Discover Shchaslyve

Shchaslyve’s local history can be explored through a range of topics: the history of village life, the biography of an honorary citizen, and a hiking route in the wider region. If you are planning a stay, you can consider these topics separately and decide which ones matter most for your trip.

Village history in its historical context

Ivan Kocherzhenko was an active organizer of collectivization and dekulakization in four villages, including Shchaslyve in Kirovohrad Oblast. His activities establish a specific connection between the village and these historical terms. Kocherzhenko’s manuscript was researched and published as a book in 2025.

This approach focuses on history in a village and regional context. Shchaslyve is one of the four villages mentioned; Kocherzhenko’s role therefore cannot be reduced to a single place. For travelers interested in local history, this historical connection complements the biographies that are also linked to Shchaslyve.

Farming customs and everyday life

The book “I Heard Everything, I Saw Everything” contains descriptions of farming customs, clothing, footwear, and food. It is based on notes by Ivan Kocherzhenko, who was the village head of Shchaslyve at the time.

Alongside Kocherzhenko’s role as an organizer, this offers a perspective on the subjects recorded in his notes. Those exploring the village’s history can thus distinguish political history from descriptions of farming life rather than combining them into a single topic. The book offers a different focus from a purely biographical account.

Mykhailo Hryhorovych Baisak and Shchaslyve

Mykhailo Hryhorovych Baisak was a rear admiral, military official, and writer, as well as an honorary citizen of Shchaslyve. He was born in 1921 in the then-village of Ovnyanka, now called Shchaslyve. The two place names situate his birthplace in time: Ovnyanka refers to the village at the time of his birth, while Shchaslyve is its current name.

The relevant veterans’ and district authorities passed a resolution to install a memorial plaque to Baisak on the school building in Shchaslyve. He took part in the defense of Sevastopol in 1941–1942. His biography therefore connects his origins and status as an honorary citizen with his military career. Unlike Kocherzhenko’s role in several villages, the local connection here lies especially in Baisak’s birth in the former Ovnyanka and the resolution to install a memorial plaque in Shchaslyve.

A hiking route in the wider region

The Popelnaste–Hramivka–Popelnaste route is described as a regional excursion. A route description dated April 14, 2026, calls it a one-day hike lasting five to six hours. According to the description, children and older people are expected to travel by car. The route is a separate regional option alongside Shchaslyve’s historical topics.

If you would like to include this hike in your travel plans, check the latest route information in advance. This will help you take the stated duration and suggested modes of transport into account when planning.

More destinations

Discover more destinations: Subottsi, Velyka Vyska, Kalachivka, Kirovohrad, Dobrovelychkivka, Svitlovodsk, Holovanivs'k, Kapitanivka.

Go to the main travel overview: Kirovohrad Oblast.