HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ivan Yakovych Franko (, ; 27 August 1856 – 28 May 1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and
literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...
, journalist,
translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...
, economist, political activist,
doctor of philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
, ethnographer, and the author of the first detective novels and modern poetry in the
Ukrainian language Ukrainian (, ) is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the first language, first (native) language of a large majority of Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses the Ukrainian alphabet, a variant of t ...
. He was a political radical, and a founder of the
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
and
nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
movement in Western Ukraine. In addition to his own literary work, he also translated into Ukrainian the works of such renowned figures as
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
,
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
,
Pedro Calderón de la Barca Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño (17 January 160025 May 1681) (, ; ) was a Spanish dramatist, poet, and writer. He is known as one of the most distinguished Spanish Baroque literature, poets and ...
,
Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
,
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
, Adam Mickiewicz,
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
and
Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...
. His translations appeared on the stage of the Ruska Besida Theatre. Along with
Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...
, he has had a tremendous influence on modern literary and political thought in Ukraine.


Biography


Early years

Franko was born in the Ukrainian village of Nahuievychi, then located in the Austrian '' kronland'' of Galicia, today part of Drohobych Raion, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. As a child, he was baptized as Ivan by Father Yosyp Levytsky, known as a poet and the author of the first Galician- Ruthenian ("Grammar"), who was later exiled to Nahuyevychi for a "sharp tongue". At home, however, Ivan was called Myron because of a local superstitious belief that naming a person by a different name will dodge death. Franko's family in Nahuyevychi was considered "well-to-do", with their own servants and of owned property. Franko's family possibly had German origins, being descendants of German colonists. Ivan Franko believed it to be true. That statement is also supported by
Timothy Snyder Timothy David Snyder (born August 18, 1969) is an American historian specializing in the history of Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust. He is on leave from his position as the Richard C. Levin, Richar ...
who describes Yakiv Franko as a village blacksmith of German
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
descent. For certain the Franko family was already living in Galicia when the country was incorporated into Austria in 1772. Ivan Franko's great-grandfather Teodor (Fed) Franko baptized his children in the Greek Catholic church. Franko's mother Maria came from a family of petty nobility. The Kulczyckis (or Kulchytskys) were an ancient noble family hailing from the village of Kulchytsi in the
Sambir Raion Sambir Raion () is a raion (district) in Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine. Its capital (political), administrative center is Sambir. Population: It was established in 1965. On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the numb ...
. Her mother was Ludwika Kulczycka, a widow with six children from . Researchers describe Franko's mother's nationality as Polish or Ukrainian.Yaroslav Hrytsak. (2006)
Ivan Franko - Peasant son?
Україна: культурна спадщина, національна свідомість, державність vol. 15
The petty gentry in
Eastern Galicia Eastern Galicia (; ; ) is a geographical region in Western Ukraine (present day oblasts of Lviv Oblast, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil Oblast, Ternopil), having also essential historic importance in Poland. Galicia ( ...
often retained elements of Polish culture and fostered a sense of solidarity with the Polish nobility, but they also Ruthenized and blended in with the surrounding peasantry. For example, Franko's uncle Ivan Kulczycki took part in the Polish uprising of 1863. Franko's distant relative, his aunt Koszycka, with whom he lived while studying in Drohobych, spoke Polish and Ruthenian. Ivan Franko attended school in the village Yasenytsia Sylna from 1862 until 1864, and from there attended the Basilian monastic school in
Drohobych Drohobych ( ; ; ) is a city in the south of Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Drohobych Raion and hosts the administration of Drohobych urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In 1939–1941 and 1944–1959 it w ...
until 1867. His father died before Ivan was able to graduate from the gymnasium (
realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...
), but his stepfather supported Ivan in continuing his education. Soon, however, Franko found himself completely without parents after his mother died as well and later the young Ivan stayed with totally unrelated people. In 1875, he graduated from the Drohobych Realschule, and continued on to Lviv University, where he studied classical philosophy, Ukrainian language and
literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
. It was at this university that Franko began his literary career, with various works of poetry and his novel ''Petriï i Dovbushchuky'' published by the students' magazine ''Druh'' (''Friend''), whose editorial board he would later join.


