Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка
220px
Latin: Universitas Kioviensis
Motto	"Utilitas honor et gloria" (Latin)
Motto in English	Utility Honor and Glory
Established	1834
Type	Public
Rector	Leonid Huberskyi
Admin. staff	3420 [1]
Students	20,000
Location	Kiev, Ukraine
Campus	urban
Colors
Affiliations	IAU
Website	www.univ.kiev.ua/

Coordinates: 50°26′30.85″N 30°30′40.73″E / 50.4419028°N 30.5113139°E / 50.4419028; 30.5113139

Taras Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv^[2] (Ukrainian: Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known in Ukrainian as KNU (Ukrainian: Київський національний універcитет - КНУ) is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is the third oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and Kharkiv University. Currently, its structure consists of fifteen faculties (academic departments) and five institutes. It was founded in 1834 as the University of Saint Vladimir, and since then it has changed its name several times. During the Soviet Union era, Taras Shevchenko University was one of the top three universities in the USSR, along with Moscow State University and Leningrad State University. It is ranked as the best university in Ukraine in many rankings (see below). Throughout history, the university has produced many famous alumni including Nikolay Bunge, Mykhailo Drahomanov, Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Nikolai Berdyaev, Mikhail Bulgakov, Viacheslav Chornovil, Leonid Kravchuk, Oksana Zabuzhko, and many others.

The University today[link]

Main entrance to the Red University Building

Taras Shevchenko University is named after Taras Shevchenko, a major figure in Ukrainian literature and art. It is an institution of higher education that trains specialists in many fields of knowledge and carries out research. It is considered the most prestigious university in Ukraine^[3] and a major centre of advanced learning and progressive thinking.^[4] It consists of more faculties and departments, and trains specialists in a greater number of academic fields, than any other Ukrainian educational institution.

Nowadays, as it has done throughout its history, the University retains its role of a major center of learning and research as well as an important cultural center. Its academics and students follow the long-standing traditions of the highest academic standards and democratic ideals. At present, the student body of Taras Shevchenko University totals about 20,000 students; this number includes almost 2,000 students at the Institute of International Relations which is attached to Taras Shevchenko University.

As training highly qualified specialists has always been the main goal, the faculties and departments constantly revise their curricula and introduce new programs. A number of faculties offer 4-year Bachelor’s and 2-year Master’s Degree programs, together with traditional 5-year Specialist Degree programs. Currently the stress is on student's ability to work independently and meet employer's requirements, thus practical experience in the field being of foremost importance. The curricula of all Taras Shevchenko University faculties are based on the combination of academic instruction with student's research work and the combination of thorough theoretical knowledge with specific skills. Having acquired theoretical knowledge in the first and the second year, in their third year undergraduates choose an area to specialize in. At the same time they choose a field for their independent study, joining elective special seminars; the results of research are usually presented at the meetings of students' scientific societies or at scientific conferences, the most interesting results are published.

Taras Shevchenko University graduates work in institutes of higher learning, research institutes, in industry, governmental agencies, public organizations and private companies.

Admission to Taras Shevchenko University is open to both Ukrainian and international applicants.

Taras Shevchenko University maintains contacts with many universities and research centres throughout the world.

History[link]

Nicholas I of Russia, a founding father of the Saint Vladimir University in Kiev.

Saint Vladimir University[link]

The University was founded in 1834, when the Emperor Nicholas I of Russia signed the Charter about the creation of the University named after Saint Vladimir, the ruler who Christianized the Kievan Rus'. This name was chosen by the authorities of the Russian Empire, where the role of Orthodox Christianity was immense, and may have reflected the ongoing importance of Kiev as the cradle of Eastern Christianity for the entire Empire.

The university benefited from assets transferred from Vilnius University, which was closed in the aftermath of the November Uprising of 1831.^[5] The first 62 students started their studies at the university in 1834, in its one faculty, the Faculty of Philosophy, which had two Departments: The Department of History and Philology and The Department of Physics and Mathematics. There were new additions to the original department in 1835 and 1847: the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Medicine. Later on, the original Faculty of Philosophy was divided into two separate units: the Faculty of History and Philology and the Faculty of Natural Sciences. There were no more additions to the number of departments until the 1920s.

The walls of the main building are painted in red while the tops and bottoms of its columns are painted black. Tsar Nicholas II ordered the entire main building painted red in response to student conscription protests during World War I to remind students of blood spilled by Ukrainian soldiers. Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych's Shchedryk was premiered at the Kiev University on December 26, 1916 by the university's choir directed by Oleksandr Koshyts.^[6]

Taras Shevchenko University[link]

In 1939, Saint Vladimir University was renamed after Taras Shevchenko (upon graduation from the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, then the capital of the Empire, Taras Shevchenko returned to Kiev, and between 1845–1846, was employed by the Archaeological and Ethnographic Commission at the University until his arrest in 1847). Since 1960, when the first international students were admitted, over 20,000 highly qualified specialists have been trained at Taras Shevchenko University for 120 countries. The first foreign students of the Taras Shevchenko University came from Cuba, Guinea, Indonesia, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Benin, Zanzibar, Yemen, Algeria, and Afghanistan. They continued on to became doctors, engineers, agriculturists, diplomats, economists, and statesmen in their respective countries.^[7]

During the Soviet period, the Taras Shevchenko University received one Order of Lenin (1959) and one Order of the October Revolution (1984). Additionally, in 2002 the asteroid 4868 Knushevia was named in honour of Kiev Taras Shevchenko University.

