultural center - Lenin Square in front of Lenin’s Palace of Culture. It became the center of the projected space especially for ideological events for workers and residents. During long period till l 1965, this place determined consciousness of citizens. In 1965 city center emigrated to new location – stately area as a addition to new city cultural center «NKMZ palace». The function of this area was already not trade or logistics – new ideological and cultural function shaped greatest place for parades and manifestation. With the advent of the representatives of a new free
MIRA SQUARE
Ukraine reproduce rituals (City Day, Machine Engineer Day, May 1 ...) continue in these specially designed spaces previous ideologies still. It should be noted that after the privatization of the factories and the city’s infrastructure belonging to them, the new owners perfectly understood the power of special spaces and left them in his property, while getting rid of the less promising for the development of business facilities (nurseries, for example).
What is the situation with the city center now? Undoubtedly, it is the largest area of Kramatorsk which is decorated with a masterpiece of Soviet architecture - «NKMZ» place. At the moment, the dominant structure at this area is privately owned. Other buildings ensemble a square and they are: • a typical nondescript building, which consist city hall and regional councils department • the adjacent squares in which is
placed a small monument to Shevchenko. • Two private residential Stalin’s ampirs style houses • Square with Scythians sculpture reconstructed at 2015 We can explore mapping of real physical objects and feel influence of this object or come to real world and feel this influence at yours bodies. We realize that the «Spirit of the USSR» will not changes
by simply rename street names. Decomunization as a process is more comlex process and we have to understand that we are participants of struggle two ideology – new democratic and old soviet-totalitarian. It remains SocialCity with its planned structure, which will set the rhythm of life in the city on the old principles and supported by many unconscious dominant influence in the form of special majestic spaces and structures.
But rays of hope in the form of understanding of the importance of public spaces is at present Kramatorskaya power. At the initiative of the major, and some nongovernmental organizations function area for parades changed to the new function – place for people rest and communication. Kramatorsk citizens feel new scenarios for activity without pressure probably the first time.
MY LITTLE PRIVATE KINGDOM In the USSR your life looked like a pendulum “homework”, sometimes people could afford to go to a concert or a movie, maybe even in a cafe, cultural center. And in each of these places space always has been dictated and form by the politics from above, censorship and party. The man was only an object of influence. After the collapse of the Soviet Union people start to be free from these influences. People got a place in their city and their lives to make free choice and don’t be dependent from party. It gave possibility start become the subject, actor, creator. But there is a very serious problem. Domestic slavery.
PLACES of living. “OSBB” In our study, we paid a lot of attention on the trend of creating OSBB. What is OSBB and how it differs from the usual home control form? OSBB an association of owners of apartment buildings who register themselves as non-profit organizations NGO. The purpose of this association is to improve the condition of your home and outside the territory, to take full control of all tenants management and maintenance problems. Now in Ukraine there are public service “GEC” which should solve all the problems at home. But it is not a secret that “GEC” performs that task poorly. Another important component of OSBB is social activation. People had the opportunity to be the master of his house, and to cooperate around common problems. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1998, it was to pass a law regulating the establishment and activities of OSBB, and people finally got an opportunity to influence the life of the place. Up to this point people did not have the opportunity to choose how to manage their residential area and home. CRISES
WAR
HAPPENINGS
When over 4 generations of people unlearn the feeling of the importance of their own individuality, people did not know how to use their freedom to make decisions and be responsible. They were formed in the Soviet Union with a system of thought in the USSR. In the 25 years of independent Ukraine has already managed to grow a generation who did not know all the promotional USSR terms and conditions. Accordingly, in the postSoviet industrial city of Kramatorsk were to be appear new activities and actors, ready to live according to the scheme «I influence the city and fill the place with new meanings». We have identified three main types of places of human life of the city: Living Locations Work places Places for leisure Trends appearance and activities of their content help to create a portrait of a society with its needs, problems and challenges. We decided to focus on things not obvious that require selforganization from society and the individual initiatives. That is why we decided to push the work place into the background, because they already represent some organized structure.
Period yers: 1998-2002 Quantity:
2002-2006
2006-2009
7
35
4
2010-2014 2014-2016
10
28
Multistorey buildings:
Why it is important? Location of human life, his home, is an important part of his life. The conditions under which a person lives, how a person relates to the place that he calls home is an interesting indicator of the state of society. In Kramatorsk and in 1998 appears first home OSBB. Today Donetsk is the leader in the number and speed of creating OSBB, Kramatorsk takes the 4th place in Ukraine in terms of growth.
Who is responsible for the condition of housing? Goverment
«Everything behind the door of our apartment should be serviced by the Government» Women, 67 years old
...Cooperation between...
«The government must help people to take care of housing. But residents are responsable of houses condition» Men. 84 years old, pensioner
People
«Those who know how to be The master of theirs house living well. Where there is no power exist possibility of prosperity» Men, 42 years old
HOW MANY HOURS IN A MONTH ARE YOU READY TO SPEND ON ACTIVITY OF «OSBB» CONDOMINIUM «I am ready to get moneys for services and one time in a month to visit meeting.» Women, 30 year, housewife
«I ready to help with organization and be active, but managment is
«I must spend much of my free time for OSBB activity because it’s very responsable
Men, 22 year, student»
Men, 57 year, engineer and OSBB activist
Tracing the growth trend every 4 years, interesting it is the fact that in times of crisis growth of OSBB increased. The same trend we see now. Over the past two years, the number of homes raise into OSBB of 23 pieces. But in order to understand the reasons for this growth and how active people to create local governments need to understand the motivation and their willingness to spend time on housing activity.
HOURS
FROM TO
«I am not ready to spend my time, b,ecause I am a student. Older people must to do it.» Men, 19 year, student
8 - ...
High index
4-7
Middle index
1-3
Initial index
0
Zero index
Conclusion: If we compare the data OSBB growth charts, it is clear that in the wake of political and military events in Ukraine there is a growth trend visible in Donetsk OSBB. This is due to the fact that the society after serious upheaval awakens and realizes that the salvation of the situation in their hands. You can also see a trend that the younger generation is not going to wait for the state to act, but this generation is ready and believes it is important to manage their own lives. There was a trend of internal responsibility.
What was the place of leisure in the USSR? It was mainly represented through structured physical units that offered certain types of activities. Among them were: •Theater • Sports •Cinema • Museums How it was structured? Firstly, type of activity was set by the building function. Second factor was censorship, a wonderful tool for freedom of choice and content regulation. As a consequence, any amateur initiative was regulated by the framework of government ideology.
If consumerism remained and only after 25 years of independence of Ukraine noticeable changes began. A new generation of people who grew up without the influence of Soviet ideology and censorship started creating reality that they extremely need. And this generation needs more quality activities in the city. Now is the time when we can observe the nucleation of trend of “third places», that is performed by people who want to be the actors. The idea behind is to use old spaces to create new leisure possibilities. This also means that the importance of the physical space itself decreases while the importance of content increases. One of these places in Kramatorsk is «Vilna hata» - space of a new generation for the youth’s leisure, which has no analogues in the city. This is not a commercial project, which positions itself as a platform for new ideas, communications, and as a free space with games, internet and hot tea. The range of processes that are performed there show the public demand for such places that is sometimes bigger than desire for beautiful parks and cinemas.
It can also be treated as a reflection of needs of Kramatorsk society, that wants more intellectual content and needs to be a part of complicated and important processes. «Vilna hata» holds informational lectures on various topics by inviting different speakers. They also cooperate with international organizations, that arrange workshops, classes, supports various projects with grants. This is the place where all interested citizens come to learn new information and share ideas. As a good example, we met there young guys, who created a gym in a garage, to practice sport activities there. They provide free classes for all members and train themselves. Unfortunately, they have no money to build a big club, but they have their active position and desire for changes that brought them to “Vilna hata” and provoked their support for the initiative. This space is sometimes used by the government as a public platform for informal communication with the residents of the city as well as guests from other cities (for example CANactions school) or even countries. This creates a situation that the place becomes a center that attracts different organizations and local players. This helps to familiarize small communities with each other, to establish new contacts and to develop a network of active citizens.
