What is the Great Meadow?

The historical name of the region in the Dnieper floodplains, considered the cradle of the 24 Channel, Zaporozhian Cossacks, is Velikiy Lug. As historians note, they used to say in ancient times that “Sich is mother and Velikiy Lug is father”.

Velikiy Lug is about 20 kilometers wide and 100 kilometers long. Here deciduous forests grew—oaks, aspen, and willows—and numerous meadows stretched out cut by canals, lakes, and swamps. Many animals lived here: hares, wild boars, marten, wolves. foxes, deer, fish.

But the most important thing is that this place became one of the centers of the Cossacks, a symbol of the freedom of the Zaporozhians. The following were built here at different times:

• Tomakivska Sich, which is considered the first and existed from 1564 to 1593.
• Bazavlutska Sich (1593–1630 years).
• Mykytynska Sich (1628–1652 years).
• Chortomlytska Sich (1652–1709).
• Kamianska Sich (1709–1711)
• Nova Sich, also known as Pidpilnetska (1734–1775).
• And the island of Khortytsia, where the Zaporizhia Sich is located, was a kind of upper part of the Great Meadow.

On this map you can see the location of each Sichi along with their period of existence / Photo Library and “Slovo” Information Center

Velikiy Lug can undoubtedly be called one of the main symbols of Ukraine and Ukrainian identity. This place defined and carried forward history, laying the foundations for the future of the entire state and the perspective of its inhabitants. Under the soil layers there is evidence of the ancient stay of the Cossacks on these lands – settlements, ancestral burials, cultural and craft evidence and much more.

However, there are also older archaeological sites here: settlements from the Kievan Rus period, Scythian tombs and mounds from the Bronze Age, city walls from the period of the Principality of Lithuania, etc. It’s hard to imagine how many monuments can be found deep within the layers of soil and silt that now come to the surface. The Great Meadow was a haven for many cultures for centuries, and even Herodotus in his writings described this place by describing the beginning of the land of Scythian farmers and ranchers.

Velikiy Lug on the map / Photo: Ukrinform

This is where the first enemy came from

The Soviet authorities and Russia, like their distant ancestors, tried to erase this memory from the history of Ukraine. For us, remembering our roots meant, and it means understanding that we are separate, separate, and independent from the barbarian confederation that calls ourselves states and builds an empire on the shoulders of enslaved peoples.

In 1950, the construction of the Kakhovskaya HEPP began. The final step in the Dnipro series of hydroelectric power plants had to fulfill several functions:

• The first is to provide electricity to the country. The communists were building grandiose plans for the electrification of their empire, and multiple dams were supposed to help.
• The second is to irrigate the surrounding lands and divert the water to the Crimean Peninsula. As Ukrinform points out, the idea of ​​developing and irrigating these new lands is rather vague, as thousands of hectares of arable land, 36 thousand hectares of hay and meadows were destroyed during the construction of the reservoir and power plant.
• Third, to serve as additional protection in case of war. In the event of an attack on the USSR, the authorities planned to blow up the dams and flood large areas, blocking the passage of troops that could advance from the West.
• Fourth, as historians say today, erasing the memory of the past, hiding all the evidence under tons of water. The water that filled the plain separated us from all the monuments of the past waiting to be discovered in this region.

Veliky Lug Map, 1894 / Photo Library and Information Center “Slovo”

what is it now

Already online affordable There are numerous reports of black archaeologists rushing into the waterless areas of the Kakhovsky Reservoir. In the regions of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Odessa, diggers with metal detectors became operational. They hope to find valuable treasures here, including those from the Second World War, to sell to private collections and erase forever from Ukrainian history.

We have a unique opportunity to reclaim at least some of the lost history, but the countdown has begun in days and hours.