Taras Shevchenko, the brilliant national poet of the Ukraine, is one of the classics of world literature. His all-embracing humanism, deep and genuine folk character, and revolutionary ardour make him comprehensible and close to the hearts of the people of all nations. Shevchenko lived at the time when his homeland was split in two by the Russian and Austro-Hungarian monarchies, and the mass of the Ukrainian people—the peasantry—was in serf bondage to feudal landowners. The people waged a ceaseless struggle for their social and national emancipation. (more...)