Valerian Petrovych Pidmohylny (

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

: Валер'ян Петрович Підмогильний; 2 February 1901 - 3 November 1937) was a Ukrainian modernist, most famous for the realist novel '' Misto'' (The City). Like a number of Ukrainian writers, he flourished in 1920s

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

, but was finally constrained and eventually arrested by the Soviet authorities. Pidmohylny was executed by the Soviets in Sandarmokh. He is one of the leading figures of the Executed Renaissance.

Biography

Pidmohylny was born in Ekaterinoslav Governorate (now

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ( uk, Дніпропетро́вська о́бласть, translit=Dnipropetrovska oblast), also referred to as Dnipropetrovshchyna ( uk, Дніпропетро́вщина), is an oblast (province) of central-eastern Ukr ...

). His father was a manager for a large landowner. He learned French as a child and continued his efforts, eventually becoming a major translator of

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...

into

, in particular the works of

Anatole France (; born , ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters. He was a member of the Académie França ...

and

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...

. His early adult life is sketchy, but there is a slight indication that he was a supporter of

Symon Petliura Symon Vasylyovych Petliura ( uk, Си́мон Васи́льович Петлю́ра; – May 25, 1926) was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He became the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian Army and the President of the Ukrainian Peop ...

, the military commander of the short-lived independent Ukraine created after the

Soviet Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

. Living in

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...

, but having difficulty publishing some of his stories in 1923, he was able to secure publication in the anti-Soviet émigré journal ''Nova Ukraina''. This created disagreements with other Ukrainian writers including Khvyl'ovyi, one of the leading writers of the period. Pidmohylny published a wide number of stories in the next several years after having been "exonerated" by the major Ukrainian journal ''Chervonyi shliakh''. He also participated in the literary group ''Lanka'' tied to the journal ''Zhyttia i revoliutsiia''. In addition to prose fiction and translations, he also published several critical essays, and is considered one of the pioneers of

Freudian Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...

criticism in Ukraine. In 1927, at the age of 26, Pidmohylny won recognition as a major author with the publication of his novel ''Misto'' (The City), which was also translated into Russian. As harsh Stalinism solidified in Ukraine, Pidmohylny had increasing difficulty publishing his work, especially magnified because of questions of his commitment to the Soviet system. In 1934, he was arrested. After being tortured and forced to sign absurd confessions, he was sentenced to the

Solovki prison camp The Solovki special camp (later the Solovki special prison), was set up in 1923 on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea as a remote and inaccessible place of detention, primarily intended for socialist opponents of Soviet Russia's new Bolshe ...

and shot in

Sandarmokh Sandarmokh (russian: Сандармох; krl, Sandarmoh) is a forest massif from Medvezhyegorsk in the Republic of Karelia where possibly thousands of victims of Stalin's Great Terror were executed. More than 58 nationalities were shot and bur ...

Karelia Karelia ( Karelian and fi, Karjala, ; rus, Каре́лия, links=y, r=Karélija, p=kɐˈrʲelʲɪjə, historically ''Korjela''; sv, Karelen), the land of the Karelian people, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance fo ...

. After Stalin’s death, Pidmohylny was partially rehabilitated in 1956.

Major works

* ''Misto'' The novel ''Misto'' is the story of a young man thrust into the violent sights and smells of an urban environment and has been translated into English. * ''A Little Touch of Drama'' The novel ''A Little Touch of Drama'' (Ukrainian: Невеличка драма), originally only published in serialization, describes the character types of a number of men who compete for the love of one woman. One of her primary admirers is a scientist, and a major theme is the tension between the administration of reason-based science and human emotional life. It is available in English translation.

References

External links

*
A biographical essay about Pidmohylny in English

Pidmohylny's writings in Ukrainian, with some English translations, Valeriian Pidmohyl'nyi
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pidmohylny, Valerian Ukrainian writers 1901 births 1937 deaths Ukrainian lexicographers Ukrainian translators Oles Honchar Dnipro National University alumni Great Purge victims from Ukraine Soviet rehabilitations Gulag detainees 20th-century translators 20th-century lexicographers People convicted in relations with the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists

Biography

Major works

See also

References

External links