The 200th birth anniversary of Ukrainian well-known poet and artist Tarash Shevchenko will be observed across the country and abroad next March, Ukrainian Minister of Culture Leonid Novohatko said here Thursday, according to Xinhua.
"I really want to see the 200th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko to become the unifying factor in the political, social, spiritual and artistic life of our society," said Novohatko.
The celebrations will be held in many cities in Ukraine and abroad, in particular in Lithuania, Russia, Kazakhstan and Poland, Novohatko said, adding that the central point of the memorial ceremonies will he held in Kiev and Shevchenko's home town Kanev in central Ukraine.
Born on March 9, 1814 in serfdom, Taras Shevchenko was considered the greatest Ukrainian poet, writer and painter. He became one of the best known symbolic figures of the Ukrainian nation not just for his creative achievements, but also for his fight against slavery and the institution of serfdom itself.
