A half of a century passed since that time when the villages near Cherkassy disappeared in the water of Dnieper river, but the former villagers still remember those florid meadows and lakes full of fish. In Cherkassy regional museum there is a map of the biggest water basin on the Dnieper - Kremenchutsk water basin. Black spots on it show us the inhabited territory with the settlements that later became submergence area. Totally 212 settlements (39,600 homesteads – that makes 133 000 people). In that list we meet such old cossaks villages - Samovicya, Mutikhi and Bil'ki. These villages were well known since the XVI century. They were located 5 kilometers away from Cherkassy on the left bench of the Dnieper.

The construction of Kremenchutsk water basin started in 1954 and in 7 years the level of water reached desirable point. Generally, there were 6 water basins created along the Dnieper river. All these water basins were created to produce electricity, to improve water transportation and navigation, for better water supply of factory and plants, to increase irrigation and fish industry, to minimize floods and to develop water kinds of sports.  But, "good intentions" brought us to frightful reality: a result of water basin construction is a great ecological disaster, a balanced water flow in nature is completely changed, the environment of the Pridniprovskiy valley  with agreat number of lakes, forests, rivers all its fauna and flora  was completely  destroyed. But the biggest problems faced the inhabitants of the flooded area. People were taken away from their native land.
In the web site you can find historical information and manuscripts of regional ethnographer K.F.Kushnir-Marchenko (1877-1956) and colonel in retirement P.P Luta (1936-2008), documents of Cherkassy and Poltava regional archives, stories and legends of old-timers. In the catalogue of the articles you may find the eyewitnesses  stories, interesting information about history, culture, way of life of habitants of the flooded villages of Samovicya, Mutikhi, Bil'ki. Many of us do not know their great-grandparents. This site will help to find information about the history of your family. 

This website is created by the grandchild of Kostenko Stepan Vasyliovich(a habitant of flooded village Samovicya) - Fay Vladyslav Anatoliyovich,  using materials, collected by the uncle – Lut  Mykola  Oleksandrovych.