Last summer, Khortytsia National Reserve celebrated the 170th anniversary of the Bard of Ukraine’s first visit to Khortytsia, which happened during his Ukrainian trip of 1843. The Shevchenko Park was established on the island of Khortytsia back in Soviet time, and it still exists. In 2005, local historians retraced Shevchenko’s route and put along it seven memorial stones inscribed with lines from the poet’s verses and personal letters where he mentioned Khortytsia. The reserve’s employees hoped to honor the 200th birth anniversary of the poet with sculptural composition The Bard of Ukraine at Khortytsia, to be erected in the park.
Figure of 29-year-old Shevchenko – “dynamic, full of energy and creativity” – should become the composition’s main element. The Day has learned from the reserve’s tour department head Serhii Budarenko that the reserve already has a design developed, but actual carving and installation of the monument look distant. According to him, the project’s total cost will be over one million hryvnias. The reserve’s leadership appealed to the local authorities for help, but received a response that the budget had no funding for it. They also recently sent a letter to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, but it was equally unsupportive.
“We received only formal replies from officials, so decided to hold our own fundraiser, appealing to private charity. However, this initiative cannot be called a success either, for only very little money has been deposited on our account so far. Shevchenko monuments are numerous in Ukraine. Maybe, it discourages sponsors,” Budarenko told us. Khortytsia National Reserve has already accepted that no monument will appear before the birth anniversary of the poet, and sets no fixed terms on the initiative’s implementation. However, despite the obstacles, fundraiser is continuing.
