Storìnki Istorìï (Dec 2017)
From Poet to Politician: The Case of Pavlo Tychyna
Abstract
The article covers major directions of political activity of the famous Ukrainian writer, state and social activist, an author of books on the history and theory of literature Pavlo Tychyna. Relations between these directions and their reflection in a poetry are studied. The main stages of his political career are traced via studying his work at governmental institutions and creative unions, participation in legislative and other state authorities of the UkrSSR and the USSR. Tychyna’s activities in state institutions and creative unions, legislative bodies of the UkrSSR and the USSR were aimed to develop national economy and culture of Ukraine. Working in the editorial board of the political, literary and artistic magazine «Chervony shlyakh» (“The Red Path”) as the head of the artistic department, Tychyna tackled important issues of social and political life on the pages of this edition, encouraged well-known and young writers to submit their contributions, carried broad correspondence with young authors. Being in the forefront of socio-political and cultural life, as a member of the unions of proletarian writers «Hart» and «VAPLITE», this person fought for high artistic quality in literature. Tychyna’s activities as the head of the Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR were aimed at the fostering Ukrainian literature. He authorized a number of studies on the history of Ukrainian literature, as well as literatures of other USSR and foreign peoples. During the postwar period of Tychyna’s work on leading position of the People’s Commissariat of Education in the USSR, institutions of public education were rebuilt in a short time, and the educational process was re-established. With the assistance of Tychyna, pre-school facilities were opened. In 1948–1967 he worked at the Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, participated in the creation of the Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia and other important academic publications.
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