Socialist activism and imprisonment

A meeting with Mykhailo Drahomanov at Lviv University made a huge impression on Ivan Franko. It later developed into a long political and literary association. Franko's own socialist writings and his association with Drahomanov led to his arrest in 1877, along with Mykhailo Pavlyk and Ostap Terletsky, among others. They were accused of belonging to a secret socialist organization, which did not in fact exist. However, the nine months in prison did not discourage his political writing or activities. In prison, Franko wrote the satire ''Smorhonska Akademiya'' (''The Smorhon Academy''). After release, he studied the works of
Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
and
Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
Praca'' (''Labor'') and helped organize workers' groups in
Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
. In 1878 Franko and Pavlyk founded the magazine ''Hromads'kyi Druh'' ("Public Friend"). Only two issues were published before it was banned by the government; however, the journal was reborn under the names ''Dzvin'' (''Bell'') and ''Molot'' (''Mallet''). Franko published a series of books called ''Dribna Biblioteka'' ("Petty Library") from 1878 until his second arrest for arousing the peasants to civil disobedience in 1880. After three months in the
Kolomyia Kolomyia (, ), formerly known as Kolomea, is a city located on the Prut, Prut River in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in the west of Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Kolomyia Raion, hosting the administration of Kolomyia urban hromada ...
prison, the writer returned to Lviv. His impressions of this exile are reflected in his novel '' Na Dni'' (''At the Bottom''). Upon his release, Franko was kept under police surveillance. At odds with the administration, Franko was expelled from Lviv University, an institution that would be renamed Ivan Franko National University of Lviv after the writer's death. Franko was an active contributor to the journal ''Svit'' (''The World'') in 1881. He wrote more than half of the material, excluding the unsigned editorials. Later that year, Franko moved to his native Nahuievychi, where he wrote the novel ''Zakhar Berkut'', translated
Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
's '' Faust'' and Heine's poem ''Deutschland: ein Wintermärchen'' into Ukrainian. He also wrote a series of articles on
Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (; ; 9 March 1814 – 10 March 1861) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, folklorist, and ethnographer. He was a fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts and a member of the Brotherhood o ...
, and reviewed the collection ''Khutorna Poeziya'' ('' Khutir Poetry'') by Panteleimon Kulish. Franko worked for the journal ''Zorya'' (''Sunrise''), and became a member of the editing board of the newspaper ''Dilo'' (''Action'') a year later.