Academics[link]

Taras Shevchenko University's original building, the "Red Building", today.

Reputation and rankings[link]

In 2009, Delovoy magazine ranked Taras Shevchenko University as the best university in Ukraine, being nationally the strongest in the greatest number of academic fields.^[8] According to the independent ranking of 228 universities in Ukraine performed by Compas, Taras Shevchenko University was ranked the first best position in Ukraine regarding the adequacy of alumni to the labor market of Ukraine.^[9] According to Scopus (2009), Taras Shevchenko University has the highest research paper output of any Ukrainian university, and is also the top research producer (as assessed by total paper citation count).^[10] The university features in the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities (2010) at 1,346 out of 8,000 in the world,^[11] at 63 out of top 100 universities of the Central and Eastern Europe,^[12] and a leading academic institution in Ukraine.^[13]

Foreign Partner Universities[link]

The University currently maintains relations and, in some cases, student exchange programs with universities of forty countries;^[14] a figure which includes a number of former republics of the Soviet Union and other countries which Ukraine traditionally, over the past 70 years prior to independence in 1991, did not have official bilateral relations with. A small selection of partner universities is displayed below.

University's "Yellow Building", part of the city centre campus.

Country	University	Country	University
Azerbaijan	Baku State University	China	Peking University
Armenia	Yerevan State University	Italy	University of Florence
Belgium	University of Liège	Poland	University of Warsaw
Belarus	Belarusian State University	UK	University of Leeds
Canada	University of Manitoba	Germany	Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Greece	National and Kapodistrian University of Athens	Russia	Moscow State University
France	Pantheon-Assas Paris II University	Czech Republic	Charles University in Prague
Japan	Ryukoku University	USA	Rutgers University

Organisation and administration[link]

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev speaks at the university on May 18, 2010.

Schools / Faculties[link]

These are the 15 faculties and 5 institutes into which the university is divided:

Other institutes[link]

The Cybernetics faculty of KNU, located at the Akademmistechko campus.

• Astronomical Observatory of the Taras Shevchenko University [3] (Ukrainian)
• Maksymovych Scientific Library [4] (English)
• University Botanic Garden named after Academic O. Fomin [5] (Ukrainian)
• Kaniv Natural Reserved Park of the Taras Shevchenko University [6] (Ukrainian)
• Regional Cisco Networking Academy [7] (Ukrainian)
• Information & Computer Centre of the Taras Shevchenko University [8] (Ukrainian)
• Scientific and Research Department of the Taras Shevchenko University [9] (Ukrainian)
• Center of Ukrainian Studies [10] (English)
• Ukrainian Physico-Mathematical Lyceum [11] (Ukrainian)
• Ukrainian Humanitarian Lyceum [12] (Ukrainian)

Campus[link]

After its initial establishment the university was located in private rooms in Pechersk, and was named for St. Vladimir. Now the main building (built 1837-42 by architect V I Beretti) can be found at 60 Vladimirska Street, whilst a number of humanities departments are located at 14 Shevchenko Boulevard 14 (formerly the First Kiev Gymnasium). Furthermore, there are departments located on Glushkov Street (building 6, built 1954-70) and Vasylkivska Street (Library is located in building No. 90, built in 1939). The university's administration is housed in buildings 58-64 on Vladimirska Sreet.

The red building[link]

It was constructed from 1837–1843 and was built in the late Russian Classicism style, by a Russian architect of Italian descent, Vincent I. Beretti. The building forms an enormous square enclosing a courtyard; the length of the main facade is 145.68m. The walls of the building are painted blood red and the capitals and bases of the portico's columns are painted black, corresponding to the colours of the ribbon of the Order of St. Vladimir (founded in 1782), as Kyiv University used to bear the name of this Order. The motto of the Order, “Benefit, honor and glory” (Pol'za Chest' i Slava) also, subsequently, became the motto of Kyiv University. However, local tour guides state that Tsar Nicholas I ordered the entire main building painted red in response to student conscription protests during World War I to remind students of blood spilled by Ukrainian soldiers. Built at the top of a hill, this building has significantly influenced Kiev’s architectural layout in the 19th century.

Botanical Gardens[link]

The botanical garden's greenhouse.

The university's A.V. Fomin Botanical Garden (named after Academician Aleksandr V. Fomin, 1869–1935) was founded in 1839 and planned by architect V. Beretta and botanist R. E. Trautfetterom. The total area covered by the garden is around 5.22 hectares; it has a collection of over 10 000 species, forms and varieties of plants. The garden's greenhouse's height, after reconstruction in 1977, is about 33 meters and is the largest in the world. The university's first orangerie was built in 1846-49 for its collection of tropical and subtropical plants; a collection which has now over two thousand items and is one of the largest in Europe. The gardens are located at the city centre campus, to the rear of the red building; the nearest metro station is Universytet.

Yellow building and Maksymovych Library[link]

The university's Maksymovych Library.