CONCLUSION: The situation in Kramatorsk is now in a state when a lot of new self-organized actors emerge, who start influencing city life. If before places dictated activities for people, now people create activities by themselves. And respectively, places were more important for the activities, but nowadays networking and sense of activity are of a much greater value. It is quite hard to spot this trend in Kramatorsk visually, but the activity around networking shows that it is growing and hopefully after a few years we will see not only “Vilna Hata” being active in the city.
bibliography: 1. Крихтенко В.И., Шугалий Н.А. Я люблю тебя, мой Краматорск. Краеведческий очерк. - Краматорск, 2009.- С.112 2. Шкуратова, Н. В. Краматорск : Путеводитель / Н. В. Шкуратова. - Донецк : Донбас, 1978. - 56 с. 3. https://vk.com/kramatorsknews Краматорск сегодня 4. https://vk.com/amnkmz 5. Общественная организация молодёжи ПАО «Новокраматорский машиностроительный завод» г.Краматорск 6. http://kremenchug-kpu.org.ua/read/hs000020.htm «Завод заводов» - грустный праздник 7. http://www.kramatorsk.info/ Форум Краматорска 8. http://www.manekin.narod.ru/hist/forever/part1/ op2.htm «ТРИ ДОНБАССА»/ Р.В.МАНЕКИН. ДОНЕЦК FOREVER. ОЧЕРКИ ИСТОРИИ ДОНЕЦКОГО КРАЯ 9. Собрание узаконений и распоряжений Рабочего и Крестьянского правительства (СУ РСФСР) Собрание узаконений и распоряжений правительства за 1921 г. // istmat.info 10. http://istmat.info/node/46595 № 454. Декрет Совета Народных Комиссаров. Временное расписание местностей Российской Социалистической Федеративной Советской Республики на пояса по таксе патентного сбора с торговых и промышленных предприятий. 11. http://pravo.levonevsky.org/baza/soviet/sssr7293. htm ДЕКРЕТ СНК РСФСР ОТ 10.09.1921 ОСНОВНОЕ ПОЛОЖЕНИЕ ПО ТАРИФНОМУ ВОПРОСУ
12. Правовые и организационные проблемы административно-территориального деления союзной республики - В.А. Немцев 13. В. А. НЕМЦЕВ, ПРАВОВЫЕ И ОРГАНИЗАЦИОННЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ АДМИНИСТРАТИВНОТЕРРИТОРИАЛЬНОГО ДЕЛЕНИЯ СОЮЗНОЙ РЕСПУБЛИКИ Иркутск 1974 http://adhdportal.com/ book_729_chapter_1_ANNOTAIJA.html 14. http://www.alyoshin.ru/Files/publika/meerovich/ meerovich_sots.html Марк Меерович Соцгород 15. Краматорск в ожидании Порошенко: БТРы в центре города и площадь, заполненная людьми 16. http://www.kramatorsk.info/view/192052?utm_ source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=facebook 17. http://www.dk-lenina.net.ua/p/blog-page.html ГДК им. Леонида Быкова (бывший ГДК им. Ленина) 18. Советская социальная политика 1920–1930-х годов: идеология и повседневность. Сборник статей Под редакцией П.В. Романова, Е. Р. Ярской-Смирновой Москва 2007 19. http://www.dsnews.ua/politics/eto-bitva-dvuhideologii-saakashvili-prizval-zapad-k-reshitelnymdeistvijam-v-ukraine_---the-wall-street-journal «ЭТО БИТВА ДВУХ ИДЕОЛОГИЙ»: СААКАШВИЛИ ПРИЗВАЛ ЗАПАД К РЕШИТЕЛЬНЫМ ДЕЙСТВИЯМ В УКРАИНЕ, - THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Environment& infrastructure
Environment and infrastructure TEAM: Olga Gubynskaya, Smirnova Maria, Vladyslav Doroshenko
Intro
The history of the development of Kramatorsk
What do you see when you are writing in the browser the word “Kramatorsk�? Right, the pictures that show the recent military operations that took place in this city. Going deeper, you can stumble upon information about president, who has visited this city few days ago, or about the most advanced plant NKMZ. But if you want to make research deeply, you can find information about ecology situation, death statistic rate. We were very surprised when we have read that this rate the most highest across the all-eastern region.
Kramatorsk small town, located on the river Kozenyi Torez. This city is a big industrial center. The city actively developed since built a railway and a railway station near the river. In 1887, the Belgians built a plant of refractories, and in 1892 built the first machine-building plant. These factories had given the city the first impetus to the development. Industry had evolved so much that in 1932 Kramatorsk received city status and a new engineering plant NKMZ. So, in the 30s had built the first green barrier that would have delayed the dangerous emissions from the air. During World War II, the city was badly damaged by the military operations. And then it was partially rebuilt by German soldiers. Main factories were removed from Kramatorsk by Soviet government at the beginning of the war. After ending WW2 the city actively started to build new streets and houses.
We asked ourselves: What is the reason? Why do people die? Our study of the city consisted of several stages: 1) Collecting general data about the city on three categories: ecology situation, health infrastructure, transport infrastructure. 2) Study the history of the development of city infrastructure. 3) Find documents describing the environmental and health situation in the city at present time.
During that period appeared Sotsgorod. With the increase in production quantities, the city decided to create large parks. Also in that years began to actively develop public transport (trams and trolleybus). In 1950 the city launched buses which traveled to other big cities. So in the 1970s it opened the largest park Jubilee. The factories were actively promoted a healthy lifestyle, and built new stadiums. The main city forming element in Kramatorsk were industry. In Soviet period the city continued to build new factory buildings, new homes and districts. Due to the convenient geographical location of the city, in this area there are many small separate communities, which in consequence contacted in a single network. Now these villages became parts of the Kramatorsk. During the period of independent Ukraine Kramatorsk factories reduced their production and as a result ceased no new residential buildings. In 2004 was opened Kramatorsky landscape park.
The city developed in compliance with all town planning regulations. Wide streets, parks, green sanitary protection zones, modern at that time public transport (trams and trolleybuses). But in addition to the city’s development parallel appeared some tends, such as increase emissions from factories, decay of ecology situation, downgrade of water quality in the river, increase number of diseases among the citizens, increasing number of vehicles.
WHO IS A MAIN POLLUTER? How was perceived the cohesion between ecology and health issues in USSR times and what is this perception now. From the one hand, it is written in «Kramatorska pravda» for the year 1958 we may - “It is well known that clean and healthy air increase life expectancy of the human, protects people from diseases and nerves.” However, if we are continue reading we will find out that in Kramatorsk «… there is a big air contamination. The biggest source of fume, dust and gas is « Kuybyshev factory (Kramatorsk Ferroalloy industry) ». Daily the factories throws in the atmosphere 25 tons of dust and gas and from blast furnace №3 - 19 tones. » On the other hand, in the book of Stank A.G «The fight for health and longevity», we may read: «Health is often lost by people who refers to it casually and don’t think about it do not follow the rules of personal hygiene, and sometimes deliberately harm themselves. Such people grow old prematurely and cut yourself a life » So understanding of health problem was controversial: both ecological problem and human actions itself where mentioned as main health scares in different souse. And still there is no common denominator in human health question. Who is the main actor on this stage? And does ecology perceived by the locals and by officials to be on the stage?
Chemistry cocktail is in the air The city Kramatorsk have been developing from small settlement into a city around railway station since 1876. During the time of its development with help of foreign investors and engineers in this city had appeared first machine building factories. These industry atlantes had built around the river. It was necessary to use this river as cooler. So since the first factory had built the ecology situation have been spoiling. During the last 100 years, factories have been emitting dangerous chemical elements into air and water. Collecting data around environment in Kramatorsk consists in 3 parts: 1)Collecting information describing past situation. 2)Collecting quantity and quality data with field trip 3)Analyzing information. ”I want to see Kramatorsk as industrial city but with no emissions from it” – local woman from the “Jubilee park” ”I don’t like this city. I came from a village under the Khmelnytsky and there I was happy, and has pigs and goats. There was a lot of fresh air and trees. To this city brought me my son. He said that I is going to live here. And I feel bad. There was better” - one old lady from the street.
Pic.1 View on the Ordzhonikidze street
Pic.2 View on the Parkova street
Before Kramatorsk field trip, information was found from different resources where was mentioned data ecology situation in the city. Activities of enterprises in the metallurgical, energy and mechanical engineering industries, as well as the enterprises for manufacture of building materials and transport, determines the high technogenic load in the city on the environment. Based on the medical documents, which described the tendency of disease development in this region, shows that in this city the biggest death rate. Volunteers try to stop this spread, but the results of it very small. One of the most important environmental issues, requiring urgently solutions Kramatorsk is the problem of improving the condition of air.
Analyzing data on sickness rate it can be identified regularity between dangerous emissions and people, who suffered from them. There is a program launched in 2008, by the ex-President of Ukraine V. Yanukovich, on air protection and recovery, and focus on reducing the amount of pollutants in the air [4]. Under this project, large enterprises have modernized factories and switched to ecological equipment. In the area of protection of water resources, local government structures had to carry out reconstruction of municipal wastewater treatment plants.
