According to Oleksandr Turchynov, importance of personality and creative work of Taras Shevchenko goes far beyond the borders of Ukraine. His name is filled into the history of spiritual achievements of mankind with golden letters. Along with Adam Mickiewicz, Alexandr Pushkin, Mikhail Lermontov, Victor Hugo, George Byron and Heinrich Heine, Shevchenko has accomplished the historic mission of creator of a nation and voicer of national feelings,” said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada. “As the national prophet he occupies a prominent place in the social consciousness of not only Ukrainians, but many countries of the world. His word is the word of human unity. His poetry is the poetry of national human values that calls on to universal peaceful progress on the basis of truth, equality and fairness,” he stressed.

Oleksandr Turchynov said also that humanistic universality of Shevchenko’s creative work opens Ukrainian history and culture to the world and makes it an integral part of international civilization. He cited Ivan Franko: “The fate has persecuted him during his life time as much as it could. However, it failed to turn the gold of his soul into rust; his love to people into hatred; lack of faith in God into disbelief and pessimism.”       

“On the eve of the 200^th jubilee of Taras Shevchenko each of us bows low to his bright memory and is highly proud that this is the Ukrainian land that gave the world a genius prophet and a poet of freedom and fraternity of nations,” stressed the Presiding and informed that celebration of the jubilee of our Ukrainian genius is marked at the international level – the 200^th birth anniversary of Taras Shevchenko was included into the UNESCO Memorable Dates Calendar.   

“Today Kobzar addresses our contemporaries in thousands of languages. These days millions of people, both in Ukraine and far abroad, honor the great son of Ukrainian people. Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko is the figure that unites Ukrainians both in Ukraine and abroad, that consolidates the Ukrainian nation,” said Oleksandr Turchynov. He also expressed hope that parliamentary hearings will help us decently and not formally honor the name of a genius prophet and a great son of Ukrainian people, and will also show his immortal legacy, open to future generations and not limited by borders, in a new way.  

Culture Minister of Ukraine Yevhen Nyshchuk noted that “I am not a politician and I do not hide this but I can hear, I can see, I have will and, as people say, I have to act in extreme situations. So, in case of these extreme situations I addresses to the view of Taras Shevchenko, to his word, and to his strength of mind. I felt him with all my being in extremely dangerous moments for each of us and the country.”

Minister focused attention on the list of jubilee measures to be taken. According to him, the Taras’s Church of the Virgin of Mercy in the city of Kaniv was totally renewed.

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Culture and Spirituality Viacheslav Kyrylenko noted that “it was not accidentally that the people’s uprising in Ukraine coincided with the 200^th birth anniversary of our Kobzar. In view of this, he became even more topical than before, though his topicality has never died and will never die.” 

The people’s deputy stressed that “I totally agree with a new concept of celebration. This should be the people’s Shevchenko meeting because there were more than 100 days of Shevchenko’s honoring particularly on the Independence Square in Kyiv and on other maidans across Ukraine. This honoring continues up till now.”

Viacheslav Kyrylenko informed about the situation with the Shevchenko’s National Museum. He stressed the necessity of broadcasting Shevchenko on television even after March 9, after his formal 200^th anniversary. All the unfinished films should be produced and broadcasted not at night but during prime time, when Ukrainians can and want to watch them,” added the people’s deputy.

According to the people’s deputy, “all these visual things that had been planned, but that Ukrainians have not seen yet: social advertisements, advertisements with Shevchenko’s words on the streets of the cities, in public transport, intercity transport and international transport should reach Ukrainians. The most significant Shevchenko’s words should be read by us throughout 2014, the year of difficult and tragic, dramatic people’s victory which happened with Shevchenko’s words, as those who went to a fight carried those words with them. We need to abandon formalism, and if we speak about money – to find that money in order to stage performances in theatres, to return advertisements with Shevchenko’s words to our cities, so that we will be able to see the visual images not of Russian customs officers, border guards, militia workers, members of special military units, but our Ukrainian Shevchenko. This task is for government which is Ukrainian now.”   

Participants of the hearings stressed that Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko raised poetry, which absorbed depth of Ukrainian spirit and high ideals of humanism, to the highest level. According to the speakers, the Great Kobzar has become a person of world’s significance by the force of his prophetic words, today his jubilee is celebrated by a large international community.      

It was also mentioned that the Great Kobzar is a significant person that consolidated Ukrainian nation, all Ukrainian peoples; his presence in Ukrainian spiritual space does not have time limits. Thus, commemorating the genius of Ukrainian people should not be reduced to only the Year of Shevchenko and formal attitude to celebrating his 200^th birth anniversary.  

Participants of the meeting consider it is appropriate to recommend that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ensure availability of literary and artistic heritage of Taras Shevchenko to the widest range of admirers by:   

creating proper conditions for preserving originals of Shevchenko’s works and documents;

filling current internet-portals dedicated to life and works of Taras Shevchenko with content;  

creating conditions for digitization of collections of the National Museum of Taras Shevchenko, department of manuscripts of Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and other institutions;

repairing Shevchenko’s museums both in Ukraine and abroad (In Russia, Kazakhstan, Canada), and creating modern interactive expositions;

ensuring the printing of scholarly edition of full collection of works by Shevchenko in 12 volumes and Shevchenko Encyclopedia;   

creating audio, video and film archive of Shevchenkiana, etc.  

According to the speakers, central and regional authorities should settle the following issues in order to ensure a stable development of Kaniv National Reserve of Taras Shevchenko:   

shifting industrial objects from the left bank conservation areas of the Reserve, reclamation of territory and its transfer to the Reserve;   

transfer of “Mykhailova Hora” (estate of M.Maksymovych) and memorial road in Prokhorivka village of Kaniv region of Cherkasy Oblast to national property and its inclusion to the Reserve;

land improvement of the Reserve;

prohibition of any construction on the territory of the Reserve, not connected with direct preservation of the landmarks;  

insuring repair and restoration work and creation of renewed expositions in all museums of the Reserve.  

It was also mentioned that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine should:

elaborate the programme of involving Ukrainian diaspora organizations in a joint celebration of Shevchenko’s jubilee;

attract the most authoritative figures of the world’s culture to participate in the International Shevchenko Forum and other events of UNESCO;  

create a network of Ukrainian cultural institutions in capitals of other countries that would represent Ukrainian culture;

promote showing original and digital copies of Taras Shevchenko’s works at topical art exhibitions in Ukraine and at world’s cultural centres.  

Voiced suggestions will be worked on in the parliamentary Committee on Culture and Spirituality for their further approval by a respective resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.