The Humanities Building or 'Yellow' building of the university is located at 14 Shevchenko boulevard, built in 1850-52 it was designed in the classical style by the architect Alexander Vikentiyovych Beretta (1816–95), son of V. Beretta, the architect of by the main (red) building. The building initially belonged to the First Gymnasium (a grammar school, in which taught M. Berlin and M. Kostomarov, and students of which include: artists Nikolai Ge and V.Levandovskyy, M. Zakrevskii historian, economist M. Bunge, poet M.Herbel, sculptor P. Isabella, writers Bulgakov and K. Paustovsky and future academics E. Tarle and O. Bogomolets, A. Lunacharsky). In 1919 the academic Vernadsky, first president of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, took up residence in part of the building. Since 1959, the building has been part of the Kyiv National University.

The Maksymovych Library (58 Vladimirska Street), built in 1939-40, is a neo-classical building designed by architects VA Osmaka and P. Alyoshin as the university's Humanities building. Currently the library holds around 3.5 million books, making it currently the largest research library in Ukraine. Along with the No.1 branch of the National Library of Ukraine (62 Vladimirska Street), which was designed by the same architects in the 1929-30, and the main (red) building of the university, the Maksymovych library forms an important and impressive architectural ensemble which is today considered to be one of Kiev's key collective architectural monuments.

Akademmistechko[link]

The building of the KNU Institute of International Relations and Institute of Journalism.

In the 1960s it became imperative that the Kyiv National University acquire more space for its greatly expanded number of departments. It was with this in mind that the building of a complex of new buildings for the university started on the southwestern outskirts of Kyiv (opposite the National Exhibition Centre of Ukraine). The authors of the final project were architects V E Ladnyi, M P Budylovskyi, V E Kolomiets and engineer V Y Drizo.

The Institute of International Relations and Institute of Journalism's joint building at 36 Melnikova Street, developed by Kievproekt architects O Nosenko, I Shpara, Yu Duhovichny, O Klishchuk and Y Vig, was awarded the State Prize of Ukraine in the field of architecture in 1995.^[15]

Astronomical Observatory[link]

The astronomical observatory of Kyiv National University is located at 3 Observatorna Street; founded in 1845, it was initially planned to place an observatory in the Main Building of the university (as evidenced by existing architectural designs for the red building), however, it was later decided to build for a separate building to house the observatory. This task was again entrusted Vincenty Beretta, it was built in 1841-1845 and officially opened on February, 7 1845.^[16]

Notable alumni[link]

Heads of state, government and international organisations[link]

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, (Intl. Law, 1992)

State/Government	Name	Office
Ukraine	Leonid Kravchuk	First post-independence President of Ukraine (1991–1994)
Georgia	Mikheil Saakashvili	Twice (incumbent) President of Georgia (2004–2008 and 2008-) and Rose Revolution leader
Ukrainian People's Republic	Volodymyr Vynnychenko	First Prime Minister of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1918) and first Chairman of the Directorate of Ukraine (1918–1919)
Byelorussian SSR	Yakov Gamarnik	First Secretary of the Byelorussian Communist Party (1928–1929)
Ukrainian SSR	Valentyna Shevchenko	Chairman of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR (1985–1990)
UN	Hennadiy Udovenko	President of the United Nations General Assembly (1997–1998)
Russia	Nikolay Bunge	Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers (1887–1895)

See also[link]

• 4868 Knushevia – asteroid named after Taras Shevchenko University
• Direct action (trade union)
• List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

• Taras Shevchenko University Website (Ukrainian)/(Russian)/(English)
• (Biological Department)
• (Mechanics and Mathematics Department)
• (Radiophysics Department)
• (Physics Department)
• (Chemistry Department)
• (Department of Cybernetics)
• Non-official site student's of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kiev

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Hersh

Born in India in 1957, Prof. Hersh Chadha ^[1][2] OPM (Harvard), ARPS, discovered he was happiest when alone, travelling with his camera and thoughts. To date he has visited 88 countries and 262 cities.

He authored Elements and Elements I, II and III, a series of photographic books that capture nature in its various moods. The proceeds from the sales of these books go to the WWF. Elements can be found in the libraries of the hallowed centres of learning, Harvard and Stanford, where examples of his work also hang on the walls. His images are also in the possession of a number of eminent personalities – including several members of royalty. Hersh Chadha: Visions of Nature, ^[3] a book that, as its title suggests, contains a selection of his images of nature, followed the Elements series. Next up was With Ink & Film, ^[4] which takes the reader on a journey round the world and features thought-provoking quotations in addition to his fine imagery. In 2011, Prof. Chadha produced three new photographic books containing stunning examples of his art: Masterpiece, which highlights some 250 fascinating places he’s visited; Y.O.U., which celebrates the beauty of women; and Patterns, which examines the similarity between the patterns of nature and patterns of man.

Hersh Chadha is an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society (ARPS), awarded for exhibiting a high degree of proficiency and demonstrating technical and visual competence in photography. He has also been actively involved with World Press Photo. He is a man of many facets. He resides in Dubai, in the UAE, where he runs a global network of business activities, and is an avid reader, keen economist and collector of objects d’art.

His uncompromising concern for the environment and the way man ravages it has made him focus on critical issues such as the preservation of wildlife, the protection of rain forests, the ozone layer and pollution. He has worked with a number of wildlife agencies concerned with conservation of Arabian wildlife – including The Arabian Leopard Trust and the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA) – and has made significant photographic contributions to these agencies.

Feeling for people in need, Hersh Chadha considers philanthropy as a necessary tool in contributing towards human development. Education is one of the focal points in the framework of his philanthropic activity. His Internship Program in Dubai provides opportunities for professional training, to students from all round the world, in the field of Digital Photography and Photographic Modeling. In addition, he contributes to various charities and supports up and coming sportsmen and women.