Kramatorsk is one of the largest industrial centers of Donbass region. A characteristic an outstanding feature of the region is the high content of carcinogens in the air. These elements are the result of emissions from the plants and vehicles [1].
State of the environment of Kramatorsk does not correspond European standards. Pollution is approaching to critical.
But is it really? If industry has really implemented this program, why the mortality statistic are still increase?
«40% of all emissions are increase of the number of vehicles traveling through the route passing through the city. Heat – electro station uses special filters, but they canot deal with all emission power. Most of the factories has upgraded the equipment, but it is not possible to significantly reduce the amount of emissions. Our main problem – are people. They are guilty of what is happening in the city. They cut trees and throw away trash « – told local ecology activist. In accordance with the new general plan of city there sould be new around road, but this project was stopped due to lack of funding. According to the sanitary station on Ordzhonikidze Street (highway though the city) on average an hour passes about two thousand units of motor transport. This means that the air gets half of the total emissions. This new around road could lower amount of CO2 emissions above the city. The demographic situation of the city is characterized by a negative natural increase. The analysis of this increase shows that for many years there has been a steady decline in population. Polluting substances fall into the human body through inhalation, in principle, can not be avoided. In addition, the solid particles entering the emissions into the atmosphere are deposited on the surface and can flow into the digestive organs.
Pic.3 View on the «Foxes tail». Pollution from factory
For Kramatorsk index of industrial production growth is among the highest in the region, social indicators are almost identical to the average for the region. However, the ecological indicators of the city is not unfavorable - on the level of growth of hurtful emissions into the atmosphere over the past several years, Kramatorsk ahead of many cities of the region. Despite the fact that the emissions are relatively not large, the trend of 20% growth in emissions is one of the highest in the Donetsk region. The total volume of emissions of certain ingredients in the Donetsk region Kramatorsk accounts: metal emissions and their compounds. Hazardous substances in urban atmospheric pollution is nitrogen dioxide, phenol, hydrogen sulfide and formaldehyde. For the rest of the ingredients (dust, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide) pollution situation prosperous atmosphere. [3] “You think all factories have made this modernization? No. Two big factories are still pollute the air… Our Ukrainian law, about protection environment refers to European standards. But indicators are not European, they exceed the norms. Our law have system of fines, but due to ATO imposed a moratorium on monitoring data. Our laboratory take data every year and send it to sanitary-epidemic station”_ expert from laboratory who monitoring air state.
Pic.4 View on «Concrete factory»
Most notable in 2015 was the contribution to air pollution in the city of elements like formaldehyde, which is the average concentration was 4.3 MPC ( and the norm is 3.65 MPC), phenol – 1.3 MPC ( and the norm is 1.09 MPC (maximum permissible concentration) ). Comparing 2015 with 2014 the previous year, showing growth of air pollution by sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, cadmium, copper and zinc, reduce air pollution by dust, carbon monoxide, nickel, manganese, chromium, iron and lead. [5]
Pic.5 View on «NKMZ»
Dangerous chemical elements for the human are: •
Oxides of nitrogen: nitrogen compounds lead to acid rain. As a result of this there is a strong smog. These substances are emitted during the production of special steels.
•
Sulfur dioxide - a gas which combines with water in the atmosphere, forms sulfurous acid, resulting in regions where a lot of air is blown into SO2, often fall acid rain, which are particularly harmful for plants and soil microorganisms.
•
Carbon monoxide - is a product of incomplete combustion of fuel, most of which produce cars in the atmosphere.
•
Carbon dioxide - a natural component of the atmosphere. Despite the fact that it does not include harmful compounds CO2 largely affects the global warming. Lead exposure leads to serious diseases of the kidneys, liver, nervous system and other organs.
•
Formaldehyde and phenol - formaldehyde high level may cause irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and skin. Phenol is poisonous. It refers to highly dangerous substances.
« Yellow foam that is coming from the tube of the Kramatorsk Ferroalloy industry tube and goes in the direction of the city» - worker of the newspaper kiosk in the Old city area.
Hitting polluting substances into the human body through inhalation, in principle, can not be avoided. In addition, the solid particles entering the emissions into the atmosphere are deposited on the surface and can flow into the digestive organs. For people living near industrial plants, can affect multiple connections, this happens because of production processes and material handling. Among the types of morbidity, which may be relevant to air pollution should be allocated respiratory diseases, the incidence of chronic bronchitis and asthma, as well as tumors.
Pic.6 View on «Kramatorsky farroalloy industry»
Based on long-term monitoring of the environmental situation in the city sanitary epidemiological service and independent experts from the regional newspaper, collected data, which shows the main polluters. Among the factories located on the territory of Kramatorsk the most significant impact on the city’s air pollution are enterprises of machine-building industry: «New Kramatorsk Machine-Building Factory» (NKMZ), «Old Kramatorsk Machine-Building Factory» (CKMZ), «Kramatorsky Heating - Electro Factory». Also contribution to the pollution of the city make the metallurgical industry: «Kramatorsk ferroalloy industry», «EMSS», Also affect the state of air pollution building industry enterprises: «Kramatorsk cement plant», «Kramatorsk slate». The city has a numerical private buildings sector, which are heated by charcoal, also contributes to air pollution. Also in several past years appeared new polluter in this region. It is – vehicles. Over the past few years, the number of vehicles increased substantially. Due to the lack of a developed network of public transport in the city went to the arena pollutant carriers, private companies and personal vehicles. In addition highway Kharkiv - Donetsk passes through almost the center of the city, which greatly affects the air pollution of the city. «The volume of emissions of motor transport remains one of the highest cities in the region (after Donetsk, Mariupol, Make¬evki), of which about 85% are auto-trucks running on gasoline» - ecology expert from ecology departament.
Pic.7 View on «Kramatorsky heating - electro station»
As a result of the development, the city Kramatorsk currently covers an area of more than 6.7 thousand hectares of 35.6 thousand hectares of Kramatorsk City Council and is extended in the direction of the north -south at 11 km, and in the direction west - east more than 13 km . Today in the city of a high proportion of land occupied by industrial buildings, and the share of land allocated for transport and social infrastructure is clearly insufficient. Historically, that uptown designed around industrial enterprises, resulting in a built-up land are residential areas located around the industrial zones. A similar scheme plan has many industrial city of Donetsk region.
According to the meteorologist situation in this region, dominated winds are westerly and north-westerly in summer, and the east and northeast in the winter. We can see that in the current situation of emissions suffering «Old Town» in the winter, and the south-eastern part of the city in summer. That’s mean, that if local citizen want to survive in this city and be healthy, he or she need to move depending on the season to different parts of the city.
«Despite the best efforts of public services, the fire at the dump occur with alarming frequency. Do not forget about the so-called «unrecorded emissions,» which are formed by burning fallen leaves, and household waste by the hosts in their areas» - ecology expert from local newspaper «Ecologia promislovogo kraiy»
Lets talk about water «Even being in the city, you do not feel that the city has a river»
Water - the source of life. It plays an important role in metabolic processes, it is the basis of life for many living organisms. The main pollutants of water are manufacturing plants, mines, biotrash, etc. Every year in the river with sewage get more than a million tons of salt, more than 16 thousand tons of suspended solids, 15 thousand tons of nitrate, 5 thousand tons of organic substances, etc. discharges of untreated sewage in the area make up nearly a billion cubic meters per year - that’s 30% of the contaminated water in Ukraine. Hydrographic of the Kramatorsk network is sufficiently dense - it has six small rivers: Steer, Mayachka, Dry Face, Bilenka-1, Bilenka-2, White Mountain, as well as the main water artery of the city - the river Kozenyi Butt, is a tributary of the largest Donbas river - the Seversky Donets from which laid the channel, which supplies Kramatorsk with drinking water.
Pic.8 View on the Kosennyj Torez river
Pic.9 View on the Kosennyj Torez river
Shallowing of the river has reached a level where not only clog factory pumps, by which companies take water for technical needs. [2]
Veterinary Services is strongly not recommended to catch a fish and swim in the river.
The paradox is that the whole industry in Kramatorsk, Druzhkovka, Slavyansk, Konstantinovka centered around the river. Over last 100 years water resources are actively used by industry for the manufacture different products, and was filled with heavy metals. Then, these substances were treated in the course of the Seversky Donets river, and then into the central water channel. The result was a kind of vicious circle. Over time, the use of the river in the industry has fallen, but that not made river cleaner.
