12 May 2011, 11:16
The tour was initiated by the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of CIS member states. The working group in charge of organization of the tour "Final Journey of T.H.Shevchenko" was headed by Mykola Tomenko, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
The delegation of the parliamentarians from Ukraine, Russia and Kazakistan will follow the route of the funeral procession in 1841.
On May 16, a meeting requiem and memorial service on Smolensky cemetery, and the commemoration evening in Tavricheskiy Palace will be held.
On May 17, the delegation will visit the places in Saint-Petersburg where the Great Kobzar lived.
On May 18, the delegation will go to Tver, later to Tula and Orel.
In the territory of Ukraine, the delegation will attend the requiem masses in the towns of Hluhiv and Baturyn. On visiting Nizhyn on May 21, the delegation will arrive to Kyiv to attend the prayer service in the Church of Nativity of Christ in Podil district in Kyiv. On May 22, the delegation will head for Kaniv to attend the commemoration events and the requiem mass on the grave of Taras Shevchenko on Chernecha Mountain.
As reported, during the last sitting of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member Nations, at the International Scientific Conference on Implementation of the Resolution "On Celebration of the 200th birthday and 150th death anniversary of T.H.Shevchenko" in Saint-Petersburg, Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, stated that the celebration will open a new chapter in the relations between Ukraine and Russia.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada emphasized that special significance of the celebrations is confirmed by the patronage of the Presidents of Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
"We will exert our efforts to make this event of international significance", declared the Head of the Ukrainian Parliament.