His desire to establish photography as an art form saw him institute an annual award at the prestigious Institute of Journalism at Taras Shevchenko Kiev University. He is now a visiting professor there, as well as at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan; ^[5] the Kyrgyzstan National University; and the Institute of Foreign Languages at the International University of Kyrgyzstan. In 2009 the Taras Shevchenko National University celebrated its 175th anniversary and, on this occasion, Hersh Chadha was bestowed the coveted title of Honorary Professor.

As he never tires of saying, ‘Life is beautiful and photography only enhances it.’ Indeed, ‘Have camera, will travel,’ seems to be Hersh Chadha’s eloquent mission statement.

Memberships[link]

• The 1001: A Nature Trust (WWF International)
• Emirates Fine Arts Society, Sharjah, UAE
• American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)
• North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA)
• The Harvard Alumni Society of the UAE
• The Stanford Business School Alumni Association
• The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain
• Honorary Member of the Union of Photo Artists, Ukraine
• The Managing Committee, The Delhi Private School, Dubai
• International Who’s Who of Professionals
• The National Geographic Society
• The University Council of American University of Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

References[link]

External links[link]

• hershchadha.com

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Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko Тара́с Григо́рович Шевче́нко
Self-portrait, 1840
Born	March 9 [O.S. February 25] 1814 Moryntsi, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire (now Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine)
Died	March 10 [O.S. February 26] 1861 (age 47) Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Occupation	Poet and artist
Ethnicity	Ukrainian
Citizenship	Russian Empire
Period	1840-1861
Signature

Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (Ukrainian: Тара́с Григо́рович Шевче́нко, Russian: Тара́с Григо́рьевич Шевче́нко, Taras Grigoryevich Shevchenko), ( March 9 [O.S. February 25] 1814 – March 10 [O.S. February 26] 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, artist and humanist. His literary heritage is regarded to be the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature and, to a large extent, the modern Ukrainian language. Shevchenko also wrote in Russian and left many masterpieces as a painter and an illustrator.

Life[link]

Born into a serf family of Hryhoriy Ivanovych Shevchenko (1782? - 1825) and Kateryna Yakymivna Shevchenko (Boiko) (1782? - August 6, 1823) in the village of Moryntsi, of Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire (now in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine) Shevchenko was orphaned at the age of eleven.^[1] He was taught to read by a village precentor, and loved to draw at every opportunity. Shevchenko went as a household servant with his Russian aristocrat lord Pavel Engelhardt to Vilnius (1828–31) and then to Saint Petersburg.

Taras Shevchenko. Stored in Luhansk Taras Shevchenko National University (sculptor Mykola Shmatko)

"Engelhardt noticed Shevchenko's artistic talent, and apprenticed him in Vilnius to Jan Rustem, then in Saint Petersburg to Vasiliy Shiriaev for four years... There he met the Ukrainian artist Ivan Soshenko, who introduced him to other compatriots such as Yevhen Hrebinka and Vasyl Hryhorovych, and to the Russian painter Alexey Venetsianov. Through these men Shevchenko also met the famous painter and professor Karl Briullov, who donated his portrait of the Russian poet Vasily Zhukovsky as a lottery prize, whose proceeds were used to buy Shevchenko's freedom on May 5, 1838."^[1]

First successes[link]

In the same year Shevchenko was accepted as a student into the Academy of Arts in the workshop of Karl Briullov. The next year he became a resident student at the Association for the Encouragement of Artists. At the annual examinations at the Imperial Academy of Arts, Shevchenko was given a Silver Medal for a landscape. In 1840 he again received the Silver Medal, this time for his first oil painting, The Beggar Boy Giving Bread to a Dog.

He began writing poetry while he was a serf and in 1840 his first collection of poetry, Kobzar, was published. Ivan Franko, the renowned Ukrainian poet in the generation after Shevchenko, had this to say of the compilation: "[Kobzar] immediately revealed, as it were, a new world of poetry. It burst forth like a spring of clear, cold water, and sparkled with a clarity, breadth and elegance of artistic expression not previously known in Ukrainian writing".

Gypsy Fortune Teller, 1841. Oil on canvas. Winner of the 1841 Silver Medal at the Imperial Academy of Arts.

Kateryna (1842, Oil, Taras Shevchenko National Museum

In 1841, the epic poem Haidamaky was released. In September 1841, Shevchenko was awarded his third Silver Medal for The Gypsy Fortune Teller. Shevchenko also wrote plays. In 1842, he released a part of the tragedy Mykyta Hayday and in 1843 he completed the drama Nazar Stodolya.

While residing in Saint Petersburg, Shevchenko made three trips to the regions of Ukraine, in 1843, 1845, and 1846. The difficult conditions under which his countrymen lived had a profound impact on the poet-painter. Shevchenko visited his still enserfed siblings and other relatives, met with prominent Ukrainian writers and intellectuals such as: Yevhen Hrebinka, Panteleimon Kulish, and Mykhaylo Maksymovych, and was befriended by the princely Repnin family especially Varvara Repnina.

In 1844, distressed by the condition of Ukrainian regions in the Russian Empire, Shevchenko decided to capture some of his homeland's historical ruins and cultural monuments in an album of etchings, which he called Picturesque Ukraine.

