Roman Ivanychuk
Roman Ivanovych Ivanychuk was a Soviet and Ukrainian writer and politician. He was awarded the Shevchenko National Prize in 1985 and the title of Hero of Ukraine in 2009. He also served as a People's Deputy of Ukraine from Drohobych from 1990 to 1994, during which time he was a member of the anti-communist Democratic Bloc and the People's Movement of Ukraine.
Early life and literary career
Roman Ivanovych Ivanychuk was born in the village of, which was then part of the Second Polish Republic. It is now in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. His family was opposed to the occupation of Galicia by Nazi Germany, and his brother joined the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. Ivanychuk later said that he would have done the same if he had been old enough to fight.Ivanychuk began studying the Ukrainian language at the University of Lviv in 1948. Upon entering the university, he was denounced by staff for refusing to join the Komsomol and wearing a vyshyvanka. He was eventually expelled from the university and conscripted into the Soviet Army, serving from 1950 to 1953. He graduated from the University of Lviv in 1957, and worked as a school teacher between 1957 and 1963. Like many other Ukrainian linguists at the time, he taught at rural schools throughout Ukraine. Ivanychuk began publishing short stories and novels in 1958. After 1963, he worked as an editor of the Zhovten magazine until 1990.
Political career
During the 1989–1991 Ukrainian revolution Ivanychuk supported the People's Movement of Ukraine, the leading opposition group against the Soviet government. He was one of the co-founders of the.Ivanychuk was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic during the 1990 Ukrainian Supreme Soviet election from the city of Drohobych. He joined the Democratic Bloc, and he was additionally head of the subcommittee on Art, Creativity and the Revival of the Ukrainian Language within the Verkhovna Rada Cultural and Spiritual Committee.