Near Yasnogorki district sulphate content in water exceeds the maximum permissible concentration (by fisheries regulations) 8.3 times, chromium - 6 times, nitrites - 5 times, oil products - by 2.5 times. Almost 63% of the waste water discharges into the breech Butt pool make discharges of industrial plants. In the midst of the most responsible for the pollution are the Butt of the coal industry (68%), another 20% are engineering. [6]
But due to some industry are still uses water in it needs the river still full of dangerous chemical elements. Also, due to outdated water treatment facilities in the fall wastewater occurs silting rivers and increase its salinity. People dump in the water solid domestic waste and other garbage. At this point the river is not only suitable for swimming, but it is also potentially dangerous source of infection.
According to the standards of protection of water resources away from private houses to the water should be 25 m, and from industry to water - 50 m.
Pic.10 View on tributary of the main river
Pic.11 View on tributary of the main river and garbage
Today, the river Bichok became shallow, and in some places it can be easy to cross.
Most of the water after use in the home and in the workplace, is returned to rivers as sewage. In Kramatorsk insufficient area covered by sewage networks, there is no centralized wastewater in many areas. As a consequence not purified water came back into the river. This water quality does not allow the use of the river in full. It has cause that this river have stopped to be open for local citizens. People needs to understand that the logic of the development of life on Earth is determined by human activities. Human the main cause of environmental pollution. Nature can exist without human, but human can not exist without the biosphere. One factor is the existence of the biosphere clean water and air. One of the trends observed in Kramatorsk, the deterioration of the environment and as a consequence of this high illness rate among the local population. If it is achieved in reducing emissions from the plants and the modernization of equipment, observe cleanliness by the same people, it will change the environmental situation for the better.
Pic.12 View on the Kosennyj Torez river
HEALTH-FILES Donbas ecological situations was always considering to be unbeneficial for human health. We may find mentions about this problem from 50s. With the time flaw experts started to realize the urgency of this problem. In documents from 2008 and 2007 we may find the description of disease rate and mortality level and connection with pollution rates. It seemed that this fact should have been the wakeup call for the people and official. But it turned to be vice versa. This call is not being heard for the last years. Asking the official from Health Department if she sees the link between disease level and the ecology we hear next: «Well, yes we do know that Donbas is industrial region. But there are so many reasons for diseases » So nowadays it is being understanding this link exist. However, we may admit that is hard to see clear link between ecological situation in the city and the disease level. Τhis question somehow stopped to be visible enough and started to be a background, that is still there, but everybody ignores it. Why does that happen? Is the problem doesn’t exist any more or there are other reasons. From the document «The program of protection and improvement of air Kramatorsk» we may read that Ш\Ш\Ο\ ingestion of polluting substances into the human body through breathing, in principle, cannot be avoided. In addition, solid chastitys, falling emissions into the atmosphere are deposited on the surface and can flow into the digestive organs. The composition of the dust particles are particularly dangerous lead and PAHs, dioxins. For people living near plants and factories may be affected by multiple compounds, that appears as a result of production processes and material handling. Among the types of morbidity, which may be relevant to air pollution should be allocated respiratory diseases, bronchitis, and asthma, as well as tumors. What is more comical substances that are common polluters for Kramatorsk affects human health in a dreadful way. For example: ΝΟ2 (Nitrogen dioxide)cause the increase in breathing system disease amount , increased sensitivity to bacterial and viral infections. SO2 (Sulfur dioxide) damages respiratory system and circulatory system, increase the mortality, may affect stomach and liver. CO (Carbon monoxide) cause an increase in uptake for heart diseases, asthma, lung disease, circulatory disease, heart rhythm disorders and cardiovascular disease,may cause pneumonia. NH3 (Ammonia) cause diseases of the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract; cause respiratory system and circulatory diseases, tuberculosis, asthma.
For the year 2007 the main mortality reasons in Kramatorsk where: •Diseases of the circulatory system 63% •Neoplasms 16% •External causes of morbidity and mortality 10% •Respiratory diseases 3% For the year 2014 the main mortality reasons in Kramatorsk where: •Diseases of the circulatory system 67% •Neoplasms 14.4% •External causes of morbidity and mortality 7.6 % •Digestive diseases 3.7% •Respiratory diseases 1.8% •Infectious diseases 1.8% Compering those data, we may admit that health issue is still a sharp. War situation in the region added extra factors that has adversely effect on people health such as decline in living standards and stress factores. Also doctors admit that level of culture among citizens is need to be must be raised. In the Children Hospital doctor sad: « Before searching the reasons of disease in soil contamination one need to look on the mother a premature baby who smokes and drinks». However, taking in consideration all this aspect link between ecological situation in the city and the disease level can’t be forgotten and need to be researched feather. But what actually stops us from researching this question and why there is still no clear up to date picture of how ecology affect human’s health, that forces us to base our conclusions guided based on erudition and logic. Οn my point of view there are several reasons.
The ban on monitoring In 2014 the Ukrainian Law № 1669-VІІ about “Temporary measures on the period of holding antiterrorist operations” which established a moratorium on inspections of bodies and officials authorized by law to exercise state supervision (control) in the sphere of economic activity. Thus, the controllers in the period and in the territory of the ATO temporarily prohibited from performing scheduled and unscheduled inspections of business entities. However, this prohibition does not apply to unscheduled inspections of business entities that are related to high degree of risk management subjects. Thus aforecited mentioned document means that according to the law scheduled Ecological inspections to the factories are forbidden on the territory of Kramatorsk, however unscheduled inspections may be done because all large- scale industry is preserved to categorized as the high degree of risk management. We asked Lina Plushakova editor of the regional newspaper tο comment this situation we«Eсology of industrial region» . Lina admitted that «There is an ecological inspection that has the right to make that is able to make checks, if only there is a request from people. Βut people are suffering and it suits them. If only one complain was done inspection would enter the enterprise. »
So, is it really so easy for citizens to control factories by themselves, with the help of ecological inspection or there is something more? By the Law private individual may request the control to be done in case economic operator, in our case factory, has violated his rights. So the citizen of Kramatorsk who just wants to be assure that factories respect ecological law have no chance to do that without proving that some harm has been done to him. So by the fact ordinary people don’t have the right of control. And even if they dare to try their application may be considered unfounded and they will be liable under the low. As the result we receive the situation voiced by Galina worker of the newspaper kiosk: «Nobody is tracking this situation now. »
The absence of a request from the society To some extent people got used to the neighborhood with factories. Factories always had been breadwinners of the region, and they are still preserved like that by some percentage of citizens without thinking about factories impact of their health. Also some people are seeing the decrease in factories production and presume ecological situation getting better without digging deeper. Other understands that the problem exists, but they have with lack of hope that something can be done. This is the phrase sad by local citizen «And we will continue breathing and they will continue smelting. And nothing can be done because the «mans» are sitting there and сcollecting money. And they absolutely don’t care if you or I will die prematurely ». The third category of people sees the urgency of the problem and tends to blame the government for being ignorant. «The streets are not being cleaned by water. and we are breathing with this dangerous dust». But do people do something to change the situation or they are keeping silence?
Gaps in material and technical base There are several gaps that are seen in the process of data collecting and their analysis. We may presume that to some of they affect the quality of official data, which makes them less reliable. Talking about data collection: There are some questions in the measures intake and their quality. Due to war situation a some material base was last and a lot of links between institutions where ruined. For example, of regional laboratory stayed on the occupied territory and the whole martial base has been left there. From the words of Sanitary Epidemiological Station representative there are good laboratories in the city but there is no virological laboratory.
What is more city Sanitary station doesn’t have fixed monitoring stations that is why Sanitary Protection zones of the factories are being checked once a month and are chosen random, that is not enough from my perspective. In addition, some pieces of measuring equipment are pretty old and might not grasping all necessary data. And the last but not the list, due to high level of migration to the city it is hard to name correct number of citizens and feather not all of them registered at health facilities, so the statistical data about illness level are not 100 % proper.
Hospitals, that are ill What to do if you need medical help? Right, to go to the medical care institutions. But what to do if the medical system is ill now and can’t be effective any more. Μay be it’s time to give her a treatment ?
Restricted data asses What to do if you don’t care what is going on in the city? Do you have the right to know ore your hanger for knowledge will be bared under hips of papers? We have requested information from the Sanitary Epidemiological Station of the resolution on emissions of the Kramatorsk Ferroalloy industry. Τhere were told that this information can be obtained directly from the Ministry of Ecology and Nature Resources of Ukraine. The Ministry told us that this information is confidential and to obtain it is necessary to take the permit. The direct request for the information to the factory didn’t give any result to. So here are our health – X- files that are so hard to get.