Exile[link]

Self-portrait as a soldier, 1847

Shevchenko upon his return from exile, 1859

On March 22, 1845, the Council of the Academy of Arts granted Shevchenko the title of an artist. He again travelled to Ukraine where he met historian Nikolay Kostomarov and other members of the Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius, a Pan-Slavist political society dedicated to the political liberalization of the Empire and transforming it into a federation-like polity of Slavic nations. Upon the society's suppression by the authorities, Shevchenko was arrested along with other members on April 5, 1847. Although he probably was not an official member of the Brotherhood, during the search his poem "The Dream" ("Son") was found. This poem attacked Slavophilism, personally attacked Emperor Nicholas I and his wife Alexandra Feodorovna, and therefore was considered extremely inflammatory, and of all the members of the dismantled society Shevchenko was punished most severely. The Tsar was about to pardon Shevchenko, since literature was not as bad as violent opposition, which he also faced (Decembrist uprising etc.). Then, however, Tsar Nicholas read Shevchenko's poem, "The Dream". Vissarion Belinsky wrote in his memoirs that, Nicholas I, knowing Ukrainian very well, laughed and chuckled whilst reading the section about himself, but his mood quickly turned to bitter hatred when he read about his wife. Shevchenko had mocked her frumpy appearance and facial tics, which she had developed whilst fearing the Decembrist Uprising and its plans to kill her family. After reading this section the Tsar indignantly stated "I suppose he had reasons not to be on terms with me, but what has she done to deserve this?"^[2][3]

Shevchenko was imprisoned in Saint Petersburg. He was exiled as a private with the Russian military Orenburg garrison at Orsk, near the Ural Mountains. Tsar Nicholas I, confirming his sentence, added to it, "Under the strictest surveillance, without the right to write or paint."

With the exception of some short periods during his exile, the enforcement of the Tsar's ban on his creative work was lax. The poet produced several drawings and sketches as well as writings while serving and traveling on assignment (in the capacity of a military sketch painter, the idea put forward by fellow serviceman Bronisław Zaleski) in the Ural regions and areas on modern Kazakhstan.

A stone marking the site of Shevchenko's grave in the Smolensky Cemetery, St. Petersburg

But it was not until 1857 that Shevchenko finally returned from exile after receiving a pardon, though he was not permitted to return to St. Petersburg but was ordered to Nizhniy Novgorod. In May 1859, Shevchenko got permission return to his native Ukraine. He intended to buy a plot of land not far from the village of Pekariv. In July, he was arrested on a charge of blasphemy, but was released and ordered to return to St. Petersburg.

Death of Shevchenko[link]

Taras Shevchenko spent the last years of his life working on new poetry, paintings, and engravings, as well as editing his older works. But after his difficult years in exile his final illness proved too much. Shevchenko died in Saint Petersburg on March 10, 1861, the day after his 47th birthday.

He was first buried at the Smolensk Cemetery in Saint Petersburg. However, fulfilling Shevchenko's wish, expressed in his poem "Testament" ("Zapovit"), to be buried in Ukraine, his friends arranged to transfer his remains by train to Moscow and then by horse-drawn wagon to his native land. Shevchenko's remains were buried on May 8 on Chernecha Hill (Monk's Hill; now Taras Hill) by the Dnieper River near Kaniv.^[1] A tall mound was erected over his grave, now a memorial part of the Kaniv Museum-Preserve.

Dogged by terrible misfortune in love and life, the poet died seven days before the Emancipation of Serfs was announced. His works and life are revered by Ukrainians and his impact on Ukrainian literature is immense.

Heritage and legacy[link]

Impact[link]

Taras Shevchenko on the current 100 hryvnia banknote

Previous 100 hryvnia banknote

Taras Shevchenko on the obsoleted 1000000 karbovanets banknote

Taras Shevchenko has a unique place in Ukrainian cultural history and in world literature. His writings formed the foundation for the modern Ukrainian literature to a degree that he is also considered the founder of the modern written Ukrainian language (although Ivan Kotlyarevsky pioneered the literary work in what was close to the modern Ukrainian in the end of the 18th century.) Shevchenko's poetry contributed greatly to the growth of Ukrainian national consciousness, and his influence on various facets of Ukrainian intellectual, literary, and national life is still felt to this day. Influenced by Romanticism, Shevchenko managed to find his own manner of poetic expression that encompassed themes and ideas germane to Ukraine and his personal vision of its past and future.

In view of his literary importance, the impact of his artistic work is often missed, although his contemporaries valued his artistic work no less, or perhaps even more, than his literary work. A great number of his pictures, drawings and etchings preserved to this day testify to his unique artistic talent. He also experimented with photography and it is little known that Shevchenko may be considered to have pioneered the art of etching in the Russian Empire (in 1860 he was awarded the title of Academician in the Imperial Academy of Arts specifically for his achievements in etching.)^[4]

His influence on Ukrainian culture has been so immense, that even during Soviet times, the official position was to downplay strong Ukrainian nationalism expressed in his poetry, suppressing any mention of it, and to put an emphasis on the social and anti-Tsarist aspects of his legacy, the Class struggle within the Russian Empire. Shevchenko, who himself was born a serf and suffered tremendously for his political views in opposition to the established order of the Empire, was presented in the Soviet times as an internationalist who stood up in general for the plight of the poor classes exploited by the reactionary political regime rather than the vocal proponent of the Ukrainian national idea.

