Famous Ukrainians: politicians, writers, athletes, war heroes

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Famous Ukrainians are found not only today, and not only among politicians, famous businessmen, athletes or any other people - history has left behind memories of a huge number of truly great personalities, whose contribution to the development of Ukraine and many other countries not forgotten to this day. At the same time, many people do not even know who these personalities were, and why the memory of them is alive to this day. N. Gogol, Taras Shevchenko, Bohdan Khmelnitsky - these and many other personalities are known to everyone. Here we will talk about those whose exploits are not so famous, but who also deserve special attention.

Vyacheslav Maksimovich Chernovol

Vyacheslav Maksimovich Chernovol is one of the most famous Ukrainian nationalists and dissidents of the times of the Soviet Union, and he was also a fairly well-known political figure already at the time of Ukraine's independence. In 2000, Vyacheslav Chernovol received the title of Hero of Ukraine.

It is worth noting that Vyacheslav's political views prevented him from living a normal life already at the age of 21, because he could not hide them, and instead decided to simply leave for one year in Zhdanov, where a blast furnace was being built. At the same time, already at that momentHe was actively published in various newspapers. In 1960, at the age of 23, Vyacheslav Chernovol began working at the Lviv Television Studio, where he initially held the post of editor, and over time he also received the post of senior editor, working on issues for young people. After three years of such work, he moved to Vyshgorod, where he worked on the construction of the Kyiv hydroelectric power station, and after defending his dissertation in 1964, he got a job at the Young Guard newspaper. Already in 1965, he was expelled from the newspaper for organizing protests against the arrest of the Ukrainian intelligentsia of the anti-Soviet movement.

In 1967, Chernovol published a book about the sixties called "Woe from Wit", known to this day, but for this publication he sits in a strict regime colony for six years, but is released ahead of schedule after two years of imprisonment. In 1972, he was imprisoned again for publishing the underground magazine "Ukrainian Vestnik", and now, without the possibility of early release, he was released only in 1978, but even then famous Ukrainians and other figures of the USSR knew about his actions.

In 1990, Vyacheslav was elected a People's Deputy of Ukraine, receiving more than 68% of the vote from his constituency, and in 1991 he took second place in the first ever presidential election in Ukraine, with more than 23% of the vote. Subsequently, with each election, he was constantly elected again and again as a people's deputy, but by coincidence, on March 25, 1999, the politician had an accident and died.

Larisa Petrovna Kosach-Kvitka

One offamous Ukrainian writers and poetesses, as well as the greatest cultural figure. If we talk about who the great Ukrainians were, it is simply impossible not to remember this wonderful woman, most of whose works are not only actively printed and read, but also are mandatory for learning in the school curricula of Ukraine. Known for her collections of poems Thoughts and Dreams, On the Wings of Songs and Responses, as well as the drama Forest Song.

It is worth noting that Lesya Ukrainka (it was this pseudonym that Larisa chose) wrote in a wide variety of genres, and was also active in the field of folklore, and 220 different folk melodies were recorded from her voice. The overwhelming majority of modern Ukrainians call her one of the greatest figures in the history of their country, which includes such famous Ukrainians as Bogdan Khmelnitsky and Taras Shevchenko.

Lesya Ukrainka herself came from a rather we althy family, as her father was a nobleman of the Chernihiv province, an official and a public figure. In particular, this contributed to the fact that after the appearance of tuberculosis, her parents were able to provide her with high-quality treatment in various countries, at the same time allowing the future writer to broaden her horizons and learn a lot.

During her life, the writer learned Greek, Latin, German and French, and at the age of 19 she began to compose her own textbooks for her sisters, based on the works of the greatest scientists of her time.

Severe illness hauntedpoetess all her life, but despite this, she still tried to always find strength for creativity until her death on July 19, 1913 in Surami. Today, her works are put on a par with the works of such poets as I. P. Kotlyarevsky, Taras Shevchenko and many others.

