The Sich will be rebuilt near Ivan Sirko’s grave

The Chortomlyk Sich [a Cossack fort. – Ed.], also known as the Old Sich, is to be rebuilt in the south of Dnipropetrovsk oblast in the vicinity of the village of Kapulivka, where the legendary otaman Ivan Sirko is buried. This was announced at a press conference in Nikopol held by the newly elected mayor Ruslan Tokar. The vice-speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Mykola Tomenko and the head of the Khortytsia National Reserve Maksym Ostapenko arrived in Nikopol to visit a presentation of the project to rebuild the Sich.

“This year we mark the 155th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding historian Dmytro Yavornytsky. We aligned our project on the development of Cossack history in Dnipropetrovsk oblast with this event. Since last year we have been, so to speak, collecting the siches all over Ukraine. The Kamianka Sich in Kherson oblast is now a branch of the Khortytsia National Reserve. We are convinced that the area around Nikopol, as home to five Cossack siches, should be included in the historical sightseeing routes of Ukraine,” said Tomenko.

According to the mayor of Nikopol, the Chortomlyk Sich is expected to be built approximately in a year’s time. “I want the Sich to rise near Kapulivka, and it will rise there! We are all going to build it, slow but steady, the town and the raion; and I am convinced that the oblast authorities and state will not stand aside either. I think that in a year we will open the Chortomlyk Sich. We are going to join the tourist network and receive guests from abroad. Nikopol will add a new side to its profile,” said Tokar.

The new mayor, 35, a business owner nominated by a minor party The Just Country, won in a landslide, beating his predecessor Serhii Starun, a Party of Regions nominee. During the campaign, Tokar’s candidacy was backed by national patriotic parties including Svoboda (Freedom). The newly elected mayor became well known in Nikopol when he upgraded the former factory boiler house and proved that the municipality can provide heating at reduced prices.