Pavlo Mykhailovych Movchan (; born 13 July 1939) is a Ukrainian poet and politician who served as a

People's Deputy of Ukraine A people's deputy of Ukraine (, ) is a member of parliament and legislator elected by Direct election, popular vote to the Verkhovna Rada, the parliament of Ukraine. They are often referred to simply as "deputies". Prior to 1991, the Verkhovna R ...

from 1990 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2012. Prior to taking office, Movchan was a poet who was associated with the

Sixtiers The Sixtiers (, ; "people of the 60s") were а new generation of young intellectuals who reawakened literature and a sense of Ukrainian nationalism within the Soviet intelligentsia. The Sixtiers entered the cultural and political life in Ukraine d ...

and

Soviet dissidents Soviet dissidents were people who disagreed with certain features of Soviet ideology or with its entirety and who were willing to speak out against them. The term ''dissident'' was used in the Soviet Union (USSR) in the period from the mid-1960 ...

Early life and education

Pavlo Mykhailovych Movchan was born 13 July 1939 in the village of , then part of the Soviet Union. Both of his parents were collective farmers. From 1958 to 1960 he studied at the

Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (; also known as Kyiv University, Shevchenko University, or KNU) is a public university in Kyiv, Ukraine. The university is the third-oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and ...

, later studying at the

Maxim Gorky Literature Institute The Maxim Gorky Literature Institute () is an institution of higher education in Moscow, Russia. It is located at 25 Tverskoy Boulevard in central Moscow. History The institute was founded in 1933 on the initiative of Maxim Gorky, a writer, foun ...

. From 1966 to 1967, Movchan worked as a fisherman; he later studied under the

State Committee for Cinematography Goskino USSR () is the abbreviated name for the USSR State Committee for Cinematography (Государственный комитет по кинематографии СССР) in the Soviet Union. It was a central state directory body for Sovi ...

and worked as a screenwriter at

Dovzhenko Film Studios The Dovzhenko Film Studios () is a former Soviet film production studio in UkrSSR and Ukraine that was named after the Soviet film producer, Oleksandr Dovzhenko, in 1957. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the studio became a property of the ...

. He was the head of a hydrometeorology research study conducted by the

Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...

Literary career

Movchan made his debut in 1963, releasing the collection ''Here!'' (). His literary style during this time was closely associated with the

. During his early literary career Movchan was largely published in Russian-language magazines, and he lived primarily in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. He later published his second anthology, ''Kora'', in 1968. He reached the peak of his activity during the 1970s and 1980s, publishing nine separate anthologies between 1977 and 1989. Movchan's works are characterised by

existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...

. Movchan's poetry collections have been described by

Ivan Dziuba Ivan Mykhailovych Dziuba (; 26 July 1931 – 22 February 2022) was a Ukrainian literary critic, social activist, and Soviet dissident. Honoured as a Hero of Ukraine in 2001, Dziuba was an academic of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the ...

as being typically divided into three different, contradictory motifs; Dziuba wrote circa 2019 that these motifs typically reflect Hegelian dialectics of thesis, antithesis and synthesis, both in terms of their subject matter and their poetic style. Typical themes addressed in Movchan's poetry include space, time and intimacy. Literary historian and poet argues that Movchan's works primarily concern faith and mysticism, pointing out that Movchan frequently alludes to Biblical themes in his poetry. Movchan was one of the awardees of the

Shevchenko National Prize Shevchenko National Prize (; also ''Shevchenko Award'') is the highest state prize of Ukraine for works of culture and arts awarded since 1961. It is named after the inspirer of Ukrainian national revival Taras Shevchenko. It is one of the five ...

in 1992, and he was granted the title of

Merited Artist of Ukraine Honored Artist of Ukraine (; also translated as Honored (Performing) Artist of Ukraine or Merited (Performing) Artist of Ukraine) is a state honorary title of decoration of the Ukrainian government. Originally awarded by the Ukrainian SSR, the ...

the next year. He is the head of

Prosvita Prosvita (), since 1991 officially known as All-Ukrainian Prosvita Society named after Taras Shevchenko () is an enlightenment society aimed to preserve and develop Ukrainian culture, education and science, that was created in the nineteenth cen ...

, a society for the promotion of the Ukrainian language.

