T. Shevchenko... Son of a peasant, lost his parents early. From the age of 14, he worked for the landlord, with whom he lived in Vilnius (Vilnius) in 1829-1831.
In 1838, while living in St. Petersburg, he was bought out of serfdom by the efforts of artists I. Soshenka, K. Bryulov, poet V. Zhukovsky and other artists for huge money at the time. In 1838-1845 he studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. Later, he worked as an illustrator in magazines, painted commissioned portraits of landowners and earned a good amount of money from it.
From 1843 to 1847, he lived intermittently in Ukraine, worked at the Kyiv Archeographic Commission, traveled Ukraine, wrote poems, painted ancient monuments, barrows, castle ruins, worked as a teacher at Kyiv University.
In April 1847, he was arrested for his rebellious poems (in particular the poem "Dream", the poem "Testament", etc.) and his membership in the secret "Kyril-Methodiev" society, and was sent by a soldier to the Orsk fortress, with a "prohibition to write and paint".
As many as 11 years in captivity... In 1858 he returned to St. Petersburg. He drew engravings, collaborated with the magazines "Sovremennyk", "Iskra". In 1859, he traveled through Ukraine for the last time and took part in revolutionary events. He was arrested a third time, but later received permission to return to St. Petersburg, where he openly or secretly continued his revolutionary activities. In 1860, Taras Shevchenko received the title of academician in the class of engraving.
T. Shevchenko died on March 10, 1861 in St. Petersburg. Reburied in Ukraine, in Kanev, near Kyiv. He lived only 47 years, of which only 15 were in Ukraine...
T. Shevchenko is a classic of Ukrainian literature, the inspirer of the national movement. In his poems, romantic and realistic motifs are intertwined, features of sentimentalism are present, and a strong influence of Ukrainian folklore is felt. Many of his works turned into folk songs.
The artistic works of T. Shevchenko are also significant for Ukrainian culture. He created a number of realistic watercolors, drawings of social themes, etchings, engravings on copper, painted psychological portraits, landscapes.
In honor of the legendary poet, more than 1,300 monuments were erected in 36 countries of the world, and his works were translated into more than 100 languages ​​of the world...
Today, when bombs explode all over Ukraine for many months, when rockets fall on peaceful Ukrainian cities, the poet's words, written more than a century and a half ago, sound especially painful:

... But it's not the same for me,
Like Ukraine, evil people
Fall asleep, cunning ones, and in the fire
She, robbed, will be woken up...
Oh, not the same to me.