Who is he?
Taras (Hryhorovych) Shevchenko was a Ukrainian poet, artist, and national hero who fervently advocated for Ukrainian independence and cultural revival during the 19th century. Despite his immense talent, he faced persecution, censorship, and exile by the Russian Empire due to his outspoken criticism of the Tsarist regime.
Before the collapse of the Russian Empire, only one monument to Shevchenko was erected, and even this attempt was illegal: the Alchevsky family, without permission from the Tsarist government, ordered a Shevchenko's bust at their own expense. However, when active Ukrainian youth began to hold meetings here, "by the highest decree" the monument was removed in 1901.
USSR comes
Soviet authorities used his tragic experience with Russian Empire and importance in Ukrainian society for their own propaganda, announcing a first international competition for the design of the monument in 1930. Its winners, Magnizer and Langbar, presented Shevchenko as an idealistic revolutionary poet who fought for the working class, rather than for Ukrainian identity and nation's right to exist.
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Early XX century revolutionists symbolize the struggle against Tsarist regime
Shevchenko's statue is surrounded by 16 characters ascending in a spiral. According to the author's idea, this spiral is the order in which one should familiarize oneself with the monument.
This composition embodies the suffering of working class under the Tsar
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A farmer, a miner, and a woman with book on the top of the spiral represent working Soviet people
The characters are organized in "compositions", each conveying its own message. However, they are all united by the idea of the people of labor's struggle for their rights against the oppressors.
The bound Cossack with his strong figure embodies nation's perseverance under the oppression
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