Olena Teliha
Meet the courageous Ukrainian poet, journalist, and patriot whose unwavering spirit and literary prowess have left an enduring impact on Ukrainian culture
Olena Teliha by © 2023, online magazine "UKRAINKY". All rights reserved by the copyright holderCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Olena Teliha, a famous poet, publicist, and literary critic, attracts attention with her rare combination of a charming smile and a strong, confident look. This is exactly how she was in real life – charming but strong and courageous.
Born in 1906 near Moscow, in 1917, together with her family, Olena moves to Kyiv. At this time, the Bolshevik revolution started and later on, the Soviet occupation of Ukraine took place. Due to the unstable circumstances in the 1920s, Olena's family moved again, this time to Czechoslovakia. There, she studied at the Ukrainian matriculation courses in Poděbrady and met her husband, Mykhailo Teliha.
Olena Teliha by The Teliga couple. © 2023, online magazine "UKRAINKY". All rights reserved by the copyright holderCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Olena continued her studies, received her higher education in Prague, and later moved to Poland. During her migration period, she took an active part in a literary community of Ukrainian authors and poets. At the time, she also joined the Ukrainian Nationalist Organization (OUN).
Being a big patriot of Ukraine, loving its culture and language, in 1941 Olena Teliha with her husband and colleagues from OUN, moved to Nazi-occupied Kyiv. In their resistance efforts, they carried out clandestine anti-German operations, formed the city government, and created the Ukrainian Red Cross.
Olena Teliha by In the photo, from the left, first row: Orest Chemerynskyi, Olena Teliga, Ulas Samchuk, in the second row Mykhailo Mikhalevich, Omelyan Koval, Yuriy Rusov. Lviv, summer of 1941. © 2023, online magazine "UKRAINKY". All rights reserved by the copyright holderCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
In occupied Kyiv during World War II, Olena actively worked for the Ukrainian cultural resistance. She established the Ukrainian Writers Union, collaborated with the Ukrainian Word newspaper, and was an editor of Litavry, a weekly newspaper on art and literature.
In 1942, Olena, together, with her husband, and her colleagues were killed by the Nazi soldiers in the Babyn Yar. All of Olena Teliha's poetry works, as well as a series of her letters, were published later, decades after her death.
Olena Teliha by © 2023, online magazine "UKRAINKY". All rights reserved by the copyright holderCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy
Olena Teliha's name is carved in Ukrainian history, not only a great artist, author, poet, and even a patriot, who bravely stood with her country till her last days, but also of a person with an incredible spirit, progressive views on women's roles, and modern esthetics.
Original text from Anastasia Denysenko
Original text from the album of the Prominent Ukrainians project, published jointly by Pictoric Illustrators Club, Pavlo Gudimov Ya Gallery Art Center, Artbook Publishing House and Ukraine Crisis Media Center.
Photo:
© 2023, online magazine "UKRAINKY". All rights reserved by the copyright holder.