This view is significantly revised in modern independent Ukraine, where he is now viewed as almost an iconic figure with unmatched significance for the Ukrainian nation, a view that has been mostly shared all along by the Ukrainian diaspora that has always revered Shevchenko.

Monuments and memorials[link]

There are many monuments to Shevchenko throughout Ukraine, most notably at his memorial in Kaniv and in the center of Kiev, just across from the Kiev University that bears his name. The Kiev Metro station, Tarasa Shevchenka, is also dedicated to Shevchenko. Among other notable monuments to the poet located throughout Ukraine are the ones in Kharkiv (in front of the Shevchenko Park. Kharkiv|Shevchenko Park), Lviv, Luhansk and many others.

Outside of Ukraine, monuments to Shevchenko have been put up in several locations of the former USSR associated with his legacy, both in the Soviet and the post-Soviet times. The modern monument in Saint Petersburg was erected on December 22, 2000, but the first monument (pictured) was built in the city in 1918 on the order of Lenin shortly after the Great Russian Revolution. There is also a monument located next to the Shevchenko museum at the square that bears the poet's name in Orsk, Russia (the location of the military garrison where the poet served) where there are also a street, a library and the Orsk Pedagogical Institute|Pedagogical Institute named to the poet.^[5] There are Shevchenko monuments and museums in the cities of Kazakhstan where he was later transferred by the military: Aqtau (the city was named Shevchenko between 1964 and 1992) and nearby Fort Shevchenko (renamed from Fort Alexandrovsky in 1939), and a street after him in Vilnius, where he also lived.

After Ukraine gained its independence in the wake of the 1991 Soviet Collapse, some Ukrainian cities replaced their statues of Lenin with statues of Taras Shevchenko^[6] and in some locations that lacked streets named to him, local authorities renamed the streets or squares to Shevchenko. There is also a bilingual Taras Sevchenko high school in Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania.

Outside of Ukraine and the former USSR, monuments to Shevchenko have been put up in many countries, usually under the initiative of local Ukrainian diasporas. There are several memorial societies and monuments to him throughout Canada and the United States, most notably the Leo Molmonument in Washington, D.C., near Dupont Circle. The granite monument near Dupont Circle was carved by Vincent Illuzzi of Barre, Vermont. There is also a monument in Soyuzivka in New York State, Tipperary Hill in Syracuse, New York, a park is named after him in Elmira Heights, N.Y. and a street is named after him in New York City's East Village.

The town of Vita in Manitoba, Canada was originally named Shevchenko in his honor. There is a Shevchenko Square in Paris located in the heart of the central Saint-Germain-des-Prés district. The Leo Mol sculpture garden in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, contains many images of Taras Shevchenko.

A two-tonne bronze statue of Shevchenko, located in a memorial park outside of Oakville, Ontario was discovered stolen in December 2006. It was taken for scrap metal; the head was recovered in a damaged state, but the statue was not repairable. The head is on exhibit at the Taras Shevchenko Museum & Memorial Park Foundation in Toronto.

In 2001, the Ukrainian society "Prosvita" raised the initiative of building a Church near the Chernecha Mount in Kaniv, where Taras Shevchenko is buried.^[7] The initiative got a rather supportive response in the society. Since then many charity events have been held all over the country to gather donations for the above purpose. A marathon under the slogan "Let’s Build a Church for the Kobzar" by the First National Radio Channel of Ukraine collected 39,000 hryvnias (about US $7,500) in October 2003.^[8]

A Taras Shevchenko Museum & Memorial Park Foundation is located in Toronto, Canada.^[9] A video tour of the museum was created in March 2010. Among other exhibits, the video tour includes footage of Shevchenko's death mask.

The British band New Order released a live video on Factory Records entitled Taras Shevchenko, recorded in 1981 at the Ukrainian National Home in the East Village of New York City;^[10] the initial scenes feature a digitised version of the Shevchenko self portrait. The video artwork was done by graphic designer Peter Saville.

On 26 June 2011 a bronze and granite statue of Taras Shevchenko, created by Leo Mol, was unveiled in Ottawa, Canada.[2] (see Taras Shevchenko Monument Ottawa).

[edit] Example of poetry: "Testament" (Zapovit)

Shevchenko's "Testament", (Zapovit, 1845), has been translated into more than 60 languages and set to music in the 1870s by H. Hladky. The poem enjoys a status second only to Ukraine’s national anthem.^[12]

Testament (Zapovit) 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 until that day I nothing know 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. — Taras Shevchenko, 25 December 1845, Pereiaslav Translated by John Weir, Toronto, 1961

Заповіт Як умру, то поховайте Мене на могилі, Серед степу широкого, На Вкраїні милій, Щоб лани широкополі, І Дніпро, і кручі Було видно, було чути, Як реве ревучий. Як понесе з України У синєє море Кров ворожу... отойді я І лани, і гори — Все покину і полину До самого бога Молитися... а до того Я не знаю бога. Поховайте та вставайте, Кайдани порвіте І вражою злою кров'ю Волю окропіте. І мене в сiм'ї великій, В сiм'ї вольній, новій, Не забудьте пом'янути Незлим тихим словом. — Тарас ШЕВЧЕНКО 25 грудня 1845, в Переяславі

Family[link]

Shevchenko never married; however, he had six siblings and at least three step-siblings, of whom only Stepan Tereshchenko (1820?–unknown) is known. Some sources connect him to the Tereshchenko family of Ukrainian industrialists.^[13]

