Taras Shevchenko was born 199 years ago

Taras Shevchenko was born on February 25, 1814 (March 9, New Style), in the village of Moryntsi (now Cherkasy region) in the enslaved peasant family. Having early lost his mother (1823), who died from hard work and poverty leaving six orphaned children, he suffered much sorrow and abuse from his infancy.

Out of 47 years of his life, Taras Shevchenko spent 24 years in serfdom, 10 - in exile, and the rest - under the police supervision. But despite this, he was able to prove himself as a versatile talented artist. In his works, Taras Shevchenko reflected the thoughts and sentiments that were important in the life of Ukrainian of his time. In the second half of the 19th and the early 20th century, Kobzar was perhaps the only book in the majority of rural houses in Ukraine: verses from it were taught by heart and the people took classes in reading based on this book. This is an indication that his works awoke an echo in the hearts of the people and Shevchenko's works united the Ukrainian people at that time.

Shevchenko's revolutionary works were among the main factors in the formation of national political consciousness of the masses in Ukraine. Shevchenko's influence on various aspects of spiritual and national life of the people is felt until now. His Kobzar started a new stage in the development of the Ukrainian literature and language, and his artistic painting and engraving art have become an event not only of Ukrainian, but also the world art.

Works by the great poet brought the unknown wealth of topics, genres and formal features to Ukrainian literature. Having combined in his poetry the live spoken language with the verbal and expression means of the literary language, Shevchenko raised the Ukrainian literary language to a new, qualitatively higher level. In poetry, Shevchenko's Ukrainian language gained the extraordinary wealth of colors and shades, as well as opportunities to convey not only subtle moods, feelings and thoughts, but deep philosophical and political and social generalizations. Widely using the vocabulary of various fields of science and art, Shevchenko laid the foundations of terminologization of the Ukrainian vocabulary, thereby elevating the Ukrainian literary language to the level of the world's most developed languages.

A number of geographical objects (settlements, roads), educational institutions and other organizations of Ukraine bear the name of Taras Shevchenko. In particular, there are four Shevchenko streets in Kyiv, as well as Shevchenko Boulevard, which along with Peremohy Avenue is one of the main arteries of the city. Higher educational institutions also are named after Taras Shevchenko, these are the Kyiv and Luhansk National Universities, Chernihiv Pedagogical University, Kremenets Regional Humanitarian Pedagogical Institute; theaters, such as the National Opera and Ballet Theater, Ternopil, Volyn and Kharkiv drama theaters, Dnipropetrovsk Ukrainian music and drama theatre, drama and musical comedy theater in Kryvyi Rig, Cherkasy and Chernihiv music and drama theaters and numerous cinema theaters, as well as the Shevchenko mountain peak, Fort Shevchenko and Aktau city (Kazakhstan) was named Shevchenko city since 1964 and until 1991.

There are many monuments to Shevchenko in Ukraine and abroad. A monument in Kharkiv is considered as one of the best, great monuments to the bard were also unveiled in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Lviv and other cities. Shevchenko monuments abroad are established in Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg), the USA (Washington), Canada (Winnipeg, Toronto), Poland (Bialy Bor, Warsaw), the Czech Republic (Prague), Belarus (Mogilyov), Georgia (Tbilisi), Hungary, Paraguay, Uzbekistan, France (Paris, Montargis) Australia (Canberra).

The largest memorial complex dedicated to Kobzar is the Shevchenko National Reserve on the burial place of the poet on the Tarasova Hill in Kaniv. The Taras Shevchenko National Museum is located in Kyiv, his branch is the Literary Memorial House-Museum. In Toronto, Canada, there is a museum dedicated exclusively to Shevchenko-related topics. In the field of literature, the Shevchenko Prize is awarded annually, which is one of the most prestigious awards in Ukraine. The portrait of Taras Shevchenko is depicted on UAH 100 banknotes and gold commemorative coins of UAH 200 denomination.

Asteroid 2427 was named after Kobzar.