Shevchenko, Taras Hryhorovych (1814–1861)

Ukrainian national poet. Born a serf, he was freed (for 2,500 roubles) in St Petersburg, where he then studied art. His sensationally successful first collection Kobzar/Folk Minstrel 1840 romantically glorified the Ukraine's Cossack past. It was followed by the long poem Haidamaky/The Haidamaks 1841. His protest against injustice and tsarist oppression in the Ukraine led to a ban on publication of his poems and eventual exile and penal servitude for subversive activity.