Marriage and engagement in politics

Franko married Olha Khoruzhynska from
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
in May 1886, to whom he dedicated the collection ''Z vershyn i nyzyn'' (''From Tops and Bottoms''), a book of poetry and verse. The couple lived in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
for some time, where Ivan Franko met with
Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...
and
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech name, Czech and Slovak name, Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas (name), Thomas. Tomáš is also a surname (feminine: Tomášová). Notable people with the name include: Given name Sport *Tomáš Berdych (born 198 ...
. His wife was to later suffer from a debilitating mental illness due to the death of the first-born son, Andriy, one of the reasons that Franko would not leave Lviv for treatment in Kyiv in 1916, shortly before his death. In 1888, Franko was a contributor to the journal ''Pravda'', which, along with his association with compatriots from Dnieper Ukraine, led to a third arrest in 1889. After this two-month prison term, he co-founded the Ruthenian-Ukrainian Radical Party with Mykhailo Drahomanov and Mykhailo Pavlyk. Franko was the Radical party's candidate for seats in the
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
of Austria and the Galicia Diet, but never won an election. In 1891, Franko attended the Franz-Josephs-Universität Czernowitz (where he prepared a dissertation on Ivan Vyshensky), and then attended the
University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...
to defend a doctoral dissertation on the spiritual romance ''
Barlaam and Josaphat Barlaam and Josaphat, also known as Bilawhar and Budhasaf, are Christian saints. Their story tells of the conversion of Josaphat to Christianity. According to tradition, an Indian king persecuted the Christian Church in his realm. After ast ...
'' under the supervision of Vatroslav Jagić, who was considered the foremost expert of
Slavic languages The Slavic languages, also known as the Slavonic languages, are Indo-European languages spoken primarily by the Slavs, Slavic peoples and their descendants. They are thought to descend from a proto-language called Proto-Slavic language, Proto- ...
at the time. Franko received his doctorate of philosophy from University of Vienna on July 1, 1893. He was appointed lecturer in the history of Ukrainian literature at Lviv University in 1894; however, he was not able to chair the Department of Ukrainian literature there because of opposition from
Vicegerent Vicegerent is the official administrative deputy of a ruler or head of state: ''vice'' (Latin for "in place of") and ''gerere'' (Latin for "to carry on, conduct"). In Oxford colleges, a vicegerent is often someone appointed by the Master of a ...
Kazimierz Badeni Count Kasimir Felix Badeni (German language, German: ''Kasimir Felix Graf von Badeni'', Polish: ''Kazimierz Feliks hrabia Badeni''; 14 October 1846 – 9 July 1909), a member of the Poland, Polish noble House of Badeni, was an Austria-Hungary, Aus ...
and Galician conservative circles. One of Franko's articles, ''Sotsiializm i sotsiial-demokratyzm'' (''Socialism and Social Democracy''), a severe criticism of Ukrainian Social Democracy and the socialism of
Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
and Engels, was published in 1898 in the journal ''Zhytie i Slovo'', which he and his wife founded. He continued his anti-
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
stance in a collection of poetry entitled ''Mii smarahd'' (''My Emerald'') in 1898, where he called Marxism "a religion founded on dogmas of hatred and class struggle". His long-time collaborative association with Mykhailo Drahomanov was strained due to their diverging views on socialism and the national question. Franko would later accuse Drahomanov of tying Ukraine's fate to that of Russia in ''Suspil'nopolitychni pohliady M. Drahomanova'' (''The Sociopolitical Views of M. Drahomanov''), published in 1906. After a split in the Radical Party, in 1899, Franko, together with the Lviv historian Mykhailo Hrushevsky, founded the National Democratic Party, where he worked until 1904 when he retired from political life.


Later career

In 1902, students and activists in Lviv, embarrassed that Franko was living in poverty, purchased a house for him in the city. He lived there for the remaining 14 years of his life. The house is now the site of the Ivan Franko Museum. In 1904 Franko took part in an ethnographic expedition in the Boyko areas with Filaret Kolesa, Fedir Vovk, and a Russian ethnographer. 1914 saw publication of his jubilee collection, ''Pryvit Ivanovi Frankovi'' (''Greeting Ivan Franko''), and of his collection ''Iz lit moyeyi molodosti'' (''From the Years of My Youth''). In the last nine years of his life, Franko seldom physically wrote, as he suffered from rheumatism which eventually paralyzed his right arm. He was assisted as
amanuensis An amanuensis ( ) ( ) or scribe is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In some aca ...
by his sons, particularly Andriy. In 1916, Josef Zastyretz and Harald Hjärne proposed Franko for the 1916
Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...
, but he died before the nomination materialized.


Illness, death and burial

During the last eight years of his life Franko suffered from numerous sicknesses including migraines,
tinnitus Tinnitus is a condition when a person hears a ringing sound or a different variety of sound when no corresponding external sound is present and other people cannot hear it. Nearly everyone experiences faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely ...
and polyarthritis, which were accompanied with
fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...
,
insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...
and
hallucinations A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the compelling sense of reality. They are distinguishable from several related phenomena, such as dreaming ( REM sleep), which does not involve wakefulness; pse ...
. After the start of the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the author lost the care of his family, as his children Taras and Petro volunteered to the frontline, and his wife Olha was herself undergoing medical treatment in a psychiatric establishment. Starting from November 1915 Franko lived in a shelter organized for members of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. Suffering from new bouts of sickness, Ivan Franko died at the establishent at 4 pm on 28 May 1916. On his deathbed Franko refused confession from
Greek Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Ea ...
priests. As a result, the Church initially refused to bury the author, who was reputed to have been an atheist: permission for a public funeral was received only after the gravity of Franko's symptoms, from which he had suffered immediately before his death, and which could be attributed to mental illness, was proven to authorities. On 31 May numerous visitors came to the late author's residence in Lviv to pay him last respect, including his son Petro, composer Vasyl Barvinsky, who directed the solemn choir, and lawyer Kost Levytsky, who made the funeral speech. The funeral procession was accompanied by soldiers of the Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. Due to wartime conditions, it was impossible to immediately allocate a burial plot, so Franko's body was initially interred in a vault rented from another family. Only five years after his death, on 28 May 1921, Ivan Franko's remains were reburied on the main alley of Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv. In 1933 a monument depicting a stone-hewer, the main figure of one of Franko's famous poems, was opened at the site of his grave.