Liliya Alexandrovna Podkopayeva

Lilia Podkopayeva is one of the most famous public and sports figures in Ukraine today. Basically, she became famous for her merits in gymnastics, has the title of Honored Master of Sports of Ukraine, and is also an international judge. During her sports career, Lilia Podkopayeva received 45 gold, 21 silver and 14 bronze medals, and also earned the title of European champion and absolute world champion in artistic gymnastics.

The athlete received her first two gold medals already in 1997 (at the age of 18) in Atlanta, winning them in the absolute championship and floor exercises. It is worth noting that the double forward somersault with a turn of 180o, performed by this athlete, has not been repeated by any gymnast, including men as well.

At the moment, Lilia Podkopayeva is better known for her social activities, as well as the Golden Lily tournament, which is held on a regular basis. It is also worth noting that in 2008, together with Sergey Kostetsky, the gymnast represented Ukraine at the Eurovision Dance Contest 2008, where they managed to take third place.

Sidor Artemyevich Kovpak

Sidor Kovpak is one of the most famous Soviet military leaders, as well as public and state figures of his time. In many ways, he is known as the commander of the Putivl partisan detachment, which completed a lot of tasks during the Great Patriotic War. Twice Sidor Kovpak received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Military merit

In the period from 1941 to 1942, Kovpak's unit was engaged in raids behind enemy lines in the Kursk, Oryol, Sumy and Bryansk regions. The Sumy partisan unit, which was also under the command of this commander, fought through the rear of the German troops for more than 10,000 kilometers, simultaneously defeating the enemy garrisons in 39 different settlements. Thus, Sidor Kovpak, with his raids, made a huge contribution to the deployment of the partisan movement against the invaders from Germany.

Thanks to his merits, in 1942 he was personally received by Voroshilov and Stalin in Moscow, where he came to a meeting with other partisan commanders. The main task of his connection was to carry out a raid beyond the Dnieper in order to expand the boundaries of the partisan struggle to the Right-Bank Ukraine, and his connection to the exit numbered approximately two thousand people. In April 1943, Kovpak received the rank of major general.

Sidor Kovpak died on December 11, 1967, after which he was buried at the Baikove cemetery in Kyiv.

Ivan Nikitovich Kozhedub

Ivan Kozhedub is one of the most famousaces pilots, who became famous for his exploits during the Great Patriotic War. It is worth noting that Kozhedub eventually became the most productive fighter in aviation among all allied forces, since he had 64 battles won behind him. Received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union three times, and also became an air marshal in 1985.

An amazing fact is that Ivan Kozhedub entered the service of the Red Army in 1940 almost immediately after graduating from the Chuguev Aviation School, where he subsequently served as an instructor.

In 1942, Ivan received the rank of senior sergeant, and the next year he was sent to the Voronezh Front. It is worth noting that in his very first battle, Kozhedub almost died, since his LA-5 received serious damage from the Messerschmitt-109 cannon burst, and only the armored back could save his life from being hit by an incendiary projectile, and during returning home, in addition, the plane was shot by Soviet anti-aircraft gunners, hitting it twice. It is quite natural that after landing there was no question of any restoration of the aircraft, so the pilot was given a new one. For the first time, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to Ivan Kozhedub, who was already a senior lieutenant at that time, was awarded in 1944, after he was able to shoot down 20 German aircraft in 146 sorties.

By the end of the war, Kozhedub was in the rank of major of the guard and flew the "LA-7", and behind him there were 330 sorties, in which he shot down 62 German aircraft, including also 17 dive bombers. Last onehe conducted an air battle right over Berlin, shooting down two FW-190 fighters. The famous pilot won almost all of his battles due to his amazing shooting talents, which allowed him to almost never get closer than 200-300 meters, and as a result, he won even over the ME-262 jet fighter.

