[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14256]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SHEVCHENKO MONUMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 24, 2004

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, four decades ago, on June 27, 
1964, the Ukrainian American community marked a significant event--the 
unveiling of a monument to the Great Kobzar, Taras Shevchenko. Taras 
Hryhorovich Shevchenko, the great Ukrainian poet, artist and thinker, 
the revolutionary-democrat, and the ardent fighter against tsarizm and 
serfdom. He is considered the great son of the Ukrainian people. As the 
autocratic government of tsarist Russia attempted to erase Shevchenko's 
name from people's memory and suppressed all attempts to immortalize in 
sculpture the image of the poet of genius, the people could not forget 
this man. The first monument in the country, the bust in marble, to the 
great Kobzar was set up illegally in 1899 in Kharkov. On March, 24, 
1935, it was a great holiday for the people in Kharkov as they joined 
together for the unveiling of the first legal monument of Shevchenko.
  Almost 30 years after the people of Ukraine celebrated their 
monument, the Ukrainian Americans were able to have a holiday of their 
own. Through hard work, generosity, and dedication, the Ukrainian 
American community was able to honor their country's hero with a 
monument in the Nation's Capitol. Over 100,000 attendees participated 
in the festivities 40 years ago dedicated to the unveiling of the Taras 
Shevchenko monument. The Ukrainian American community is fortunate to 
celebrate this significant milestone 40 years later. I am proud to 
represent an area of Chicago that we call ``Ukrainian Village.'' I want 
to honor this special day with my constituents and praise the Ukrainian 
community, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, the Ukrainian 
National Women's League of America (UNWLA), the U.S.-Ukrainian 
Foundation and all the organizations involved in honoring the 40th 
Anniversary of this special monument.
  Mr. Speaker, this monument stands for more than just honoring a great 
man but also as a way to never forget the struggles and the human 
rights violations by the former Soviet regime and political repressions 
against those who struggled for Ukraine's liberation.

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