Taras Shevchenko

Taras Shevchenko
Shevchenko in the mid-1800s
Born	Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko Тара́с Григо́рович Шевче́нко 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
Resting place	Shevchenko National Preserve "Taras Hill", Kaniv, Ukraine
Pen name	T.Sh. K.Darmohrai Kobzar Darmohrai Ruel Perebendya
Occupation	Poet and artist
Ethnicity	Ukrainian
Citizenship	Russian Empire
Alma mater	Imperial Academy of Arts, Saint Petersburg
Period	1840–1861
Notable works	Kobzar
Signature
Military career
Allegiance	Russian Empire
Service/branch	Russian Imperial Army
Years of service	1847–1857
Rank	Private
Unit	Orsk Fortress (1847-1850) New Peter Fortress (1850-1857)
Battles/wars	1848 Aral Expedition 1851 Karatau Expedition

Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (March 9 [O.S. February 25] 1814 – March 10 [O.S. February 26] 1861) was a dissident activist in Imperial Russia, and a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, as well as folklorist and ethnographer. His literary heritage is regarded to be the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature and, to a large extent, the modern Ukrainian language. Shevchenko is also known for many masterpieces as a painter and an illustrator.

He was a member of the Sts Cyril and Methodius Brotherhood and an academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts. In 1847 Shevchenko was convicted for writing in the Ukrainian language, promoting independence of Ukraine and ridiculing members of the Russian Imperial House.

Taras Shevchenko was born on March 9 [O.S. February 25] 1814 in the village of Moryntsi, Zvenigorodka county, Kiev Governorate in the Russian Empire (now in Zvenyhorodka Raion, Ukraine). After his sister Kateryna and brother Mykyta, he was the third child of serf peasants Hryhoriy Ivanovych Shevchenko (1782? – 1825) and Kateryna Yakymivna Shevchenko (Boiko) (1782? – August 6, 1823) who belonged to a landlord called Vasiliy Engelgardt. According to family legends, Taras's forefathers were Cossacks who served in the Zaporizhian Host and took part in liberation wars and uprisings of Ukraine in the 17th and 18th centuries. Those uprisings were brutally suppressed and normal social life was disrupted for many years in Cherkasy, Poltava, Kyiv, Bratslav, and Chernihiv. Most of the local population was enslaved and impoverished.