This story has been told in countless ways. It has served as inspiration for great novelists and playwrights, painters, and filmmakers. Behind the scenes, the bandura played, and part-singing resonated, while on the main stage, a passionate yet fleeting love unfolded. Impossible by its very nature, making it all the more intense and intoxicating

A teacher by the grace of God who considered love the key factor in teaching and upbringing. Over his lifetime, he wrote 48 monographs, 600 articles, and 1,500 fairy tales, parables, and short stories. His works have been published in 53 languages, with a total circulation of 15 million copies. He lived for children, devoting every moment of his life to them, never belonging to himself

Ivan Malkovych is a poet, publisher, and director of the publishing house «A-BA-BA-HA-LA-MA-HA». He is the author of seven poetry collections, including «The Key», «Poems for Winter», and «Everything Nearby». Malkovych is ranked among the Top 100 most influential people in Ukraine. He is often referred to as a modern-day Ole Lukøje

«Shchedryk» is the most recognizable song of the 20th century. The carol was first performed in Kyiv in 1916 and made its American debut on October 5, 1922, at New York’s prestigious Carnegie Hall. Later, it was translated into English, and residents of the «Big Apple» know our «Shchedryk» as the «Carol of the Bells»

Mykola Khvylovyi, whose real surname was Fitylov, was an extraordinary Ukrainian writer, poet, and publicist whose work became a cornerstone of revolutionary Ukrainian prose. This master of words consistently defended Ukraine’s historical essence, and despite his complex character, he left an indelible mark on literature. His life and creativity stand as an eternal symbol of an inner fire that will never extinguish

A groundbreaking director who revolutionized theatrical art. His productions resembled mysteries, and his ideas were ahead of their time. He founded the renowned «Berezil» theater and directed three feature films. Kurbas emphasized: «You cry on stage while the audience watches calmly. It should be the other way around — you must remain calm, and the audience should cry!»

In his childhood, the future avant-garde artist Kazimir Malevich ignored simple pencils, and his first brushes were pharmacy brushes intended for treating the throat during diphtheria. As he grew older, he created paintings that were now valued at tens of millions of dollars, including «Black Square», worth four hundred and fifty million

Volodymyr Ivasiuk was a Ukrainian composer who, with a single song, made the entire former USSR understand the Ukrainian language. Moscow persistently tried to bring the genius into its fold, as Leonid Utyosov claimed, «You can live anywhere, but you should work in Moscow». Volodya responded firmly: «I am a Ukrainian composer»

Vsevolod Zinoviyovych Nestayko (January 30, 1930 – August 16, 2014) was a Ukrainian Soviet prose writer and a classic of contemporary Ukrainian children’s literature. Throughout his life, he authored forty books, which have been translated into 136 languages and have a total circulation exceeding two million copies. His enduring legacy is not just in his prolific writing but also in his profound belief that childhood is the happiest time in life. This philosophy inspired his writing, which continued to bring joy to young schoolchildren into his old age

«Ukraine is my homeland, my second homeland. There, I created my first masterpiece, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, where I became a genius and my son was born. Ukraine gave me everything, and Ukraine destroyed me»

Anatoliy Solovyanenko (September 25, 1932 — July 29, 1999) was a world-renowned lyric-dramatic tenor. In his youth, he sang complex opera arias without knowing musical notation. Throughout his life, he performed seventeen opera roles and recorded eighteen albums. He sang in Ukrainian, Italian, Spanish, and French. His mastery rivaled opera legends such as Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. In 2022, he was included in the list of «The 100 Greatest Ukrainians»

Illya Repin, a prominent Ukrainian artist with Cossack roots, created immortal masterpieces that have not only entered the history of world art but also left an indelible mark on the art world. Repin’s life was a journey of painting deeply emotional works that vividly depicted historical events and the life of the Ukrainian people. As his strength waned, he humbly sought forgiveness for his lack of fluency in the language, expressing profound regret that he could not be closer to the «sweet and joyful Ukraine…»