During the first weeks of March, celebrations marking the great Kobzar’s birthday take place throughout Ukraine.
All sorts of events—from laying flowers at monuments to concerts, rallies, book presentations, flash mobs, and poetry readings—will resonate with many people. And this is hardly surprising, since after his death, Taras Shevchenko became a cult figure in the national consciousness of the Ukrainian intelligentsia. And his influence on Ukrainian culture remains, perhaps, the most significant to this day. However, this was by no means always the case in our city. For example, in Issue No. 9 of the 1908 edition of the Kyiv newspaper *Ridnyi Krai*…
…you may hear some extremely disheartening news. The author writes the following with deep sorrow about how Taras Shevchenko was commemorated in Kharkiv:
Kharkiv. It is sad to reflect on the fate of Ukraine’s great poet and martyr when one considers how we observed “Taras’s Anniversary” (February 25 and 26)—days that are dear to every Ukrainian. While everywhere else—even in the most remote corners of our homeland—Ukrainians celebrate “Shevchenko Days,” organizing evenings, concerts, and commemorations dedicated to the memory of the Kobzar, — in our “God-saved” Kharkiv, this day passes by, indistinguishable from any other. The most striking thing of all is that in the local press on February 26, there was not a single word about Shevchenko!
It was not until February 28 that the article “In Memory of Shevchenko,” reprinted from the Moscow-based *Russkie Vedomosti*, appeared in *Utri*…
It’s sad and strange. There, in the “heart of Russia,” they honor Shevchenko Day and organize an evening event, while in Kharkiv, the heart of Sloboda Ukraine, *Utro* and *Yuzhny Krai* have ignored this anniversary…. in silence. Even if local Ukrainians were unable to celebrate these days—thanks to our governor-general, who not only refuses to acknowledge the existence of Ukrainians but even considers the very word “Ukrainian” to be some kind of taboo— but to remain silent about Shevchenko in the newspapers—that is a disgrace!
On February 26, a gathering in memory of T. Shevchenko took place within a small circle—the Ukrainian student community…
A few years later, the situation improved. At a meeting of the Kharkiv City Duma on March 4, 1911, council member Nikolai Sumtsov read aloud to the deputies a proposal to commemorate T. G. Shevchenko in Kharkiv.
In particular, he pointed out the following:
…The city of Kharkiv, located on the territory of the Ukrainian people and inhabited largely—if not entirely—by the Ukrainian people, can and must take the most active part in honoring the great poet, the beacon of the Ukrainian people…
Subsequently, together with his like-minded colleagues—Duma councilors Strizhevsky, Ponomarenko, Mikhnovsky, and Kulich—Nikolai Sumtsov asked the Kharkiv City Duma to honor the memory of the great poet. After hearing the proposals and taking into account the comments of council members Galitsky, Venger, Grishenko, and Saltykov, the Kharkiv City Duma unanimously resolved:
- Allocate 150 rubles for the purchase of a portrait of Taras Shevchenko for the city museum.
- Name the new street after Taras Shevchenko, on which a building for women’s higher education courses is to be erected.
- Name the 11th City School after T. G. Shevchenko.
- To allocate 100 rubles annually to the city budget, beginning with the 1911 budget, to be awarded to the Kharkiv Historical and Philological Society as prizes for the best student essays on Ukrainian history, Ukrainian literature, and the ethnography of Ukraine. Announce a fundraising campaign to establish a fund for this purpose.
- Make a one-time donation of 300 rubles to the Kharkiv Public Library for its Ukrainian section, so that it may henceforth be known as the “Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian Section.”
The sixth point is just as interesting, though, unfortunately, it was never implemented. It’s a shame. After all, if it had worked out, it would have greatly enhanced the beauty of our beloved city.
- To erect an obelisk in Kharkiv—a column featuring a relief of T. G. Shevchenko and clad in the Ukrainian style. To this end, allocate 1,000 rubles annually from 1912 to 1914. Also, establish a fund for this purpose in the amount of donations from local residents for the beautification of Mironositska Square.
Many years have passed, and times have changed. Portraits of the great Kobzar hang in many institutions. It’s no longer surprising to see streets or scholarships named in his honor. However, we must remember that this was not always the case.
