The laying of the cornerstone of the future Nikitino Zaporozhian Sich memorial on April 16 in the southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol marked the beginning of the Historic Revival program funded by the Ukrainian steel giant Interpipe Corp. This is further proof that after achieving an adequately high financial status, big capitalists begin contributing to the cultural and social needs of the nation. It appears that this process is getting underway in Ukraine. The president himself addressed the business community, saying that it is time to spend money on Ukrainian history. This was one of many topics discussed at a news conference in Nykopol, where the city fathers, Interpipe representatives, and historians made a joint appeal for restoring the memory of the Cossack epoch. They believe that in this way we can contribute to building a fully- fledged Ukrainian identity.
Recounting historical facts, Nikopol Mayor Serhiy Starun said that today the Zaporozhian Sich on the island of Khortytsia has undeservedly stolen much of the limelight, while Nykopol, which was home to five of the eight Cossack Sich republics in the Dnipro River region, is overlooked. He thinks it is high time this cradle of Ukrainian statehood was commemorated, but the city is on a tight budget, and there is no government program to provide funding for a monument.
The idea to build the Nikitino Zaporozhian Sich Memorial was proposed by the city’s community, or city hall to be more specific, while Interpipe agreed to bankroll it. According to the History Revival project manager, Mykyta Poturayev, Ukrainian businesses are simply obliged to come forward with socially significant programs to help develop a concept of Ukrainian mentality: “We are certain that by pooling the resources of large Ukrainian businesses and using contributions from the local community, famous Ukrainian scholars, and ethnographers, we will return the old glory to Nikopol as the center of Cossack Ukraine. Meanwhile, the memorial of Cossack glory will spark the revival of society’s genuine interest in Ukrainian culture in the Dnipropetrovsk region and in Ukraine in general.” The corporation’s representatives are also certain that the program will be conducive to reviving the history, national values, and spirituality of the Ukrainian nation. They hope that this project will attract government agencies, scholars, researchers, ethnographers, the general public, and everybody who is not indifferent to Ukraine’s past, present, and future. Besides the construction of the memorial, the program envisions archeological exploration of territories along the middle and lower reaches of the Dnipro.
The region’s scholars welcomed the news enthusiastically. Nykopol Ethnography Museum deputy director Myroslav Zhukovsky says that even today the territory of the oblast, which was always embroiled in wars, offers “unique things,” such as old barrows, medieval cities and settlements shown on 18th-century maps, etc. There is an interesting story to the Nikitino Sich, which was long believed to have been flooded by the Kakhovka dam lake. It turns out that its exact location has been discovered in archival records.
However, as Dnipropetrovsk State University history professor Iryna Kovaliova pointed out, “archeology is the province of the rich,” and when you undertake it without money, any research work becomes extremely difficult. But it seems that the Nikitino Sich is luckier. Interpipe plans to finance the construction of the memorial and archeological explorations of layers from the Cossack epoch under any conditions, even though Interpipe representatives prefer not to talk numbers.
At the moment it is still hard to imagine what the memorial will look like. According to a preliminary blueprint presented by Vasyl Povstiuk, chief of the architecture and municipal development department at Nykopol City Hall, it will include the Holy Protection Church, a barrow with a sentinel tower, several huts, and a well. Journalists were not given any other specifics aside from the completion date of October 14.
The church will dominate the memorial. Since no one knows for sure what the original church looked like, logs — a classic material used in Cossack building — and three cupolas, as depicted on ancient engravings, will be used to recreate the new church. Mounted inside the church will be a dome cross, beneath which Bohdan Khmelnytsky prayed, according to chronicles, and a Staurothek icon with a fragment of the true cross, which the Ecumenical Patriarch bestowed on the Cossacks for their dedicated service to the faith. There is an equal amount of uncertainty around the Sich blueprint. According to Myroslav Zhukovsky, a detailed blueprint can be prepared only after completing archeological explorations, which will paint a better picture of this Cossack republic.
So far the site of its probable location is virtually empty, except for a recreated section of the moat and embankment and the remains of a dam lake that has the same contours as the Dnipro delta in these parts.
Speaking with The Day after the cornerstone-laying ceremony, Mayor Starun said that to complete the project by October 14, the 400th anniversary of the legendary Cossack hetman Ivan Sirko, archeologists will be working with construction workers. All valuable items unearthed in the process will be passed to the state.
Construction work will proceed at a fast pace. Since most Cossack buildings were made of logs, Povstiuk does not expect the work to pose any difficulties for today’s construction workers. The construction of the church might prove difficult, but given the generous funding from Interpipe, any problems will be easily resolved. Even if some unexpected archeological discovery fundamentally changes current data on the Sich, the log structures can be refashioned to fit a new description without much trouble. Therefore, even without a definitive blueprint, which is expected to be prepared no sooner than May, there is no doubt that the memorial will be completed on time.
According to Poturayev, this historical complex will attract tourists to Nykopil. To this end the city fathers have planned another site: the dam lake will be expanded, and scale models of all eight Cossack Sich republics will be built on artificial islands. Tourists will be able to familiarize themselves with a large part of the Ukrainian Cossacks’ material history assembled in this open-air museum.
Another element in the complex designed to remind Ukrainians who they are and where they come from will be a monument at Ivan Sirko’s gravesite. The remains of the legendary hetman, who came to symbolize Ukraine’s liberation struggle, were reburied five times before he found eternal piece in a barrow located a short distance from the Dnipro. According to a design created by architects hired by Interpipe, the surrounding scenery — the vast fields and Dnipro slopes — together with an imposing monument will complement the memorial and show the world that Ukrainians are proud of their past and want the present and future of our country to be no less glorious.