Family


Wife

Olha Fedorivna Khoruzhynska (m. 1886-1941), a graduate of the Institute of Noble Dames in
Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.
and later the two-year higher courses in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, she knew several languages and played piano, died in 1941


Children

* Andriy Franko (1887 - 1913) - died at 27 from heart failure. * Petro Franko (1890–1941), an engineer-chemist, a veteran of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, founder of the Ukrainian Air Force, a Ukrainian politician, a people's deputy in the
Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...
** Petro Franko had two daughters who after marrying changed their names * Taras Franko (1889 - 1971), a veteran of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen ** Roland Franko (1931-2021), a Ukrainian politician, diplomat, a graduate of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, by his efforts in 1996 the United Kingdom freely transferred its Antarctic station Faraday to Ukraine later renamed into Academician Vernadsky ** Zenovia Franko (1925-1991), a Ukrainian philologist and an outstanding person of the Ukrainian nationalist movement in the times of the Soviet Union had sons ** Daryna Franko * Hanna Klyuchko (Franko) (1892 - 1988), a Ukrainian writer, publicist, memoirist


Children in law

* Olha Franko, wife of Petro (above) According to Roland Franko, his grandfather was tall, had red hair, always wore mustache and the Ukrainian embroidered shirt ( vyshyvanka) even with a dress-coat. Some of Franko's descendants emigrated to the US and Canada. His grand-nephew, Yuri Shymko, is a Canadian politician and human rights activist living in Toronto, who was elected to Canada's Parliament as well as the Ontario Legislature during the 1980s.


Literary works

''Lesyshyna Cheliad'' and ''Dva Pryiateli'' (''Two Friends'') were published in the literary almanac ''Dnistrianka'' in 1876. Later that year he wrote his first collection of poetry, ''Ballads and Tales''. His first of the stories in the ''Boryslav'' series was published in 1877. Franko depicted the harsh experience of Ukrainian workers and peasants in his novels ''Boryslav Laughs'' (1881–1882) and ''Boa Constrictor'' (1878). His works deal with Ukrainian nationalism and history (''Zakhar Berkut'', 1883), social issues (''Basis of Society'', 1895 and ''Withered Leaves'', 1896), social and psychological problems (''Crossed Paths'', 1900), and philosophy (''Semper Tiro'', 1906). He has drawn parallels to the Israelite search for a homeland and the Ukrainian desire for independence in ''In Death of Cain'' (1889) and ''Moses'' (1905). ''Stolen Happiness'' (1893) is considered as his best dramatic masterpiece. In total, Franko has written more than 1,000 works. He was widely promoted in Ukraine during the Soviet period, particularly for his poem " Kameniari" ("Stonebreakers" or "Stone-hewers") which contains revolutionary political ideas, hence earning him the name ''Kameniar'' ("Stone-hewer").


Works translated into English

English translations of Ivan Franko's works include: * "What is Progress"; * "How a Ruthenian Busied Himself in the Other World", "How Yura Shykmanyuk Forded the Cheremosh", "A Thorn in His Foot" and "As in a Dream"; * "Mykytych's Oak Tree, The Gypsies", "It's His Own Fault" and "The Forest Nymph"; * "Hryts and the Young Lord", "The Cutthroats", "The Involuntary Hero" and "The Raging Tempest"; * "Unknown Waters" and "Lel and Polel"; * "Fateful Crossroads"; * "For the Home Hearth" and "Pillars of Society"; * "From the Notes of a Patient", "The High Life" and "The Postal Clerk"; * "Amidst the Just", "Fatherland", "The Jay's Wing" and "William Tell". * ''Zakhar Berkut''. ''(This translation was released in audiobook format on 5 July 2023)'' An anthology containing short stories and novellas by Franko entitled ''Faces of Hardship'' was published in 2021.


