Taras Shevchenko

Taras Shevchenko is a key figure of Ukrainian culture. He is often called simply Kobzar. He is a folk singer who performs historical poems and religious and moralistic songs accompanied by the kobza instrument. The Kobzars are considered to be those who preserved the memory of historical events during the persecution of all Ukrainian things by the Russian imperial authorities. "Kobzar" is also the name of the poet's first and most famous collection.

Currently, Taras Shevchenko is one of the leaders in the number of monuments in Ukraine.

However, the poet refuses to be bronzed on a pedestal: his portraits and initials "TSH"(ТГШ) can also be seen at protests, on military banners, graffiti, and more. His words inspire a struggle – and it has been this way since the 19th century.

Taras Shevchenko was born in the village of Morintsy (modern Cherkasy) on March 9, 1814 into a family of serfs. He got his freedom and first recognition thanks to his talent as an artist.

In St. Petersburg, a circle of artists noticed the talented boy, and they organized a lottery to raise money to buy the poet out of serfdom.

Taras Shevchenko became a student at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, where his works were awarded more than once.

The first fame came to the artist for the publication of the collection "Kobzar" in 1840 and the album "Picturesque Ukraine" in 1844. 

Already in 1847, Taras Shevchenko was arrested for anti-monarchist ideas, which were discovered in his writings by investigators in the case of the Cyril and Methodius Society, the first Ukrainian secret political organization. Because of his mocking of the tsar and his supporting the idea of a free Ukraine, the poet was sent to the distant Kazakh steppes as a soldier for ten years, with a ban on writing and painting. However, it did not break him.

According to the testimony of Maksymilian Yatovt, who met Taras Shevchenko in exile, for the poet, "independent Ukraine remained the main dream, and the revolution – a persistent aspiration." His fate reminded his contemporaries of the martyrdom of the first Christians and became a "revelation" for his descendants.

Taras Shevchenko died on March 10, 1861, in St. Petersburg. He was buried at the Smolensk cemetery. Even on the day of the poet's death, his friends planned to obtain permission to transport the body to his native Ukraine, erect a monument, and visit this grave every year. After all, Taras Shevchenko, in his poem "Testament," asked to be buried "among the vast steppe in lovely Ukraine" and "above the Dnypro steps."

But where exactly was this place supposed to be? Ukrainian intellectuals argued over this. In the end, they chose the option with Chernechaya Gora above the Dnieper, because at one time, Taras Shevchenko was going to build a house there. On May 20, 1861, the steamboat with the poet's coffin stopped at the indicated spot.

More than 150,000 entries were made in the guestbook of Shevchenko's grave between the years of 1897 and1916, at a time when the Russian authorities suppressed any manifestations of Ukrainian culture. Therefore, it is no coincidence that in 1911 and 1914 (respectively, the 50th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko's death and the centenary of Taras Shevchenko's birth), Kobzar's grave was guarded by the police to prevent "Ukrainian manifestations."

However, as it turned out, a few years later when the Ukrainian revolution began, it was impossible to stop the national movement.

"Fight – you will win, God helps you! For you are the truth, for you are the glory and the holy will!" – these words from Shevchenko's poem, "Caucasus" (1845), became the slogan of the Ukrainian struggle during the war with Russia. And this slogan instills faith in victory.