There are two main reasons of medical system illness: not working medical reform and war situation. First of all, let’s figure out how the system is working. It consists of 3 branches (levels). The first one is primary health care system, which is represented by district doctors. Then goes secondary health care system, which represented by specialized experts in multifunctional hospital. The third health care branch means - highly specialized hospital centers. Kramatorsk had two branches of medical care system infrastructure: the first and the second. The feared was represented in Donetsk. So Kramatorsk and Donetsk had a really strong bounds. Patients that required specialist care it was transferred to Donetsk where there were both specialists and equipment. This trip took 40 minutes only. If the patient was non-transportable speshalist where coming to Kramatorsk.Now this link is ruined. Patients need to be transported to Kharkov which takes much more time than it was before so it is no guarantee that in the end of the trip patient will be safe and sound. What is more the load on the existing hospitals in the city has increased due to increased population – now it is up to 200% -400% per doctor.
The ecology bell is ringing attract attention to the danger to human’s health. So it is high time for us to hear this bell and to start acting. The real picture of health and ecology question is now blurred due to aforementioned reasons. Its time to fight against this reasons and make the picture clear.
Surgical Department №1 and №2
The second problem is the medical reform is not working. Doctors sad: «They had ruined all that existed». However, they admit that the idea was good. The idea of reform was to transfer 80 per cent of medical treatment to the fist level, that is pretty cheap. And the 20 should have stayed on the secondary level. This measure would have helped to find «free» money that should have been spent on infrastructure modernization. As the result the medical institutions where separated. Now there are there were individual centers with general practitioner and hospitals were without. «The hospital without general practitioners is like a hand without fingers» - doctors say. «To make this first level work normally a lot of measures needed to be taken from buying screening for analysis to providing spatial education for doctors. We don’t have nothing. » – doctors say. As the result nothing had been changed. So the secondary level of medical care institution is still serving 80 per cent of patients, but even with smaller amount of doctors. The load on docttors is colossal, which may lead to unexpected results. Doctors are not having time any more to find the reasons of severe cases they are overloaded with the easy one. As the result they lose their professionalism. Not only doctors are suffering but people are suffering to. Το get an appointment with specialized doctor you must first get to the therapist. To get to the therapist you mast take special ticket. After visiting the therapist, you will be redirected to specialist to whom you also need to take a ticket. The tickets are always in short supply and you can not arrange meeting with doctor in advance.
So every single day people ought to go to hospital to get this tickets. If there is no left, you should come next day and begin from the wary beginning. Citizens say that sometimes people are coming at 3 a.m. to be the first ticket owner. Also people are mentioning that the live queue was batter, which means people are absolutely disappointed and exhausted with new system. Now in the relationship between medical system and the citizens both partners are suffering, which means that the existing system has to be changed. It’s time to cure medical system of Kramatorsk.
Infrastructure Challenges of Kramatorsk
The History of the city officially began almost 150 years ago when in 1868 Kursk-Kharkov-Azov railroad was built. This road had brought life to Kramatorsk. Following the life processes of the citizens, who is citybiuilders, you may understand that cities have the tools — necessary facilities tools, that help citizens in their everyday life.
City arteries City arteries You may get to Kramatorsk in two ways: •
By railway
•
By main road
This ways are two main arteries. The arteries of Kramatorsk bring life to the city. A few years ago the number of cars has increased. But also increased the number of disabled people, so, like as consequence we can see, that streets are not adapted for new participants. People sad that new problem, wich never been before, that in Kramatorsk it is crowded parking places. So that is why hundreds of cars are parking in yards and do not give the free passage to pedestrians. The city is very compact, all residential buildings are centered around the industrial zone. To cross the city you should spend 2 hours by foot to reach industrial zone. However its not so easy to cross the city acroos becouse the huge industrial zone is standing on the way just in the middel of the town. Despite the fact, that the city is small andbut considering the fact that this is a small town, you can move quickly, but with problems, which will interfere your movements Second problem, which appeared in last few years, is a huge owerload in main street Ordzhonikidze, which in the same time is a highway.The interesting fact about the road is that it is a highway and regular city street simultaneously.This road is a high level of danger to the public. Lack of underground or above-ground crossings paths, no informative infographics and crossroads, the old bus stops, a large number of gas stations. All this leads to an increased risk of growth the number of accidents. Air arteria of city — the airport that was built in the 70s of the XX century and was planed for a capacity of 100 passengers per hour with the possibility of extension up to 300 passengers per hour, but actually had no ragular passenger traffic. Now airport is used as military base. Now many people from neighboring towns moved to Kramatorsk and population is growing up. This tendency is opening new possibilities and opportunities to the city, which means that city has new challenges.
Transport challenge Kramatorsk bild tram route in 1937 to transport workers on plants, after that in 1971 city launch trolleybus.
Uncomfortable conditions in nowadays it is the fact that city has incomplete cover of communications. In according with words of representative of trolley-transport department was sad about new route which connected old and new parts of the town.
This summer this department launches two new buses on the routes. Impressive fact that in pick years, the city had 60 tram, 50 trolleybuses, but now they have 8 tram and 22 trolleybuses. In far 1937 years, electric transport was the property of the city and had made Kramatorsk one of the leading cities at those times. Now, because of lack of funding and demand into this field, the city has reduced its number. The lack of public electric transport has led to an increase in the number of private buses and cars that drive on gasoline and are air pollutants in the city. Thus, they aggravate very spoiled the environment.
Unavailability challenge
Two-wheeled challenge The last few years in Kramatorsk was born new tendency of using bicycle infrastructure. Local bicycle activists told the story about the rise of number of cycling people with the start of hostilities.
Some citizens are faced with feel problems starting from threshold of their houses, especially people with disabilities. For them movement in this city is a big challenge, because there are no necessary infrastructure for people with disabilities, so that is why many of them forced to spend their time at home. Also in Kramatorsk exist positive points like ramps from curbs and sound notifi cation in few trolley buses. In addition, in the city function only one rehabilitation centre in Donbass region “Donbass interregional center for vocational rehabilitation disabled people” that help people to get education, driver license and support them in social life.
The problem is that the city has absolutely no adopted infrastructure for the cyclists, so they can ride only on roads with a lot of cars or on sidewalks. Bicyclist also add information about bad attitude of car drives. Another problem is that the city has not enough parking places, sometimes they are only near supermarkets. Сyclists activists bring to the city administration “Concept of cycling infrastructure”. But now administration is not interested for this proposition. Incredible fact that Kramatorsk had cycle track in Bernadskii garden almost 100 years ago and now they even havent enought parking places.
Behind the scene “Walking around the city you don’t feel the river» - such feelings shared local resident. Indeed the entire industrial zone covers whole one river side and there is only a small piece of coast in the Bernadsky garden. Another intereting fact is that before in this garden even was boating station.
Walking through the backyards of the city you may see the old soviet teeters for children that are mostly clean and painted, but still old. Feather more there is a problem to find a backyard playgrounds to play basketball,football or any other kinds of sport. It is amazing that Kramatorsk is rich with sports talents and citizens do respect physical culture. The problem is that city doesn’t have enough sports infrastructure to facilitate the physical culture.
In conclusion of Infrastructure challenges, we found out that in recent years cars amount have increased sharply. This led to the range of problems among which are:
View on the boating station in the Bernadsky garden
•
An increase in transport accidents probability.
•
An increase of air contamination.
We may admit that infrastructure of the city is in bad condition and some important pieces are totally absent,like bicycle infrastructure or infrastructure for people with disabilities. Nowadays we perceive Kramatorsk as the new regional center of Donetsk region. This status expects the high level of social development, including infrastructure sphere.As the result, we may state that city must evolve to correspond to the new status.
conclusion PICTURE This picture shows all participants Kramatorsk: - simple citizens - old citizens - people with disabilities - vehicles - factories ( industry) - residential and public buildings. If you remember history development, this city created almost as ideal city, with wide avenues, green areas for physical recreation of people, cultural centers for psychological recreation of people from a hard day at the factory. Mills served as the main city-forming elements and development of transport and the road network has evolved around them. Over time, increased the number of public electric transport. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the most "idealcitymachine" had stopped and the city began its development without strategic planning. Monitoring of air emissions stopped, the equipment has become worn out and as a consequence, the city became much worse environment. Due to lack of financing this city reduced the number of public electric risen and the number of buses while driving on petrol. Due to the poor quality of health services, poor environmental conditions, began to increase the incidence of, and then death. Now in the city appeared situation where local government try to solve problems, but in the private random check, but not in considering the whole city. Therefore, all the problems we have decided to show the same image.
