Volodymyr Mykolaiovych Sosiura (; 6 January 1898 – 8 January 1965) was a Ukrainian

lyric poet Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. The term for both modern lyric poetry and modern song lyrics derives from a form of Ancient Greek literature, t ...

, writer, veteran of Ukrainian-Soviet war.

Brief biography

Volodymyr Sosiura was born in a settlement of Debaltseve railway station (today the city of

Debaltseve Debaltseve (, ) or Debaltsevo (), is a city in Horlivka Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, currently occupied by Russia as part of the Donetsk People's Republic. The city is situated on the eastern edge of Donetsk Oblast, and borders Luhansk Oblas ...

).Halchenko, Serhiy Anastasiyovych.
(СОСЮРА ВОЛОДИМИР МИКОЛАЙОВИЧ)
'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. He started to work in 1909 at the Donets Soda Factory in a settlement Verkhnee (today part of

Lysychansk Lysychansk ( , ; , ; , ) is a city in Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is located on the high right bank of the Donets River, approximately from the administrative center of the oblast, Luhansk. It faces Sievierodonet ...

) where he worked for couple of years. In 1914–1918 he studied in an agricultural school (uchilische) in a settlement of Yama train station (today

Siversk Siversk (, ; ), formerly known as Yama () until 1973, is a city in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Its economy has traditionally been based around the mining and processing of dolomite. In January 2022, it had an estimated population o ...

). In 1918 Sosiura was a member of the Donets Soda Factory insurgent workers group. Sosiura fought in Petliura's

Ukrainian People's Army The Ukrainian People's Army (), also known as the Ukrainian National Army (UNA) or by the derogatory term Petliurivtsi (, ), was the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–1921). They were often quickly reorganized units of the former I ...

(the 3rd Haidamaka Regiment that was quartered in

Bakhmut Bakhmut is a city in eastern Ukraine. It is officially the administrative center of Bakhmut urban hromada and Bakhmut Raion in Donetsk Oblast. The city is located on the Bakhmutka River, about north of Donetsk, the administrative center ...

) during the winter of 1918 to the autumn of 1919, before being taken prisoner by

Denikin Anton Ivanovich Denikin (, ; – 7 August 1947) was a Russian military leader who served as the acting supreme ruler of the Russian State and the commander-in-chief of the White movement–aligned armed forces of South Russia during the Ru ...

Volunteer Army The Volunteer Army (; ), abbreviated to (), also known as the Southern White Army was a White Army active in South Russia during the Russian Civil War from 1917 to 1920. The Volunteer Army fought against Bolsheviks and the Makhnovists on the ...

. He was sentenced to death by shooting, but he survived because the wound turned out to be non-fatal and managed to escape. Later, after the UPR was overrun, he joined the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. After the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

in Ukraine ended (see

Ukraine after Russian Revolution Various factions fought over Ukrainian territory after the collapse of the Russian Empire following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and after the First World War ended in 1918, resulting in the collapse of Austria-Hungary, which had ruled Ukra ...

), he studied at the

Artem Communist University Artem (, ) is a male given name of Greek origin, especially common in Ukraine and Russia. It is also used in Armenian with the variant of Ardem in Western Armenian. Artyom (Артём), the Russian version of the name, is often romanized as Arte ...

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

from 1922 to 1923, then at the workers' faculty of the Public Education Institute (

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

) from 1923 to 1925. Sosiura belonged to the Ukrainian literary organizations Pluh,

Hart Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) * Hart (surname) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department store ...

VAPLITE The ''V''ilna ''A''kademia ''P''roletarskoi ''LITE''ratury ( ВАПЛІТЕ, ) was a literary union in Ukraine. It was established in Kharkiv and existed from January, 1926 to January 28, 1928. Accepting the official requirements of the Communis ...

, and the All-Ukrainian Association of Proletarian Writers. In the 1920s–30s Sosiura became very popular, but his ideological loyalties were torn between patriotic feelings for

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 Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and those for the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and its often-changing ideologies. Even though he had long been a member of the CPU(b), he was frequently in conflict with it, and was twice expelled for "nationalistic undertones," he was even forced to undergo a "reeducation" at a factory in 1930–1931. Many of Sosiura's poems were not published. In 1948 he was awarded the highest honors of the Stalin Prize, but then he came under harsh criticism for his poem entitled ''Love Ukraine'' (''Любіть Україну''), which was deemed too nationalistic in its tone by several

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

news-media including

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

. Afterwards his wife was arrested and spent six years in

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

prisons. In 1963, he won the

Shevchenko 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 ...

for ''Swallows on the sun'' and ''Happiness of a working family''. Sosiura died in Kyiv at the age of 67.

Works

His works include numerous poems that vary from the patriotic genre to love poems such as ''Love Ukraine'', ''The Late Summer'' (Babyne Lito), ''To Maria'', ''Stalin'', and many others.
''For further reading refe
here
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Legacy

His portrait and title of his poem, ''Love Ukraine'', are featured on a two

Hryvnia The ( ; , ''hrn''; sign: ₴; code: UAH) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is divided into 100 kopiykas (). It is named after a measure of weight used in Kievan Rus'. Etymology The currency of Kie ...

collectible coin. Ukrainian composer Yudif Grigorevna Rozhavskaya used Sosiura's text for her songs. Sosyura coins

References

External links

Poetry of Volodymyr Sosiura
*

a
''Encyclopedia of Ukraine''

''Volodymyr Sosiura and the Oppressors of National Spirit'' By Ihor Siundiukov, ''The Day''
* * . Read by Basil Bucolic (YouTube)
Poetry of Volodymyr Sosiura
LIbrary for kids "TOU" {{DEFAULTSORT:Sosiura, Volodymyr 1898 births 1965 deaths Burials at Baikove Cemetery People from Debaltseve People from Yekaterinoslav Governorate Ukrainian people in the Russian Empire Soviet people of the Ukrainian–Soviet War Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Ukrainian male poets Ukrainian People's Army personnel National University of Kharkiv alumni Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Shevchenko National Prize