Ukrainian Canadian
Community Honours Great Ukrainian Poet and Freedom Fighter – Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861)
On 150th
Anniversary since his Death
The Ukrainian
Canadian community across Canada
annually in March honours Taras Shevchenko – the greatest literary figure of Ukrainian
literature, a major painter - artist and a freedom fighter. The celebrations in
March (the month of his birth and death) include concerts, symposia and academic
presentations by members of Ukrainian organizations, churches and especially youth
groups. Similar celebrations with greater intensity also take place in Ukraine every March.
This year marks the 150th anniversary since his repose (1861-2011).
Taras Shevchenko
was born on March 9, 1814 and passed away on March 10, 1861. He was born into a
Ukrainian serf family in Central Ukraine which
was then part of the Russian Empire and was orphaned at the age of eleven. He was
very bright and thus was mentored by the village cantor and became a very good student
– both academically as well as in the field of art and painting. His talents were
soon noticed by Pavlo Engelhardt who took him to Vilnius and then St.
Petersburg. During this period he engaged in the formal
study of art. In 1838, due to a special art commission, the proceeds gained were
utilized to buy Shevchenko’s freedom from serfdom. He
continued to draw and paint for the next decade; winning several major awards in
the Russian Empire.
Shevchenko
also had a love for writing poetry. He wrote in the Ukrainian vernacular that was
popular in rural Ukraine
but was considered an inferior “tongue” by the
Russians. He did this to recognize the importance of the Ukrainian language and
culture as a self-identification trait of Ukrainians against the political and monolingual
policies of the Russians.
In 1840, he
published a collection of poems entitled Kobzar. This published volume became
a great success due to its “clarity, breadth and elegance of artistic expression,
not previously known in Ukrainian literature” (Ivan Franko). Later, he wrote the
epic poem Haidamaky (1841), the tragedy Nykyta Hayday (1842) and the
drama, Nazar Stodolya (1843).
All of this
was accomplished while living in St. Petersburg,
Russia, however, Shevchenko never
forgot about Ukraine.
He visited Ukraine
in 1843, 1845 and 1846 and witnessed the difficult political, economic and social
conditions of his countrymen, which had a major impact on his writings and art.
On his 1845
trip to Ukraine, Shevchenko made
friends with prominent Ukrainian intellectuals and joined the Brotherhood of Ss.
Cyril and Methodius – a secret political organization that aspired Ukrainians to
liberate Ukraine from Russia. In 1847,
the Brotherhood was suppressed by the Russian authorities and Shevchenko was arrested
and imprisoned. During a search of his belongings, the poem Son (The Dream)
was discovered that was a critique of Russian Imperial rule in Ukraine. Thus, he
was imprisoned in St. Petersburg and then sent to
Orenburg (near the Ural Mountains)
with the decree that “he was not to write or paint
and to be placed under the strictest surveillance.”
During his
exile and imprisonment, Taras Shevchenko continued to find ways to be creative as
an artist and poet. Finally in 1857, he was liberated and ordered to the Russian
city of Nizhniy Novgorod.
Only in May 1859 was he allowed to move back to his native homeland – Ukraine. But another
accusation, that of blasphemy was raised against him and again he was ordered to
St. Petersburg, never again to return to Ukraine.
After the difficult
years of exile and imprisonment, Shevchenko’s health deteriorated and in 1861 he
passed away in St. Petersburg.
Initially, he was buried in the Smolensk cemetery
in St. Petersburg, but later his friends arranged
the transfer of his remains to Kaniv, Ukraine, south of the capital Kyiv and he was interred
on a hill on the banks of the Dnipro
River.
Taras Shevchenko’s
works and life are revered and honoured by Ukrainians in Ukraine and the
diaspora. His literary impact on Ukrainian literature was immense and he is known
as the founder and father of the modern written Ukrainian language. His poetry with
its patriotic themes contributed immensely to the growth and development of Ukrainian
national consciousness. His volume of poems known as the Kobzar has been
reprinted many times including versions in Canada. For Ukrainian Canadian settlers,
this was a most important book that was brought to Canada
from Eastern Europe among their meager possessions
and was read widely. His poem, Zapovit
(My Testament) is one that is often studied, recited and sung by children and youth
across Canada
at celebrations honouring Taras Shevchenko.
Many statues
of Taras Shevchenko exist in Ukraine
and around the world, beginning with the one on his burial site in Kaniv, Ukraine.
On the 100th anniversary of his repose in 1961, the Ukrainian Canadian
Congress erected a monument on the grounds of the Manitoba
legislature in Winnipeg.
On that occasion, then Premier of Manitoba – the Honourable Duff Roblin – announced
to the Ukrainian Canadian community that permission was granted to have the Ukrainian language again taught in Manitoba schools, where the
number of students was sufficient. This policy was subsequently repeated in the
Provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Today, Taras Shevchenko’s language is still taught in numerous schools of the Canadian
prairies.
Again in 2011,
Ukrainian Canadians will be honouring Taras Shevchenko – the “poet laureate” of
Ukraine
– with concerts and celebrations, and in doing so, giving homage to one of the most
important figures in Ukrainian history.
For more information
on this matter and other Ukrainian Canadian news events contact Professor Roman
Yereniuk, Acting Director of the Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies at the University of Manitoba at 204-474-8907 or cucs@cc.umanitoba.ca.
An example
of Taras Shevchenko’s most famous poem.
Zapovit (My Testament) - 1845
When I am dead, bury me
In my beloved Ukraine,
My tomb upon a grave mound high
Amid the spreading plain,
So that the fields, the boundless steppes,
The Dnieper’s plunging shore
My eyes could see, my ears could hear
The mighty river roar.
When from Ukraine the
Dnieper bears
Into the deep blue sea
The blood of foes ... then will I leave
These hills and fertile fields --
I’ll leave them all and fly away
To the abode of God,
And then I’ll pray .... But till that day
I know nothing of God.
Oh bury me, then rise ye up
And break your heavy chains
And water with the tyrants’ blood
The freedom you have gained.
And in the great new family,
The family of the free,
With softly spoken, kindly word
Remember also me
PHOTO
Ukrainian
Poet Taras Shevchenko