Political career

During the Soviet era, Movchan supported Ukrainian

. Following the

1972–1973 Ukrainian purge From 12 January 1972 to 1973, a wide-reaching purge of Ukrainian society and intelligentsia was organised by Leonid Brezhnev and the KGB. Codenamed Operation Bloc (; ), the purge resulted in the arrest of 193 people, including most of the leaders ...

, he lived under constant surveillance from the

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

and was forced to live in internal exile. Movchan was first elected to 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 ...

(Ukrainian parliament) in the

1990 Ukrainian Supreme Soviet election Supreme Soviet elections were held in the Ukrainian SSR on 4 March 1990, with runoffs in some seats held between 10 and 18 March. The elections were held to elect deputies to the republic's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. Simultaneously, election ...

, representing

Berezniaky Berezniaky () is a historical neighbourhood, on the left bank of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russi ...

in the city of

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, ...

as part of the Democratic Bloc alliance. At the time of his election, he was a member of the

People's Movement of Ukraine The People's Movement of Ukraine () is a Ukraine, Ukrainian political party and one of the first Opposition (politics), opposition parties in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine.The first officially registered opposition politica ...

(, abbreviated ''Rukh''); he later joined the . He was chief of the subcommittee on the

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

. Movchan was re-elected in the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

elections, being elected from

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 ...

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...

and Ukraine's 152nd electoral district in

Rivne Oblast Rivne Oblast (), also referred to as Rivnenshchyna (), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Rivne. The surface area of the region is . Its population is: Before its annexation by the ...

respectively. He was a member of the Foreign Affairs and CIS Relations Committee, being the committee's chairman from February 2000 to 2002 and serving as head of the inter-parliamentary relations subcommittee from 1994 to 1998. During the split in ''Rukh'', he joined

Yuriy Kostenko Yuriy Ivanovych Kostenko (; born 6 December 1951) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician and leader of the Ukrainian People's Party.Ukrainian People's Party The Ukrainian People's Party (; ) is a centre-right political party in Ukraine, registered on Old Year's Day in 1999, and known until 2003 as the Ukrainian People's Movement (; ).Our Ukraine Bloc Our or OUR may refer to: * The possessive form of "we" Places * Our (river), in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany * Our, Belgium, a village in Belgium * Our, Jura, a commune in France Other uses * Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR), a Politics ...

in the

2002 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 31 March 2002.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1976 The Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc, Our Ukraine bloc emerged as the largest faction in ...

; he left the bloc for the Ukrainian People's Party Bloc in March 2005. From 2002 to 2006 he was first deputy chair of the Culture and Spirituality Committee. Movchan was a candidate in the

2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 26 March 2006. Election campaigning officially began on 7 July 2005. Between November 26 and 31 December 2005, party lists of candidates were formed. The election to the Ukrainian parliament, Verkh ...

for the

Ukrainian National Bloc of Kostenko and Plyushch The Ukrainian People's Bloc of Kostenko and Plyushch, () is a defunct centre-right political alliance in Ukraine led by Yuriy Kostenko and Ivan Plyushch. Membership Former members Results At the 2006 Ukrainian parliamentary election ...

. He was not successfully elected. In the

2007 Ukrainian parliamentary election Early parliamentary elections were held in Ukraine on 30 September 2007. The election date was determined following agreement between the President Viktor Yushchenko, the Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (Uk ...

he returned to the Verkhovna Rada, this time as part of the

Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc () was the name of the bloc of political parties in Ukraine led by Yulia Tymoshenko since 2001. In November 2011, the participation of blocs of political parties in parliamentary elections was banned.

. He was placed as the 131st candidate on the bloc's proportional representation list, and at the time of his election, he was an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. Movchan was a member of the Culture and Spirituality Committtee, and head of the subcommittee on Creative Activities, Art, Cultural Education and Language Policies from February 2008. He left the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc in February 2010, later becoming a member of the

Reforms for the Future Reforms for the Future () was a Ukrainian deputy group turned faction in its national parliament Verkhovna Rada created on February 16, 2011.

faction in the Verkhovna Rada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Movchan, Pavlo 1939 births Living people First convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Second convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Third convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Fourth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Sixth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Existentialists Independent politicians in Ukraine Independent politicians of Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc Maxim Gorky Literature Institute alumni People from Obukhiv Raion People's Movement of Ukraine politicians Prosvita Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 3rd class Recipients of the Honorary Diploma of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Recipients of the Order of Liberty (Ukraine) Soviet dissidents Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni Ukrainian male poets Ukrainian People's Party politicians