Bibliography BOOK ■■ В.И. Крихтенко, Л.И. Гетман Мой родной край – моя земля. Краеведческий очерк, Краматорск, 2005 ■■ В.И. Крихтенко , Н.А.Шугалий За нас никто планету не спасет. Краеведческий очерк, Краматорск, 2009 ■■ Решение от 24.09.2008 №21/V – 39, Программа охраны и оздоровления атмосферного воздуха, Краматорск, 2007. ■■ Закон Украины про охрану атмосферного воздуха ■■ Доклад про состояние загрязнения атмосферного воздуха за 2015, Краматорск, 2016. ■■ М .Яцюк, В.Жук, С. Барабаш, Оценка экологического состояния поверхностных водных объектов бассейну Северского Донца, Харьков, 2015 ■■ В.И. Крихтенко, Л.М. Мельник Краматорск в 50-е годы, Краеведческий очерк, Краматорск, 2012 LINKS ■■ http://eco-prom.com.ua/contacts/ ■■ http://www.6264.com.ua/ ■■ http://hi.dn.ua/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1554:2010-03-03-08-55-24&catid=55:kramatorsk& Itemid=147 ■■ http://www.kramatorsk.info/view/14606 ■■ http://old.vp.donetsk.ua/statya.php?vstat=1149 ■■ http://zi.dn.ua/news/v-kramatorske-vyyasnyali-prichiny-problem-s-serdtsem-u-zhiteley-donbassa_6405/ ■■ http://auc.org.ua/ ■■ http://www.shukach.com/uk/node/15791 ■■ http://www.krm.gov.ua/article/view/441
economy
Hidden opportunities of small businesses TEAM: Julia Porkhun, Kate Kaminska, Tolik Niemtsov, Oleksiy Moskalenko
Fieldtrip: a week of interviews and brainstorming
Conducting multilayer research of different economic activities of the city: from large heavy machinery manufacturers to the local bazar (market maybe), helped us to identify two leading threads of how our research will be structured: discovery of hidden opportunities and hidden obstacles of various spheres of local economic life.
Do you get bored by historical facts?
The story will be based on the different information sources from our field trip to the city - interviews with regular local residents, representatives of the biggest plants and SMEs. During one week in Kramatorsk we have tried to figure out what are the particular qualities of the economy of this region, and how they are different from the economy features of other regions in Ukraine and beyond. We aimed to find gaps that need to be filled: either gaps for opportunities or hidden obstacles in the city’s economy.
Economic development of Kramatorsk: a playful overview Digging into the roots: In ancient times famous trading route has passed through Kramatorsk – so called “Milky Way”. Many residents used to trade their goods with passing merchants in this area as a source of the only or an additional income. However, the city grew rapidly from a tiny settlement by a small railway station in 1868 in northern Donbas into one of the major centers of machinery construction of an empire with a large urban settlement.
The another way to tell about it will be the “Planted plant” fairytale: let’s imagine, that Gamper by founding a mechanical plant in the city, brought a seed of the future industry into the fertile ground of Kramatorsk.
History Construction of railway Kursk-Kharkov-Azov was the biggest opportunity of developing of Kramatorsk in XIX century. Availability of railway has prompted appearance of the first big-scale construction materials company that was established by Edgar Adelman. The company was focused on manufacturing tiles and refractory2 bricks for metallurgical plants. The railway along with the further growth of the industry was a crucial point in the development of the city. Such an attractive infrastructure has attracted Conrad Gamper, who launched a mechanical plant (SKMP) in 1896. It was a starting point of developing the future of Kramatorsk as a center of heavy machinery building. Two years later Gamper initiated construction of the first blast furnace in this region. This year was a founding year of Kuibyshev Kramatorsk Metallurgical Plant. Kramatorsk economy: two courses of action The economy of Kramatorsk is complex, it is divided into two major activities: heavy industrial manufacturing and SMEs (small and medium entreprises). While strong leadership
The seed of the industry on the fertile ground of the city and the region had grown rapidly: there was almost perfect weather approximately in the first two decades from the time it was planted. Although, here comes the planned economy along with the birth of the USSR - and the utopian
is common for managing both types of companies, their development paths are different. Large industrial enterprises were created to meet expectations of planned economy and are currently experiencing growing pressure of the global market to be more flexible and responsive. Modernization and general market trends require such companies to be less reliant on labour and to narrow down their products range. On the other hand SMEs were created to meet open market needs and are less sensitive to challenges: launching new products, shifting to another market or using new management model. Some of the large industrial enterprises invest in new internal production capacities with a focus on particular products (Fuhrlander [1]) while the rest of such companies advocate traditional wide product range often proudly referred to as “produce everything”, that is common to companies in Soviet planned economy. Both types of large industrial enterprises experience urgent need to reduce staff, modernize production and conquer new markets. They remain to have the strongest impact on city policy and budget as well as employment situation. [1] In the 2000s, a wind turbine production facility was constructed in
idea to make the planted “tree” of the Kramatorsk industry grow as big as possible and produce as much apples as it could possibly produce is pushed through a heavy propaganda from an “authority tops” to the “bottom” of the navvies.
Kramatorsk. This is a joint venture between German Fuhrländer AG and its Ukrainian partners. Fuhrländer became the first company in the renewable energy sector to obtain a building permit from the Ukrainian government.
Industry in the city: the diagnosys we have today The role of big companies in the city: budget, employment, social life Even though there is a tough situation in the economy of the country in the recent years in overall, the big industrial plants of Kramatorsk are still the most important actors in the city forming. For example, big influence on the city council is coming from NKMZ [2], and they are helping with the city infrastructure as well. The part they are involved is within the public transportation and recreational facilities in the city - the city parks, the House of Culture and other places. Some of “soft”, or social infrastructure facilities, - such as kindergartens, that were owned by NKMZ have became the property of the city recently.
The soviet leaders quickly understood that the “productive tree” of the region can be profitable for the “common good of the nation”, but, rapacious by nature, they wanted more and more. The five-year plans, the heavy exploitation of the workers are “the pesticides” of that period. We all know how pesticides work - you can have a great harvest the first The big enterprises are the biggest employers thus far, with the 45% share. Although, middle and small businesses are not far from them - with 37% and 18% share among people that are employed. However, from the recent tendencies in the city one can say that SMEs are growing, and in the number of employed people, too. Digging into the analysis of the industry in Kramatorsk, we made a conclusion that despite the fact heavy machinery
couple of years, but the quality of land is depleting rapidly. Squeezing the working power and an extensive mental pressure on the workers (and the human resource is the most important in the economic growth), are showing the effects even till now.
being an important component of Ukrainian industry, nowadays this branch is in the decline. To find out what happened,we’ll analyze, where products of heavy machinery were sold and how the profitability of this industry became low. The amount of produced heavy machines was grown from 1991 until 2008. Significant part of sales was to Russia,
which makes the viability of the industry dependent on political relations between two countries. In 2008-2009 production volume decrease during financial crisis and this sector of industry gained the lowest observed values. During those two years Ukraine produced less products than in previous. You can evaluate the scale of the problem: before 2008 Ukraine has never decreased the volume of production. To evaluate the problem in money, we can compare «financial result before tax» in 2007 - 5127,5 millions of hryvnia and the drop to the 704,6 millions in 2008. From 2010 to 2011 export volume increased significantly as well as «financial result before tax» which jumped to 15 081,2 millions of hryvnia in 2011. Everything was changed for ukrainian machine building in 2012. There are several expert’s explanation, why the amount of export is decreasing each year, from that moment: • recession of the internal market; • Russia became the part of WTO [3]; • investments for development of industry were cut • war with Russia in 2014 As a conclusion, we can say, that three main problems of the industry are: • industry dependent on political relations with the main client - Russia • absence of investments into the technologies and re-equipment, which lead to the poor quality of national products. Now they are not meet the requirements of the world market, that’s why we couldn’t change the sales market • the war on the territories, where industry situated If the machine building industry is the core of plants and factories in Kramatorsk and it falling down fast, what will happen to the city’s economy? Where will the people work? What is the next phase of the city development? [2] New Kramatorsk Machninebuilding Plant (NKMP, NKMZ) 1934 design and production of machines and equipment for mining, steel rolling, metallurgy, production and handling of cast iron, artillery weapon systems. [3] World Trade Organization.
The “planted seed” had a complicated lifetime with an influence of really destructive conditions, not only the productive push. We want you, as a careful reader (listener) to perceive the story of the economic development of Kramatorsk through this si mplified
The role of small businesses in the city; The current condition, strengths and weaknesses of development of SMEs From the perspective of our research, we see the small and middle-sized enterprises (SME) as an opportunity for the economy of the city to develop in future. Analysing the data, we found that despite the fact of a big number of small businesses in the city (93% of the all business sector) they are not so “big” yet in the number of employees (18%, for middle-sized - 37%) and the amount of commodities (goods) they provide to the market. Although, there is an opposite side. From the analysis of qualitative data we found, we can say that there is an already defined number of weaknesses of small and medium business sector in the recent years - shortage of skilled employees and the wage level, low percent of industry among small and medium businesses, rising prices of energy resources, high interest rate for loans, unstable national currency, shadow economy, talent drain and many more.