1. Kateryna Hryhorivna Krasytska (Shevchenko) (1806–1850) married Anton Hryhorovych Krasytsky (1794–1848)
   1. Yakym Krasytsky
   2. Maksym Krasytsky (unknown–1910)
   3. Stepan Krasytsky
   4. Fedora Krasytska (1824?–unknown), known painter^[13]
2. Mykyta Hryhorovych Shevchenko (1811–1870?)
   1. Iryna Kovtun (Shevchenko)
   2. Prokop Shevchenko
   3. Petro Shevchenko (1847–1944?)
3. Maria Hryhorivna Shevchenko (1814?–unknown)
4. Yaryna Hryhorivna Boiko (Shevchenko) (1816–1865) married Fyodor Kondratievich Boiko (1811–1850)
   1. Maryna Boiko
   2. Ustyna Boiko (1836–unknown)
   3. Illarion Boiko (1840–unknown)
   4. Lohvyn Boiko (1842–unknown)
   5. Ivan Boiko (1845–unknown)
   6. Lavrentiy Boiko (1847–unknown)
5. Maria Hryhorivna Shevchenko (1819–1846)
6. Yosyp Hryhorovych Shevchenko (1821–1878) married Matrena Grigirievna Shevchenko (1820?–unknown), far relative^[13]
   1. Andriy Shevchenko
   2. Ivan Shevchenko
   3. Trokhym Shevchenko (September 20, 1843–unknown)

See also[link]

• Shevchenko National Prize, Ukrainian State literary and artistic award.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Taras Shevchenko

Ukrainian Wikisource has original text related to this article: Taras Shevchenko

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Taras Shevchenko

• Shevchenko, Taras in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
• Taras Shevchenko in the Library of Congress: A Bibliography
• Shevchenko in English translations
• The Ukrainian poet Shevchenko T.G. (Ural marble 0,38x0,35x1,38) is Author, known sculptor Shmat'ko
• Infoukes.com - Taras Shevchenko Museum of Canada
• Taras Shevchenko Museum of Canada — Detailed biography
• Taras Shevchenko Museum of Canada — English Translations of the Poetry of Taras Shevchenko
• Self portraits of Taras Shevchenko
• Shevchenko poems in "Ukrainian Literature. A journal of translation."
• Shevchenko's paintings and Ukrainian art songs by Ukrainian composers on Shevchenko's poetry. Audio files.
• Taras Shevchenko Museum & Memorial Park Foundation
• Video Tour: Taras Shevchenko Museum in Toronto (Музей Тараса Шевченка, Торонто).

Monuments

• Infoukes.com — Shevchenko Monument In Oakville, ON, Canada
• Pbase — Shevchenko Monument in Palermo, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Round Table
King Arthur presides at the Round Table with all of his Knights.
Plot element from Arthurian legend
First appearance	Roman de Brut
Created by	Wace
Genre	Fantasy
In-story information
Type	Fictional table
Element of stories featuring	King Arthur

The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The table was first described in 1155 by Wace, who relied on previous depictions of Arthur's fabulous retinue. The symbolism of the Round Table developed over time; by the close of the 12th century it had come to represent the chivalric order associated with Arthur's court, the Knights of the Round Table.

History[link]

The Round Table first appears in Wace's Roman de Brut, a Norman language adaptation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae finished in 1155. Wace says Arthur created the Round Table to prevent quarrels among his barons, none of whom would accept a lower place than the others.^[1] Layamon added to the story when he adapted Wace's work into the Middle English Brut in the early 13th century, saying that the quarrel between Arthur's vassals led to violence at a Yuletide feast. In response a Cornish carpenter built an enormous but easily transportable Round Table to prevent further dispute.^[1] Wace claims he was not the source of the Round Table; both he and Layamon credit it instead to the Bretons. Some scholars have doubted this claim, while others believe it may be true.^[1] There is some similarity between the chroniclers' description of the Round Table and a custom recorded in Celtic stories, in which warriors sit in a circle around the king or lead warrior, in some cases feuding over the order of precedence as in Layamon.^[1] There is a possibility that Wace, contrary to his own claims, derived Arthur's round table not from any Breton source, but rather from medieval biographies of Charlemagne—notably Einhard's Vita Caroli and Notker the Stammerer's De Carolo Magno—in which the king is said to have possessed a round table decorated with a map of Rome.^[2]

Though the Round Table itself is not mentioned until Wace, the concept of Arthur having a marvellous court made up of many prominent warriors is much older. Geoffrey of Monmouth says that after establishing peace throughout Britain, Arthur "increased his personal entourage by inviting very distinguished men from far-distant kingdoms to join it."^[3] The code of chivalry so important in later romance figures in as well, as Geoffrey says Arthur established "such a code of courtliness in his household that he inspired peoples living far away to imitate him."^[3] Long before Geoffrey, Arthur's court was well known to Welsh storytellers; in the romance Culhwch and Olwen, written around 1100, the protagonist Culhwch invokes the names of 225 individuals affiliated with Arthur.^[4] In fact, the fame of Arthur's entourage became so prominent in Welsh tradition that in the later additions to the Welsh Triads, the formula "Arthur's Court" in the titles of the triads began to supersede the older "Island of Britain" formula.^[5] Though the code of chivalry crucial to later continental romances dealing with the Round Table is mostly absent from the earlier Welsh material, some passages of Culhwch and Olwen seem to prefigure it, for instance when Arthur explains the ethos of his court, saying "[w]e are nobles as long as we are sought out: the greater the bounty we may give, the greater our nobility, fame and honour."^[6]

