Ivan Steshenko (June 24, 1873,

Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administrative ...

– August 1, 1918,

) was a Ukrainian civic and political activist, writer, translator, member of the Ukrainian government, and member of the

Shevchenko Scientific Society The Shevchenko Scientific Society () is a Ukrainian scientific society devoted to the promotion of scholarly research and publication that was founded in 1873. Unlike the government-funded National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the society ...

. He had several pen-surnames: Serdeshny, Sichovyk, Svitlenko, and Stepura. Steshenko had a wife Oksana Steshenko, a daughter and a son:

Iryna Irina (Cyrillic: Ирина) is a feminine given name of Ancient Greek origin, commonly borne by followers of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is derived from Eirene ( Ancient Greek: Εἰρήνη), an ancient Greek goddess, personification of ...

and Yaroslav. Ivan was a son-in-law to

Mykhailo Starytskyi Mykhailo Petrovych Starytsky ( uk, Михайло Петрович Старицький; 14 December 1840 – 27 April 1904), in English Michael Starycky, was a Ukrainian writer, poet, and playwright.Kiev University Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

from 1892 to 1896. At that time he was an active member of the Literary Hromada of

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 ...

. Steshenko was publishing his works in various Lviv periodicals: ''Pravda'', ''Zoria'', and ''Dzvinok''. After graduating from the Department of History and Philosophy in 1896, he worked as a teacher in women's school, gymnasium. In politics he became influenced by

Mykhailo Drahomanov Mykhailo Petrovych Drahomanov ( ukr, Михайло Петрович Драгоманов; 18 September 1841 – 2 July 1895) was a Ukrainian intellectual and public figure. As an academic, Drahomanov was an economist, historian, philosopher, an ...

and

Mykola Kovalevsky Mykola ( uk, Мико́ла, Mykóla, ) is a Slavic variant, more specifically a Ukrainian variant, of the masculine name "Nicholas", meaning "victory of the people". It may refer to: People *Mykola Arkas (1853–1909), Ukrainian composer, write ...

. Later together with other activists such as

Lesia Ukrainka Lesya Ukrainka ( uk, Леся Українка ; born Larysa Petrivna Kosach, uk, Лариса Петрівна Косач; – ) was one of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active ...

he formed the Ukrainian social-democratic club (circle). At about that time he wrote his drama ''Mazepa''. After all this he was put in prison in 1897 for four months, following exile from Kiev and prohibition of teaching. That forced him to go into intense writing. At that time he was preparing the Ukrainian dictionary, wrote a book about Kotliarevsky's work (1898), and its own poetry collections such as ''Khutorni Sonety'' (Farmstead sonnets, 1899) and ''Steppovi Motyvy'' (Steppe Motifs, 1900). He also was publishing various articles in the newspaper ''

Kievskaya Starina ''Kievskaya starina'' (russian: Киевская старина, literally "Kievan Past") was a monthly historically ethographic and literary chronicle. It was published in Kyiv during 1882–1907 in Russian, and then in Ukrainian in 1906. In t ...

''. Upon returning to Kiev, he became the leader of the Hromada society and worked closely with the

Society of Ukrainian Progressionists Ukrainian Democratic Party (UDP), was a Ukrainian party that existed in Kiev in since 1897 first as a clandestine General Ukrainian nonpartisan democratic organization that grew into a political party just before the 1905 Russian revolution. The 1 ...

. He also became a secretary of the Kiev Literary-Artistic Society before it was closed in 1905. At about that time he published the biography of Kotliarevsky (1902) and was co-publisher of a magazine ''Shershen'' (1905). After he was reinstated as a teacher in 1906, from 1907 to 1917 he was teaching literature in the First Commercial School in Kiev and

Lysenko Music and Drama School The Lysenko Music and Drama School was a private music school in Kyiv, Ukraine. It was founded in 1899 and opened in 1904 by Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko. In 1912 it became a public national university for the performing arts, now the pres ...

. During that time he was also a secretary and a deputy-chairman of the Ukrainian Scientific Society. In 1913–14 he was an editor for the Kiev monthly periodical ''Siayvo'', and in 1908 he published a history of Ukrainian drama. After the

October 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 mome ...

he was elected as the member of the Kiev Civic Executive Committee and the

Tsentralna Rada The Central Council of Ukraine ( uk, Українська Центральна Рада, ) (also called the Tsentralna Rada or the Central Rada) was the All-Ukrainian council (soviet) that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputie ...

. Steshenko also was one of the founders of the Society of School Education. Later he was appointed first as the

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

and then as the Minister of Education. Steshenko also founded the

State Academy of Arts State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. Soon Steshenko was murdered while on vacation. His assassin was never found. Ivan Steshenko was buried in the

Baikove Cemetery Baikove Cemetery ( uk, Байкове кладовище) is a historic cemetery memorial in Holosiiv Raion of Kyiv, Ukraine. It is a National Historic Landmark of Ukraine and is known as a necropolis of distinguished people. It was established i ...

in Kiev. Out of his translations were works of Ovid, von Schiller, Pushkin, Byron, and others.

Serhiy Yefremov Serhiy Yefremov ( uk, Сергій Єфремов; October 18, 1876 – March 31, 1939) was a Ukrainian literary journalist, historian, critic, political activist, statesman, and academician. He was a member of the Ukrainian Academy of Scie ...

while on the way to

wrote in his

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

: "I just found out from Kost Ivanovych ovkachscary details about the murder of Steshenko. He was charged to be killed by the regional

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

organization of the Zinkiv Povit, and was executed by one of the members of the organization. His name's Bashlovka. The reason why Steshenko was sentenced to be executed is unknown."

References

External links

Biography of Steshenko

Biography at Ukraine Young

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steshenko, Ivan Ukrainian male writers 1873 births 1918 deaths Education ministers of Ukraine Members of the Central Council of Ukraine Members of the Shevchenko Scientific Society Politicians from Poltava People from Poltava Governorate Ukrainian Social Democratic Labour Party politicians Ukrainian Democratic Party (1904) politicians Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni 20th-century male writers 20th-century Ukrainian politicians Writers from Poltava