Ivan Kozhedub died a natural death on August 8, 1991, after which he was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Mikhail Sergeyevich Grushevsky

Mikhail Grushevsky is one of the most famous revolutionaries, as well as public and political figures in Russia, Ukraine and the Soviet Union. He gained the greatest fame thanks to the work "History of Ukraine-Rus", which is a monograph of ten volumes, which later became the basis of the history of Ukrainian studies and led to many scientific disputes. It is worth noting that the concept pursued by Hrushevsky became a rather important milestone in the history of the development of Ukrainian separatism in the last century.

Mikhail Hrushevsky tried to postulate the concept of an absolutely inseparable ethno-cultural development in the Ukrainian region, which, in his opinion, ultimately led to the creation of a unique ethnic group, different from the rest of the Eastern Slavs. In accordance with Grushevsky's concept, Russia is considered as a form of Ukrainian statehood, and, based on this historiographical assumption, he, on the one hand, spoke about the ethnogenetic difference between the Russian and Ukrainian peoples, including alsocardinal divergence of their vectors of development, and on the other hand, postulated the state succession of Ukrainians. At the same time, he strongly criticized the policy of "gathering Russian lands", which the Russian state pursued throughout the 15th-17th centuries.

Raisa Kirichenko

Kirichenko Raisa Afanasievna is a famous Ukrainian singer, known throughout the former USSR. The singer's career began at the age of seventeen, when she became a soloist in the folk choir at the Kremenchug Automobile Plant, under the direction of Pavel Ochenash. Already in 1962, she began working in the Veselka professional team, which was led by Nikolai Kirichenko.

Having a fairly large stage experience, the singer decides to organize her own ensemble called "Kalina". In 1983, in the city of Cherkasy, a small group "Rosava" was created for her, and at the same time she worked with the national orchestra of Viktor Gutsal, performing in the Crimea, Kyiv, as well as in various cities of Belarus and Ukraine.

Due to certain misunderstandings with her team, she decides to leave it in 1987, as a result of which F. T. Morgun invites her and her husband to the Poltava region, where she joins the Churaevna ensemble. After the dizzying success of the song "Pane Colonel", the famous singer's repertoire is replenished with an increasing number of hits, and as a result, she is increasingly recorded in the studio of the Freestyle group. Gradually, CDs with songs begin to come out, dispersinga good circulation, and later she also begins to collaborate with the folk choir "Kalina", which was under the direction of the honored worker of arts Grigory Levchenko.

Raisa Kirichenko died on February 9, 2005 from heart disease.

Nikolai Fedorovich Vatutin

Nikolai Vatutin is a famous general of the Soviet army, who received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. One of the few who managed to go from an ordinary Red Army soldier to a general.

Vatutin began to take part in the Great Patriotic War already in 1941, and no one could even imagine that he would take a place in the list of "Famous Ukrainians". Already on June 30, he served as chief of staff in the North-Western Font, where the situation was rather difficult, since Soviet troops were actively retreating from the B altic states, and the enemy had the opportunity to strike at Moscow and Leningrad. It was at this moment that Vatutin had to make extremely difficult decisions, since his task was to strengthen the Valdai Upland, thus ensuring the integrity of the front between Moscow and Leningrad. One way or another, he never succeeded in realizing this plan, since in 1942 he was transferred back to Moscow.

Under the leadership of Nikolai Vatutin, during the war, a lot of famous battles were carried out, such as the Battle of Kursk, the Battle of the Dnieper and many others, which were successfully completed.

The great general died in 1944 at the hands of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which ambushed him on the way from Rovna toSlavuta.

Other

Great Ukrainians, of course, not all are listed in this article, there are still a huge number of other wonderful people who contribute to history to this day and did it once.

Here are just a few of those people who can and should be known to many people today. Almost every new year, more and more new stars are born, Ukraine is gradually filled with politically famous personalities, achieves new sports successes, is replenished with artists, and one cannot but say about all this. This list is endless: Ruslana Lyzhychko, Andriy Shevchenko, the Klitschko brothers - there are many legendary personalities, and you should not only be proud of them and remember their merits, but also strive to add your name to this list.