(historical article)

In the early 1960s, the quiet village of Vyshgorod, just outside Kyiv, stood on the brink of profound change. The decision to build the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant, made in 1959, transformed the area from a rural settlement into a growing urban center. While the power plant represented industrial progress, it also brought irreversible loss to many local communities.

Construction began in 1960, and within eight years, the plant was operational — at an impressive pace. However, preparing the reservoir of nearly 1,000 square kilometers required the forced displacement of around 30,000 people and the destruction of 52 villages, including Starosillia, which bordered Vyshgorod.

Today, Vyshhorod’s riverside promenade stands where Starosillia once did. Only one street, Starosilska, preserves the name and memory of the village. Local resident Valentyna Osypova recalls the sorrowful reaction when Soviet authorities told people to leave:

“The women wailed as if at a funeral. The whole village cried for days.”

Many resisted evacuation. Those who refused until the last moment were forcibly relocated to Stari Petrivtsi. Others stayed in Vyshgorod, living in temporary barracks, compensated with as little as 500–1,000 rubles for their homes.

“They got help with building materials, but had to rebuild themselves,” says Ruslan Bondarenko, from the Vyshgorod Historical and Cultural Reserve.
“Authorities weren’t really concerned with the well-being of the displaced.”

After relocation, the site of Starosillia was excavated to create the dam. With few other jobs available, most of Vyshhorod’s residents joined the construction effort.
Paraskevia Veyda, now 80, remembers:

“There was only the kolkhoz, paying for workdays. But the dam project offered real wages — 200 rubles a month — so everyone went to work there.”

The excavated soil was dumped on Vyshhorod’s outskirts, where new residential areas were built for workers and displaced villagers. These neighborhoods are still known as Pisky (The Sands).

“I was given a room in one of the new buildings near the dam,” recalled Semen Potashnyk, the HPP’s first director.
“From these first buildings, today’s Vyshgorod began to grow.”

As the power plant rose, so did the town. In 1962, workers opened the first kindergarten (“Lastivka”) and Vyshgorod School No. 1. The Kyiv HPP launched in 1964, reaching full power in 1968, the same year Vyshgorod gained city status. By 1973, it became a district center.

The Kyiv HPP played a key role in Vyshhorod’s urban and economic development. It created jobs, housing, and infrastructure. Yet this progress came at a cost — the loss of homes, communities, and cultural identity. The transformation of Vyshgorod remains a powerful reminder that the march of progress often walks hand-in-hand with sacrifice.