Social and political views


Franko and the Jews

Ivan Franko's literary heritage has produced varying interpretations of his views on society and politics. This ambiguity intensified after the disappearance of censorship with the fall of the Communist regime in Ukraine, which allowed the publication of the author's previously little-known texts. One of the most controversial topics in relations to the legacy of Franko's personality is his attitude to
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
: during the Soviet era some of his works, including the poem ''Moses'', were banned from publication by the Ukrainian Soviet government due to their sympathetic depiction of the plight of the Jewish people, and his contribution to the improvement of Ukrainian-Jewish relations was also positively evaluated by authors from the Ukrainian diaspora; on the other hand, non-Ukrainian authors have in most cases presented Franko as an anti-semite, blaming him for the negative depiction of Jews in some of his works. On the centenary of Franko's birth American Jewish magazine '' Forverts'' accused him of presaging
pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
s and compared the author to the haidamaks and other historical personalities known for their persecutions of Jews including Bohdan Khmelnytsky and
Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...
. Some of Franko's texts have also been used to justify antisemitism by anti-semitic publications such as ''Krakivski Visti''. Franko's own memoirs contain some mentions of his Jewish acquaintances starting from his childhood years. His mother had friendly relations with a local Jewish woman who was a tavern-keeper, and denied the truthfulness of the " blood fable" which was frequently employed against the Jews in Galicia. During his school studies Franko befriended a son of another Jewish tavern-keeper. In Drohobych he became friends with Isaac Tigerman, who was a relative of painter
Maurycy Gottlieb Maurycy Gottlieb ; 21 February 1856 – 17 July 1879) was a Polish-Jewish realist Painting, painter of the Romanticism in Poland, Romantic period. Considered one of the most talented students of Jan Matejko, Gottllieb died at the age of 23. Car ...
. After Tigerman's death his father continued corresponding with Franko and even visited the ''Sich'' student society. Observations of the cultural differences between Jews and non-Jews aroused Franko's interest in cultures of the
East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
and moved him to read the
Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
, from which he made several translations into Ukrainian. As a Socialist activist Franko supported the right of the Jews for their own national branch in the Socialist movement. A number of Jews were also his colleagues in publishing activities. Franko also collected ethnographic material, including proverbs and saying related to Jews, and his knowledge of
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
allowed him to get a better understanding of the life of poor Jewish workers in the area of Boryslav. However, the majority of Ukrainian political movements in Galicia during Franko's time shared a negative attitude to Jews and considered them to be a threat to the Ukrainian people: populists such as Stepan Kachala, as well as Russophiles headed by Ivan Naumovych and even Socialists like Mykhailo Pavlyk accused Jews of treachery and demoralization of Ruthenian-Ukrainian peasantry. Compared to them, Franko's promotion of solidarity with the Jews went contrary to the prevailing sentiments, as a result of which he was accused by some of his contemporaries of being a "Jewish hireling" and "half-Jew". During his stay in Vienna in 1893 Franko met with
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
leader
Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...
, and later wrote the foreword to the Lviv publication of his work '' Der Judenstaat''. While Franko didn't fully agree with Herzl's idea of creating a Jewish state, considering it unrealistic, he recognized the need of solidarity between Jews to protect themselves from antisemitism. At the same time, Franko was highly critical of rich Jewish business owners, and depicted them as main antagonists of his novella ''Boryslav Laughs'', dedicated to the workers' movement in Galicia. He also denied the truthfulness of the works of Nathan Hanover dedicated to the pogroms during the
Khmelnytsky Uprising The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...
of 1648-1657, claiming that the depiction of those events by the author was exaggerated.