“fairy tale” about the lifecycle of the planted tree for you to feel how certain conditions can construct the reality we live in today.
However, Kramatorsk SME demonstrate sustainable development by steadily increasing staff and/or improving efficiency. There is also a growing influence in local socioeconomic life that was mostly in the sphere of activities of large enterprises prior to 2014. Such positive economic records were mentioned by international organisations (UNDP) whose main economic support is being given to SMEs. Combination of the following factors provides Kramatorsk with competitive advantages that will boost local entrepreneurship: • existing developed railway infrastructure • proximity to various industrial manufacturers and technical universities • supportive local government with demand for change • spacious and green city • cultural and economic integration with surrounding competitive cities (Slovyansk, Druzhkovka etc.) • emphasize on the city as an administrative center of Donetsk region
Even after replacing a part of the machine-building industry to Ural, - the branches, or sprouts that were still fruitful, and an impact of the Second World War in general, - the tree survived. Maybe, the course of actions for the revitalisation of the tree was not made in the better possible way - we
Different types of influence: SME versus the industry Opposed to the top-down influence of the big enterprises on a processes within the city development and the “soft” infrastructure, the small business owners are going in the same direction by a bottom-up approach. While the big industries more focused on inner city processes, it seems that activities organised by a club of entrepreneurs may be an opportunity for opening the city to the broader audience - festivals and other events can be an attractor for the outer world.
Trends in SMEs During our field trip in Kramatorsk, we’ve made a lot of interviews and findings, but for our research we defined two main focal points, as was mentioned above, - the hidden opportunities and the hidden obstacles. There is quite a lot written material about problems and obstacles in the region and in Ukraine in general, but what is missing is the positive perspective of the development, and we are eager to fill this gap.
could have taken into an example what other countries do. Instead, even in the beginning of our country independence times, we wanted the tree to function as it was before during the prosperous soviet planned economy.
Entrepreneurs club Developing the scenario of hidden opportunities, this story will reveal the [hidden] potential of networking and collaboration between people, to illustrate how a community building can help the city. Diving in the metaphors, one can say, that the pervasive worship of labor, which developed during soviet times, has gone through the process of evolution to the contemporary world in a different form - possibly, into the rudiments of entrepreneurial spirit. Through the timeline of this evolution, there were more barriers for development, rather than possibilities. Maybe, that was the factor that defined this shift in generations - when you push an idea too hard, the next generation pushes it back. Possibly, being a teenager in the family of a plant workers who are so dedicated to the so-called “labor ideal” and restrict their lifestyle to the work-sleep-work cycle, raises a rebel spirit: you do not want to be as your parents, to repeat their mistakes, to continue to live the same lifestyle of oppressed worker. This, probably, raises an aspiration towards controlling things/people around themselves, and not to be controlled by the authorities. The metaphor illustrated in the “planted plant” fairytale, extend the subject
The fall of the soviet union had a huge impact on the industry - on the “planted plant” of Kramatorsk, that was growing from the time Gumper brought a seed to the fertile ground of the region. Some local authorities, trying to stay in a shadow, were still using all possible instruments to “harvest some apples”. Along with the shortage of industry, of appearance of new businesses from a seed [apples] that fell into the ground - that’s how the generations change. . The entrepreneurs club, from our perspective, is a quite good example of collaborative spirit between the actors of the city’s economy and activists, engaged in social activities. Even more, some members of the club are both holders of a profitable business and active in the life of the city. How has it began? Here is a bit of a structure of the Entrepreneurs club: the club started 6 years ago and nowadays it has 30 members. It started as an initiative to exchange experiences, help each other with issues within the business field, as an inner circle of informal education on entrepreneurship. The club exist more as a confined structure, - to became a member you need a recommendation from three club’s members - amongst other requirements, but it developed a strong connection with a variety of people who are outside of the club. Among the people who collaborates with the club, there are city officials as well as students and ordinary citizens. The club’s board has 7 representatives, and the chairperson is chosen by voting once a year. Among the club’s “constitution” there is such principles as: • development of the city and the community • maintaining fair competition spirit • uprightness of the promotion, advertisement, quality of goods and commodities
a huge unemployment occurs. The roots of the tree are rotting, but the seeds of the fallen apples [caused by the wind of the economical change] started to grow. It is a new possibility - maybe, through the process of inoculation the new tree species can grow - and the city will become more diverse in its economic possibilities.
• the main qualities of business relations are dignity and fairness. • an entrepreneur is the man of his word. Club members are involved in different businesses: IT, autogenous equipment production, restaurants and cafes business, catering, building materials sales, jewelry production, florist shops, pharmacies, tourism agencies and so on - and we think that affects multilayer influence of entrepreneurs club. There is almost equal number of women and men in the club, and the members are mostly middle-aged people. The club maintains a strong network relations with other non-governmental organisations in the city - for example, with the women’s club “Pani” - they organised comparatively big events in the city together. The entrepreneurs club attracted our attention because of their social activity - the number and the scale of events they organised seemed huge for such a “small and depressive”, as one might think, city as Kramatorsk, considering the war and the crisis of recent years. Even more, judging by the interview, the members of the club are telling that this shift in their social activity in terms of events happened a one or two years ago.
The events mentioned the most often were “The melody of embodied towel”, “Haivki”, Independence day, “Maslenitsa” and others, including celebrations of traditional holidays, either religious or governmental, as well as set-ups of subbotniks (volunteer work days). The first of mentioned above festivals was connected with the big happening - the local artisans created an embodied towel of a record size - literally, - it was registered afterwards in the book of Ukrainian records. The story about Independence day was really touching: the woman claimed, that it was the most emotive and powerful celebration from the very beginning of actual independent years [more precisely - decades] of Ukraine from USSR. It was even dangerous to celebrate it openly - but the more and more people engaged - the safer and more exciting the motion was becoming. “Maslenitsa” happened during our field trip, and we consider it a good example of combining a social event with a fair, profitable for small business owners. Actually, almost all of events like this give the good ground for entrepreneurs to promote their business as well as a platform of entertainment for ordinary citizens. It can be the point where opportunity emerges - the club which started mostly as a closed structure for helping each other with business development, transformed into the community network and an event creator quite rapidly. Maybe, it was the influence of the recent years - the Revolution and the war - it was precisely mentioned in the talk about Independence day and as overall reasoning of people becoming active: the crisis had a psychological effect on some people - “if you want changes to the better future - you should start/participate by yourself; under the influence of the war you want to rethink your life with more fulfilment in it”. Maybe, the new but active entrepreneurs club is an interpretation of recently popular in the world trend of “creative businesses, building networks and communities, etc” which only started to become popular in Ukraine in the past few years, - but the citizens of Kramatorsk definitely have their own vision of networking in entrepreneurship even without knowing what is trending in the rest of the world now? Which is, for sure, an opportunity to develop.
Coffee set (pots and 2 cups) It was the second day of our field trip, and, unexpectedly, we were invited to go to a tour by a car with a local guy, who showed us Kramatorsk, the main plants and factories and the city market before. He proposed to go to Slovyansk to get a quick overlook of the city. Near this city, historically significant military actions took place, and the city itself has a totally different mentality, from his point of view. At the end of the tour through the city and the interview, he proposed to go to the ceramic market in Slovyansk - to buy some souvenirs. The first big surprise was the existence of the ceramic market itself in Slovyansk. The thing is, that there are several well-known places in Ukraine where you can buy ceramics: Sorochintsy Fair, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Carpathian Mountains. But Slovyansk... Are you kidding me? A little bit later, we have heard from the locals, that, first of all, there are several different clay deposits near Slovyansk with three different types of clay: fire-clay, bentonite clays, clayey materials. The second reason, why people are making ceramic goods - because they have knowledge about production technology from the 19’s century. There were several big plants in Slovyansk during Soviet Union period, which produced machines for ceramic manufactory and ceramic products, raw ceramic mass. As an example, products of the «Slavic ceramic plant» have been used in the construction of the Soviet industrial “giants”.
