[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 90 (Friday, June 25, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1273-E1274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEDICATION OF THE TARAS SHEVCHENKO MONUMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 25, 2004

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, on June 26, 2004, the Ukrainian American 
community will be celebrating the 40th jubilee commemoration of the 
unveiling of the monument to Taras Shevchenko, known as the bard of 
Ukraine for his exquisite lyric poetry and numerous novels, as well as 
his many works of art.
  Taras Shevchenko was born in the Kyiv region in 1814 to a childhood 
of servitude and a life of hardship. He first worked as a houseboy 
until his owner realized his artistic talent, after which he was 
apprenticed to a painter. His freedom was purchased in 1838 by another 
painter who appreciated Mr. Shevchenko's work.
  An ardent champion of freedom and Ukrainian independence, Taras 
Shevchenko saw George Washington as a symbol and liberator of the 
American people from the colonial rule of a foreign power. Mr. 
Shevchenko's works played a key role in the awakening and drive for 
national liberation of the Ukrainian people. In his poems, he attacked 
tyrants, oppressors and all enemies of human freedom and decency.
  Mr. Shevchenko's love of freedom and criticism of the czars resulted 
in his arrest in 1847. He was first sentenced to forced military duty, 
and later imprisonment, where he remained in Russian custody until his 
release in 1857, two years after the death of Czar Nicholas. He was 
arrested again in 1859 and remained under police surveillance until his 
death in 1861.
  Years of harsh punishment did nothing to curtail his fight against 
the imperialist and colonial occupation of his native land. Mr. 
Shevchenko secretly produced numerous

[[Page E1274]]

works of poetry and art throughout his term of imprisonment which 
inspired the Ukrainian people.
  Mr. Speaker, it is fitting that a statue honoring a man who fully 
embraced the ideals of personal freedom and human dignity, cornerstones 
of our country, should stand in the United States. I congratulate the 
Ukrainian American community on celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 
dedication of the Taras Shevchenko monument.

                          ____________________