Though no Round Table appears in the early Welsh texts, Arthur is associated with various items of household furniture. The earliest of these is Saint Carannog's mystical floating altar in that saint's 12th century Vita; in the story Arthur has found the altar and attempts unsuccessfully to use it for a table, and returns it to Carannog in exchange for the saint ridding the land of a meddlesome dragon.^[7] Arthur's household furniture figures into local topographical folklore throughout Britain as early as the early 12th century, with various landmarks being named "Arthur's Seat", "Arthur's Oven," and "Arthur's Bed-chamber."^[8] A henge at Eamont Bridge near Penrith, Cumbria is known as "King Arthur's Round Table".^[9] The still-visible Roman amphitheatre at Caerleon has been associated with the Round Table^[10] and has been suggested as a possible source for the legend.^[11]

In 2010, following archaeological discoveries at the Roman ruins in Chester, some writers suggested that the Chester Roman Amphitheatre was the true prototype of the Round Table^[12] but English Heritage, acting as consultants to a History Channel documentary in which the claim was made, declared that there was no archaeological basis to the story.^[13]

Later development[link]

Sir Galahad takes the "Siege Perilous"

The Round Table takes on new dimensions in the romances of the late 12th and early 13th century, where it becomes a symbol of the famed order of chivalry which flourishes under Arthur. In Robert de Boron's Merlin, written around the 1190s, the wizard Merlin creates the Round Table in imitation of the table of the Last Supper and of Joseph of Arimathea's Holy Grail table. This table, here made for Arthur's father Uther Pendragon rather than Arthur himself, has twelve seats and one empty place to mark the betrayal of Judas. This seat must remain empty until the coming of the knight who will achieve the Grail. The Didot Perceval, a prose continuation of Robert's work, takes up the story, and the knight Percival sits in the seat and initiates the Grail quest.^[1]

The prose cycles of the 13th century, the Lancelot-Grail cycle and the Post-Vulgate Cycle, further adapt the chivalric attributes of the Round Table. Here it is the perfect knight Galahad, rather than Percival, who assumes the empty seat, now called the Siege Perilous. Galahad's arrival marks the start of the Grail quest as well as the end of the Arthurian era.^[1] In these works the Round Table is kept by King Leodegrance of Cameliard after Uther's death; Arthur inherits it when he marries Leodegrance's daughter Guinevere. Other versions treat the Round Table differently, for instance Italian Arthurian works often distinguish between the "Old Table" of Uther's time and Arthur's "New Table."^[14]

Round Table tournaments[link]

Winchester Round Table

During the Middle Ages, festivals called Round Tables were celebrated throughout Europe in imitation of Arthur's court. These events featured jousting, dancing, and feasting, and in some cases attending knights assumed the identities of Arthur's knights.^[15] The earliest of these was held in Cyprus in 1223 to celebrate a knighting. Round Tables were popular in various European countries through the rest of the Middle Ages and were at times very elaborate; René of Anjou even erected an Arthurian castle for his 1446 Round Table.^[15] On 19 December 1566, in Stirling Castle, Mary Queen of Scots gave a feast with 30 guests at an imagined replica of Arthur's round table during the masque-themed celebrations of the baptism of the future James VI.^[16][17]

Winchester Round Table[link]

The artifact known as the "Winchester Round Table," a large tabletop hanging in Winchester Castle bearing the names of various knights of Arthur's court, was probably created for a Round Table tournament.^[18] The current paintwork is late; it was done by order of Henry VIII of England for Holy Roman Emperor Charles V's 1522 state visit, and depicts Henry himself sitting in Arthur's seat above a Tudor rose. The table itself is considerably older; dendrochronology calculates the date of construction to 1250–1280—during the reign of Edward I—using timber from store felled over a period of years.^[19] Edward was an Arthurian enthusiast who attended at least five Round Tables and hosted one himself in 1299, which may have been the occasion for the creation of the Winchester Round Table.^[18] Martin Biddle, from an examination of Edward's financial accounts, links it instead with a tournament Edward held near Winchester on April 20, 1290, to mark the betrothal of one of his daughters.^[20]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Bromwich, Rachel (2006). Trioedd Ynys Prydein: The Triads of the Island of Britain. University Of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-1386-8.
• Geoffrey of Monmouth; Thorpe, Lewis (1988). The History of the Kings of Britain. New York: Penguin. ISBN 0-14-044170-0.
• Lacy, Norris J. (Ed.) (1991). The New Arthurian Encyclopedia. New York: Garland. ISBN 0-8240-4377-4.
• Loomis, Roger S. (1959). "Arthurian Influence on Sport and Spectacle". Arthurian Literature in the Middle Ages. Oxford.
• Padel, O. J. (2000). Arthur in Medieval Welsh Literature. University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-7689-1.
• Rouse, Robert; and Cory Rushton (2005). The Medieval Quest for Arthur. Tempus, Stroud. ISBN 0-7524-3343-1.
• Thomas, Charles (1953). "Folklore from a Northern Henge Monument". Folklore 64 (3): 427–429. JSTOR 1256826. 

External links[link]

• Timeless Myths - Knights of the Round Table
• The 14th Century Round Table in Winchester, Hampshire. UK