As we looked for hidden treasures during our research, in the word “ceramic” we found a hidden opportunity for manufacturing ceramic goods, both mass production and hand-made. On the ceramic market there was a variety of magnets, pots, cups, plates and even garden sculptures. We asked the old women: “How much does the coffee pot cost?” “It costs 40 uah. But if you’ll take two more cups the whole set will cost 45 uah.”, - she answered. 45? Is it possible? You can buy only a coffee in the cafe in Kyiv for this money! So, we bought two different sets and came back to our team. “Where did you buy it?” “In the ceramic market in Slovyansk.” “Ceramic market in Slovyansk? Seriously? An how much does it cost?” “How much will you give for it?” “160 uah for the coffee pot.” “And with cups?” “At least 200 uah.” Our team was interested, how much would pay for this set our friends from social networks? At the evening survey was posted to Facebook. We got near 30 results from friends living in Ukraine and 10-15 results from people, who lived abroad. The lowest results was in 2,5 times higher, than real one. The best result was in 19 times higher than real price. We decided don’t stop just on survey, but to research if we could find the same sets in the internet. We found same
sets at the olx.ua, on-line shop from Ivano-Frankivsk, etsy. com and amazon.com All existing results had higher prices, than products on the market in Slovyansk. During internet research I remembered the question to old women on the market. “Do you use internet to sell your products?” “Internet? No. I have no time for it, a lot of work on the market.” Unfortunately, we have no information about influence of ceramic manufacturing on economic of Slovyansk, but from the words of local citizens, there are more than 600 households, who are working at the shadow in small studios around the city. Personal perception of business opportunities in ceramic production in Slovyansk I could describe with the quote of our team member: “I will open my business here and will drive a ferrari’”. But. To be successful business the entrepreneurs should change: • the design and diversity of their products, because mostly vases and tableware, are outdated and could be attractive only for our grannies. • the service, because ceramic packed in newspaper without cute labels and packages. • the palace, because small dirty market near the train station isn’t a good location for tourists. • the information about ceramic in Slovyansk, because now google shows only pictures about war associated with the city and no ceramic in the results at all.
Olga. How many people are working in QuartSoft? Near 100 people. When did your company appear? It was officially created in 2000. Where did your programmers graduate from? DGMA more than 90%, I graduated from this Academy too! Oh, really? Yep, in 1996. But we have graduates from Kharkiv, Donetsk, Mariupol, Avdeevka. Excuse me, but do you have corporate clothing style? Oh, no! If you talk about a costume, it helps to me with my tasks outside the company. Banks, government structures, official persons, people in the entrepreneurs club, they all they treat me better when I wear a suit. This is the mentality. Serious people wear suits. At this moment, Tanya with cappuccino came in. I could not believe my eyes. She was dressed in a white robe and cap, she looked like how the girl from the Soviet cafeteria. “It is an IT factory...” - I thought. Do you have staff turnover in your company? Does
The «IT Factory»
(Interview with Serhiy Kondratyuk) Diving into the economy of the Kramatorsk, we planned to look into the IT sector. IT is a promising direction for Ukraine in general and for Kramatorsk in particular, because there are a lot of technical specialists after graduating from DGMA could change their speciality and become programmers. As a bonus, IT company doesn’t need special materials (clay, metal, chalk) or infrastructure (plant, machines) - just smart people with technical knowledge, intermediate level of English and notebooks. The meeting with IT company [4] was set up during the preparation phase of the field trip in Kyiv. We had following questions for the research. Does QuartSoft as a biggest IT company have an influence on the city? Does Kramatorsk could be a part of the Ukrainian Silicon Valley? How many IT companies based in the city? We got used to see glamorous girls on HR positions and hipster managers of the company during the meetings at the coworking spaces of the IT companies, but the meeting at the QuartSoft looked a little bit different. We were met by strict women in a costume, Olga, who has a position of director’s assistant in public relations. Cabinet in which we were waiting for the director was prepared for big delegation with bottled water, cookies and other sweets. At the head of the table was situated place o director. Right after us director came in. “My name is Serhiy Kondratyuk. Nice to meet you!” It was a man in a costume. IT guy in a costume. Tiny amusement. The feeling, that we were not in IT company increased, when I saw a small neat silver badge with company’s logo on his coat floor. “Do you want some tea or coffee, before we will start?” “Yes. Cappuccino please.” “Tanya will bring it in two minutes, let’s start.”, - proposed
your company suffering from it? Before the war we were the main place for people growing and studying. Seriously. It was our model of work. DGMA sent to us up to 10 graduates each year, they were studying our three months course. After successful finishing our program, recent graduates worked for our company 1-2 years and left company, moving to another city(Kharkiv, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk) or just to another company in Kramatorsk. After the war “quality” of students decreased and we rethought this strategy with newbies. The company stopped hire people just after the university and “текучка” almost disappeared. If in 2011 we had 20-25%, in 2015 it was only 3% Does somebody move abroad? It’s such a rare situation... I can remember only 3 people who moved abroad, but our company exists 17 years! How do you think, why people don’t do it? As I know, it is a problem even for IT companies in Dnepropetrovsk - specialists leaving Ukraine and moving to Poland, Germany. If to be true, I’ve never thought about it, but I have an explanation. Kramatorsk is “provincial” town. Even moving to another city is a huge step for our people, who don’t travel and don’t have high ambitions. Seems like another country
isn’t a dream at all. But it is not bad! I like Kramatorsk, here live my relatives, here is my house. This city doesn’t hurry up. I hate Kyiv for that (smiling), especially people in underground. IS it REALLY important to on the moving staircase to be earlier for 1-2 minutes? How did you manage a situation in the company during the war? We have two more offices now: one is in Ivano-Frankivsk and the second one - Cherkassy. Office in Ivano-Frankivsk appeared just because of 3 people, who said, that they want to move there when the situation in Kramatorsk became unstable. But they have a desire to stay with QuartSoft, that’s why we were not against this idea. In general, office in Ivano-Frankivsk is inconvenient, because we need to ride there 1.5 days. It’s too long. When military activities have started, the first part of a team went to Kyiv, another one - to Dnipropetrovsk. During one month we lost a half of people from those teams. They just found another job with a bigger salary. When came time to evacuate people, we moved them with their families to Cherkassy. Cherkassy? Unexpected choice. Why there? I had several logical reasons to choose Cherkassy: It should be a city I could reach in one-day route, maximum. There should be 30 flats for rent at one moment. No hungry IT companies in the city. The city shouldn’t be in a hurry. Cherkassy even slower, than Kramatorsk! (laughs) When we moved, I had a position: we are living here as if we will stay forever. That’s why we rented office and hired people. We were based in Cherkassy one year. On the 10th of February in 2015 we came back to Kramatorsk. We left the office with 10 people who were hired in Cherkassy.
Kramatorsk
Ivano-frankivsk
Cherkasy
The interview has 3 hours duration and was interesting till the very last minute. We heard a lot of interesting information about hiring policy of the company, competitors in IT sphere of Kramatorsk, education of people inside the company, about social activity and volunteers programs where QuartSoft takes part. But the main conclusions are the following: • flexibility and mobility of the IT company is a big plus, especially in the time after the war • company could look a little bit outdated, but it is really important to have a modern system of thinking with common values • in small city people have a tight connection with the place, where they live, that’s why they interested in the city development. • In conclusion, Kramatorsk as well as surrounding cities possess materials, infrastructure, labour and craftsmanship suitable for successful business development. However, local entrepreneurs lack expertise in international markets, sales and customer-driven services. Global mindset and foreign language skills also could boost SMEs perspectives in an unprecedented pace. Local entrepreneurs are dedicated to systematic improvement of business climate and demonstrate longterm vision for economic development of the region. Opposite to industrial giants, SMEs cooperate with each other on numerous matters and exhibit reactive approach to market needs.
Bibliography ■■ «New Year celebration in QuartSoft», last modified January 21, 2016, http://blog.quartsoft.com. ua/2016/01/blog-post.html ■■ «Financial results before taxation of industrial activity with distribution to large and medium-sized enterprises in January-September 2015», last modified December 24, 2015, http://www.ukrstat. gov.ua/operativ/operativ2015/fin/fin_rez/fn_pr_ vsm/fn_pr_vsm_u/fn_pr_vs_u_315.htm ■■ «From the history of Kramatorsk», http://www.kramatorsk.info/kraeved/ m%D1%96sk%D1%96-ta-rayonn%D1%96organ%D1%96zac%D1%96%D1%97html/ v%D1%96euken-uke-rhtml/
iz-istorii-goroda-kramatorska.html ■■ «History of Kramatorsk», last modified March 29, 2016, https://scontentwaw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/ t1.0-9/11261030_510545569107475_ 6244559951960061337_n.jpg?oh=9f864ffb05639f1ca a22e16581926aca&oe=5793730E ■■ «Kramatorsk. Cache», last modified November 12, 2012, http://www.shukach.com/uk/node/15791 ■■ Facebook community «Entrepreneurs club of Kramatorsk», https://www.facebook.com/ kpkramatorsk/photos
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