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Mykhailo Labunets

Mykhailo Labunets was a Ukrainian economic manager, general director of the Krymkanalbud Trust in 1963–1985, and the head of construction of the North Crimean Canal. He was a native of the Chernihiv region.

Overview

For almost two decades (1963–1985), Labunets headed the Krymkanalbud Trust, which directly built the North Crimean Canal — the longest hydraulic system in Europe, which delivered Dnipro water from the Kakhovka Reservoir through Perekop to Crimea. The canal became his life's work.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Position: General Director of the Krymkanalbud Trust (1963–1985).
  • Origin: A native of the Chernihiv region.
  • Attitude toward the canal: In his later years, he lived to see the decline of his own creation; he emphasized: "Without the North Crimean Canal there will be no Crimea, no harvests, no normal water supply!"
  • River of Life. Part Two: The Flow — an essay by Valerii Verkhovskyi ("Krymska svitlytsia", 2016, No. 42), which provides a biographical note and a direct quote from Mykhailo Labunets.
  • North Crimean Canal — the hydraulic system whose construction Labunets headed.