Ivan Soshenko and Taras Shevchenko’s relationship started
when Taras was just a boy. Ivan met Shevchenko
in 1835 and introduced him with Karl Briulliv, Alexey Venetsianov and other
relevant Russian and Ukrainian artists soon thereafter. In Shevchenko’s pseudo-biography, The Artist, the narrator is Soshenko
talks about meeting Shevchenko as a boy and their endeavors thereafter.
In this prose work Shevchenko shows his admiration for his
friend and mentor. The work starts with
Soshenko finding Shevchenko sketching a statue in a courtyard. The serf Shevchenko is cautious in going to
Soshenko’s house and getting closer to the artist. Soshenko is persistent in the making Shevchenko
continue pursuing his art, seemingly making Soshenko a huge catalyst in
Shevchenko’s development. Soshenko went
on to help free Shevchenko from serfdom and get him into the St. Petersburgh
Academy of Arts. It almost seems that if
it weren’t for Soshenko the development of Shevchenko as an artist and poet
would not have blossomed.
Shevchenko later in life wrote many works against serfdom in
Ukraine. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to see his hope come to fruition in his
homeland. The fight against serfdom in
Shevchenko’s time parallels current Ukrainian struggles surprisingly well. Even now that Ukraine is its own country free
from Russian rule; it is still not free from the Russian influence and control. Ukraine to develop as a nation has to be able
to make its own laws and let its government develop without worrying what their
neighbors have to think. Euromaidan can
still be seen as a continuation of Shevchenko’s goals to free his country or in
his own words “Rise ye up and break your heavy chains”. Furthermore explaining why Shevchenko’s
poetry is so prominent in today’s Ukrainian revolution.
Resources
[1] http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asplinkpath=pages%5CS%5CO%5CSoshenkoIvan.htm
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