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Taras Shevchenko- Author; photographer Adolf Heinrich Denier-

Top 10 Facts about Taras Shevchenko

Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko was born on February 25th 1814  and passed on 10th  March 1861.

He was also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar which means a bard in Ukrainian culture.

He was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist and ethnographer.

1. His literary works are considered the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature

Taras Shevchenko Memorial- Author; APK-

Taras’ literary heritage is regarded to be the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature and, to a large extent, the modern Ukrainian language, though this is different from the language of his poems.

He also wrote some works in Russian (nine novellas, a diary, and an autobiography). He is also known for his many masterpieces as a painter and an illustrator.

2. Taras was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts

Imperial Academy of Arts- Author; Alex ‘Florstein’ Fedorov-

Shevchenko was also an exceptional artist. He enrolled in the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg and studied there under Briullov’s supervision.

In November 1845, he received the official title of artist. To date, 835 works of art of Shevchenko-artist have survived, including paintings and graphics of various genres and made with different techniques.

3. When young, Shevchenko was sent to work under an apprentice

Taras Shevchenko selfportrait oil 1840- Artist; Taras Shevchenko-

Taras was sent to work for precentor Bohorsky who had just arrived from Kyiv in 1824. As an apprentice, Taras carried water, heated up a school, served the precentor, read psalms over the dead and continued to study.

At that time Shevchenko became familiar with some works of Ukrainian literature. Soon, tired of Bohorsky’s long-term mistreatment, Shevchenko escaped in search of a painting master in the surrounding villages.

For several days he worked for deacon Yefrem in Lysianka, later in other places around in southern part of Kyiv Governorate.  In 1827 Shevchenko was herding community sheep near his village.

He then met Oksana Kovalenko, a childhood friend, whom Shevchenko mentions in his works on multiple occasions. He dedicated the introduction of his poem “Mariana, the Nun” to her.

4. He began working on his poetry while still a serf

Medieval depiction of serfs harvesting wheat- Author; anonymous (Queen Mary Master)-

Shevchenko began writing poetry while still being a serf, and in 1840 his first collection of poetry, Kobzar, was published.

According to Ivan Franko, a renowned Ukrainian poet in the generation after Shevchenko, Kobzar  was “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”.

5. Was awarded a silver medal in 1841

A bust of Taras Shevchenko in Ukrajinska Street, Zagreb- Author; Branko Radovanović –

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 Haidai and in 1843 he completed the drama Nazar Stodolia.

While residing in Saint Petersburg, Shevchenko made three trips to Ukraine. That is, in 1843, 1845, and 1846. The difficult conditions Ukrainians had made a profound impact on the poet-painter.

Shevchenko visited his siblings, still enserfed, and other relatives. He met with prominent Ukrainian writers and intellectuals Yevhen Hrebinka, Panteleimon Kulish, and Mykhaylo Maksymvych, and was befriended by the princely Repnin family, especially Varvara.

6. Taras was also given a non-classed artist title in 1845

Taras in 1845- Artist; Taras Shevchenko-

On 22 March 1845, the Council of the Academy of Arts granted Shevchenko the title of a non-classed artist.

He travelled to Ukraine where he met with historian Nikolay Kostomarov and other members of the Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius, a clandestine society also known as Ukrainian-Slavic society and dedicated to the political liberalization of the Empire and its transformation into a federation-like polity of Slavic nations.

Upon the society’s suppression by the authorities, Shevchenko wrote a poem “Dream”, which was confiscated from the society’s members and became one of the major issues of the scandal.

7. He was arrested in 1847 for mocking the Tsar’s wife

Handcuffs- Image by Arek Socha from

Shevchenko was arrested together with the members of the society on 5 April 1847. Tsar Nicholas I read Shevchenko’s poem, “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 fearing the Decembrist Uprising and its plans to kill her family.

It is said that 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?”

8. Taras spent his last years working on new poetry and other artwork

Image by Maria Zangone from

Taras Shevchenko spent the last years of his life working on new poetry, paintings, and engravings, as well as editing his older works.

After difficult years in exile, however, his illnesses took their toll upon him. Shevchenko died in Saint Petersburg on 10 March 1861.

9. His friends fulfilled his wishes to be buried in Ukraine as expressed in one of his poems

Taras monument- Author; Mister No-

He was first buried at the Smolensk Cemetery in Saint Petersburg. However, fulfilling Shevchenko’s wish, as expressed in his poem “Testament” (“Zapovit”), to be buried in Ukraine, his friends arranged the transfer of his remains by train to Moscow and then by horse-drawn wagon to his homeland.

Shevchenko was re-buried on 8 May on the Chernecha hora near the Dnipro River and Kaniv. 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 1861 emancipation of serfs was announced. His works and life are revered by Ukrainians throughout the world and his impact on Ukrainian literature is immense.

10. He wrote so many poems but only 28 were published

Photo by Thought Catalog on

237 poems were written by Taras Shevchenko but only 28 of these were published in the Russian Empire and another 6 in the Austrian Empire over his lifetime.