Chernihiv Ukraine

"Чернігівщина - край легенд."

Maryna Lukach

Chernihiv is one of Ukraine's oldest cities, founded in the late 7th century at the confluence of the Stryzhen and Desna rivers. In the Middle Ages, Chernihiv was a major city of Kyivan Rus' and—according to historians—one of the largest cities in Europe at the time, as well as the capital of the Principality of Chernihiv. It is no coincidence that Chernihiv is called the "City of Legends," for a great many have accumulated within the city's territory over the past 1,300 years. Chernihiv preserves monuments spanning eras from the pre-Christian period and Kyivan Rus' to the Cossack age, World War II, the Ukrainian SSR, and the present day. Chernihiv is considered a center of Orthodoxy; perhaps this is why the city is steeped in so many legends, most of which are linked to its ancient monasteries. Below, you can learn about historical figures who helped develop and bring renown to the Ukrainian nation and culture. In the painting, these figures are depicted from left to right. 1. Maria Zankovetska was born at her family estate in the village of Zanky, in the Nizhyn district of the Chernihiv region. Maria captivated everyone with her exceptional artistic talent. It was Mykola Verbytsky—a teacher at the Chernihiv gymnasium, a poet, and a friend of Taras Shevchenko—who introduced her to the beauty of her native language and the magic of the spoken word. Even after becoming a star of the highest magnitude and earning worldwide acclaim, Maria Zankovetska never turned her back on or forgot her native land, contributing significantly to the establishment and development of theatrical art in the Chernihiv region. 2. Mykola Vasylyovych Gogol was born in the village of Velyki Sorochyntsi (now in the Myrhorod district) in the Poltava region. Although he lived in the Chernihiv region for seven years, Gogol devoted a significant portion of his creative work to that area. His father was the great-great-grandson of Ostap Gogol, a colonel in the Cossack army during the time of Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Later, his famous descendant would elevate him to the status of a legendary figure and immortalize him in the character of Taras Bulba. 3. Hryhoriy Huriyovych Veryovka was a Ukrainian composer, choral conductor, and educator. He was born in the town of Berezna in the Chernihiv region. As a composer, Veryovka worked primarily in the genre of choral songs for the masses and arranged folk songs. His works are widely popular, and many have become true folk favorites. Today, the Hryhoriy Veryovka National Honored Academic Folk Choir of Ukraine continues to honor his name in countries around the world. 4. Oleksandr Dovzhenko was born in the village of Viyunyshche, Chernihiv region. He was a Ukrainian writer, film director, screenwriter, and artist—a classic figure of world cinema. Today, a film studio in Kyiv bears his name: the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio. 5. Lev Mykolayovych Revutsky, a composer, was born in the village of Irzhavets, Chernihiv region. Around the age of ten, the boy demonstrated a talent for improvisation. Because he possessed absolute pitch, he was nicknamed "The Tuning Fork." From 1944 to 1948, Lev Mykolayovych headed the Union of Composers of Ukraine. He was elected as a deputy to the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR. The 1950s saw the successful completion of a massive undertaking: editing and preparing the works of M. Lysenko for publication. 6. Sofia Fedorivna Rusova (née Lindfors) was born in the Chernihiv region. She was a member of the Ukrainian Central Rada, head of the Department of Preschool and Extracurricular Education in the government of the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR), a founder of the women's movement in Ukraine, and a co-founder of the Ukrainian Pedagogical Academy. "A nation is born at the child's cradle, and only on native soil," wrote Sofia Rusova. She considered the native language to be the most effective means of national upbringing; through it, a child absorbs the people's spiritual values ​​and worldview, develops artistic and imaginative thinking, and internalizes the people's morality and historical experience. 7. Pavlo Tychyna was born in the village of Pisky, in what is now the Chernihiv region. The aspiring poet was greatly influenced by his meeting with the Ukrainian writer Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky; he regularly attended Kotsiubynsky’s "literary Saturdays," where he first began reading his own poems. From 1947, he was a corresponding member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and held a doctorate in philology. From 1943 to 1948, he served as the Minister of Education of the Ukrainian SSR. From 1953 to 1959, Pavlo Tychyna served as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Nationalities of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR; he was a member of numerous societies, committees, and presidiums, and a recipient of various orders and medals. He was a laureate of the USSR State Prize (1941) and the T. H. Shevchenko State Prize of the Ukrainian SSR (1962). 8. Panteleimon Oleksandrovych Kulish was born on a farmstead near the town of Voronizh in the Chernihiv Governorate. A significant chapter in P. Kulish’s life was his long-standing acquaintance and friendship with T. Shevchenko. They were united by their love for Ukraine, its people, its language, and its past. In 1857, his novel *The Black Council* (*Chorna Rada*) and his *Grammar* were published; the latter introduced a Ukrainian orthography developed by Kulish that remained in use until 1917 and later served as a partial basis for modern Ukrainian spelling. In the historic center of Chernihiv—on the Val (ramparts) near the Transfiguration Cathedral—a monument was unveiled to the Right-Believing Prince Ihor Olhovych, the Grand Prince of Kyiv in the 12th century, who reigned for only 12 days. Prince Ihor is described as a man of high moral character and culture who, through his profound faith in God and his good deeds, earned the enduring, cherished memory of posterity. In 1147, during mass unrest directed against Iziaslav in Kyiv...