Botanical garden and garbage sorting: how to promote unpopular solutions in Ukrainian communities

At 22, Artem Kukharenko has headed the village of Podilske in the Cherkasy region, and last fall, he became the head of the Novodmytrivska united territorial community, which includes 18 villages. During the 5 years of his administration in Podilske, Artem Kukharenko hosted dozens of TV crews who told about the youngest village head of Ukraine. Thanks to his personality, Podilske became recognizable, and the locals were even partially weary of attention.

Kukharenko's cadence in Podilske is notable, first, for his innovative approach as the young village head. Not all of his decisions found a positive response from residents, though. The reason is that most of these decisions and ideas aren't inherent in the Ukrainian countryside realities.

We won't repeat complementary theses from TV channels, and based on Artem's experience of implementing unpopular decisions in rural areas, we will provide a guide for young and enterprising people—how to overcome resistance and when to compromise to make your place progressive and comfortable.