Legacy


Commemoration in Ukraine

In 1962 the city of Stanyslaviv in Western Ukraine ( formerly Stanisławów, Poland) was renamed
Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk (, ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also host ...
in the poet's honor. On the Centennial of Franko's PhD defence in 1993, the then Austrian vice chancellor Erhard Busek had a commemorative bust installed in the university building on Ringstrasse, opposite ''Übungsraum'' 1 and 2 at the Department of Germanistik. In 2013, an additional plaque was added, after an academic symposium had clarified Franko's relationship to Judaism, mentioned anti-Semitic stereotypes in Franko's work as well as close Jewish friends. As of November 2018 on the Ukrainian-controlled part of Ukraine there were 552 streets named after Ivan Franko. He is also associated with the name Kameniar for his famous poem, "Kameniari" ("The Rock Breakers"), especially during the time of the Soviet regime. Although he was a
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
, his political views mostly did not correspond to Soviet ideology. On 8 April 1978, the astronomer Nikolai Chernykh named an
asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet—an object larger than a meteoroid that is neither a planet nor an identified comet—that orbits within the Solar System#Inner Solar System, inner Solar System or is co-orbital with Jupiter (Trojan asteroids). As ...
in honor of Franko by way of this name, 2428 Kamenyar.


Commemoration in the Ukrainian diaspora

In the Americas, Ivan Franko's legacy is alive to this day. Cyril Genik, the best man at Franko's wedding, emigrated to Canada. Genik became the first Ukrainian to be employed by the Canadian government – working as an immigration agent. With his cousin Ivan Bodrug, and Bodrug's friend Ivan Negrich, the three were known as the Березівська Трійця (the Bereziv Triumvirate) in Winnipeg. Imbued by Franko's nationalism and liberalism, Genik and his Triumvirate had no compunction about bringing Bishop Seraphim to Winnipeg in 1903 – a renegade Russian monk, consecrated a bishop on Mount Athos – to free the Ukrainians of all the religious and political groups in Canada who were wrangling to assimilate them. Within two years, the charismatic
Seraphim A seraph ( ; pl.: ) is a Angelic being, celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christian angelology and ...
built the notorious Tin Can Cathedral in Winnipeg's North-End, which claimed nearly 60,000 adherents. Today, the bust of Ivan Franko, which stands triumphantly on a pillar in the courtyard of the Ivan Franko Manor on McGregor St. in Winnipeg, looks fondly across the street. Two churches stood here, the first (this building has since been demolished) that Seraphim blessed and opened for service upon his arrival, before building his Cathedral. The second was the Independent Greek Church (this building is still intact) of which Ivan Bodrug became the head after Seraphim was removed. Franko's consciousness had been bold, and on the level playing ground of the new world, it served Ukrainians in Canada to find their own identity as Ukrainian-Canadians.


Cultural legacy

Ukrainian composer Yudif Grigorevna Rozhavskaya (1923-1982) used Franko’s text for her songs. In 2001 one of Franko's iconic poems, ''Moses'', was adopted as an
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
by Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk. In 2019 a Ukrainian-American historical action film '' The Rising Hawk'' with budget $5 million was released. It is based on the historical fiction book ''Zakhar Berkut'' by Ivan Franko.


See also

* Ivan Franko Museum * Ivan Franko International Prize * Omelian Hlibovytskyi * Ivan Kuziv * Ostap Nyzhankivsky * Ivan Popel * Oleksa Volianskyi * List of Ukrainian-language poets * List of Ukrainian-language writers * List of Ukrainian literature translated into English


References


Bibliography

*


External links


Article on Ivan Franko
from the Encyclopedia of Ukraine
Ivan Franko's audiobook "Biblical story about Creation of the Universe"
* *
Ivan Franko. Spirit of Revolt. Translated by J. Weir. Performed by B. Billow (audio)

Władysław Makarski, ''Iwan Franko jako onomasta'' [Ivan Franko as an Onomast]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franko, Ivan 1856 births 1916 deaths Writers from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Ukrainian Austro-Hungarians Ukrainian Radical Party politicians Writers from Lviv Oblast Politicians from Lviv Oblast Writers from Austria-Hungary Translators of Dante Alighieri Ukrainian male poets Politicians from Austria-Hungary Ukrainian atheists Humanists National Democracy (Ukraine) Ukrainian democracy activists Ukrainian literary critics Ukrainian editors Ukrainian satirists Ukrainian satirical novelists University of Lviv alumni Burials at Lychakiv Cemetery Chernivtsi University alumni Ukrainian writers in Polish