By Mykola Babak Foundation
With the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation
Chroniclers of the Ukrainian Village
In the past century, nearly every Ukrainian village had its own photographer — an unseen chronicler of local history. This unique phenomenon saw a single artist capture the lives of villagers from birth to death. Through their lens, everything was recorded.
Hryhoriy Lupiy (1884–1965)
Born in the village of Voronyntsi (now Zolotonosha District, Cherkasy Oblast). His family owned two dessiatines of land, which were later confiscated by the Soviet authorities. In the collective farm, he worked as a general laborer, mainly as a mower.
H.Lupiy took up photography in the 1920s. Provided photographic services not only to his fellow villagers, but also to residents of many nearby settlements in the Chornobai region. Worked with a rare large-format studio-field camera (18×24 cm negative format) made by Anatoliy Verner's workshop in Kharkiv, fitted with a German Zeiss Ikon lens. During World War II, retreating Nazi forces burned down his house, destroying his pre-war photo archive. Most of his post-war negatives were also lost.
Omelyan Bondarenko (1886–1951)
Born in the village of Velyka Burimka (now Zolotonosha District, Cherkasy Oblast) into the family of a wealthy peasant, Pavlo Bondarenko. Graduated from the Velyka Burimka parochial school.
At the age of 16, his father sent him as an apprentice to the well-known Zolotonosha photographer I. Brahinsky, where he learned the craft. In 1903, he began his independent photography practice using a "Voigtländer & Sohn" studio-field camera (13×18 cm negative format). Dedicated a significant part of his work to documenting rural life, capturing the emergence of collective farm life in his native village and surrounding settlements.
Mykola Bohdan (1924–1997)
Born in the village of Kitlove (Irkliiv District, Zolotonosha Oblast). He graduated from the local seven-year school and in 1940 enrolled in the Zolotonosha Medical School. Creatively gifted, he played string instruments. Participant in World War II, fighting in a partisan unit.
Took up photography in 1947. He started shooting with a German Leica camera and later mastered the plate camera Photokor-1. As a result of the Construction of the Kremenchuk Hydroelectric Power Plant, his native village of Kitlove was flooded, and its residents (including the Bohdan family) were relocated to the village of Moskalenky (now Zolotonosha District, Cherkasy Oblast). Created a unique photo-chronicle album of his native village titled "Read About My Village of Kitlove".
Itska Brahinsky (1876?–1965?)
Representative of a hereditary line of photographers — both his father and grandfather were photographers as well. In Zolotonosha, he owned a two-story photo studio on Shevchenka Street (formerly Pereyaslavska). He worked both in the studio and on location in the nearby villages.
In 1912, he published the famous postcard series "Views of Old Zolotonosha", which became a valuable historical source for the town. In the 1920s, he worked part-time as a silent film pianist (taper) in the local cinema club, accompanying silent movies on the piano. Photography was a true family business: his wife worked as a lab assistant and cashier, and his son followed in his father's footsteps.
Yakiv Kostyany (1926–2016)
Born in the village of Pavlivshchyna (now Zolotonosha District, Cherkasy Oblast). Participant in World War II. After demobilization in 1949, he began his career as a photographer at the "Chervona Zirka" (Red Star) craft guild in the village of Drabiv.
From 1954, he continued his photographic work at the local services plant in Drabiv until its closure in 1991. Worked with large-format studio-field cameras (13×18 cm and 18×24 cm negative formats), as well as Kodak, Photokor-1, and Kyiv-4 cameras. Raised a whole cohort of photography students, including Oleksandr Tsybulia, Oleksandr Piven, Anatoliy Shut, Mykola Orel, Tetiana Zhalo, and Olha Maksymenko.
Ivan Liskovets (1920–1980)
Born in the village of Mokhnach (now Zolotonosha District, Cherkasy Oblast) into a large family. His childhood coincided with the harsh years of collectivization and famine. He graduated from the Mokhnach seven-year school. Participant in World War II.
Due to a severe battle wound, he became a disabled veteran and was bedridden in a plaster cast for 8 years following his demobilization. Despite his severe physical limitations, he took up photography in 1948. His wife, Oksana, became his devoted assistant and pillar of support in his photographic work. Started shooting with a German-made Kodak camera, later using Photokor-1. He left behind a vast photographic record documenting the history, daily life, and residents of his native village.
Mykhailo Palash (1917–1969)
Born in the village of Krutky (now Zolotonosha District, Cherkasy Oblast). He graduated from the local seven-year school, and in 1934 qualified as a bookkeeper-accountant, working in his specialty at the local collective farm.
Participant in World War II. Captured in action near Smolensk, he escaped as part of a group of 60 soldiers to the Belarusian forests. Serving with a partisan brigade, he led a demolition team credited with destroying 3 enemy supply trains. Awarded the Order of Glory, 3rd Class. In 1944, he returned home as a disabled veteran due to a severe wound. Photography became the main passion of his post-war life, which he pursued using a Photocor-1 camera.
Opanas Sushko (1900–1994)
Born in the village of Irkliiv (now Zolotonosha District, Cherkasy Oblast). He graduated from four classes of the local primary school. Developed a passion for photography in the 1920s.
Participant in World War II. From the very beginning to the end of the war, he served as a military photojournalist. For his battlefield merits, he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War and the Order of the Red Star. In his practice, he used a large-format studio and field camera (negative format 18 x 24 cm), a plate Photocor-1, and German equipment—specifically a Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex twin-lens reflex camera.
Petro Kud (1924–2002)
Born in the village of Bilky (Irkliiv District), later flooded by the Kremenchuk Reservoir (now the village of Stepove, Zolotonosha District, Cherkasy Oblast). Graduated from the Samovytsia seven-year school. From July 1942 to July 1945, he was imprisoned in German labor camp.
Photography remained his primary life passion. Notably, his military identity card listed his "Primary civilian specialty" explicitly as "photographer". He operated FED-2 and rare panoramic Gorizont (Horizon) cameras. Created a unique visual photo-chronicle of his native village of Bilky and its inhabitants, preserving the memory of the lost heritage of the Naddnipryanshchyna region.
Hryhoriy Shevchenko (1868–1941)
Born in the village of Kerelivka (now Shevchenkove, Cherkasy Oblast). Belonged to Taras Shevchenko's lineage as his great-grandnephew. At his own expense, H.Shevchenko published a series of about 160 unique photopostcards titled "Views and Types of Ukraine".
H.Shevchenko captured the untouched authenticity of the Ukrainian countryside at the turn of the 20th century, alongside portraits of cultural figures and peasants. He created an invaluable cycle of photos and postcards dedicated to the memorable places of Taras Shevchenko's childhood, as well as high quality photo reproductions of his portraits.Arrested during the Nazi occupation in 1941. Attempting to escape execution, he leaped into a local well, which became his final resting place.
Big Family (20th Century) by unknownMykola Babak Foundation
Rural Photographers
Knowing rural life from the inside, the photographers did not seek an artificial rustic gloss, but documented real life in all its fullness — from birth to death, from everyday life to holidays.
The author of this story is Veronika Ganiechko.
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