Oleksandr Yakovych Konysky (August 18, 1836 – December 12, 1900) was a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

interpreter, writer,

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

, poet, and civil activist of liberal direction. He had around 150 pen names, including О. Return-freedom ( uk, Верниволя), F. Gorovenko, V. Burkun, Perebendia, and О.

Khutor A khutor ( rus, хутор, p=ˈxutər) or khutir ( uk, хутiр, pl. , ''khutory'') is a type of rural locality in some countries of Eastern Europe; in the past the term mostly referred to a single-homestead settlement.

ianyn. By profession he was a lawyer and is known as the author of the text of the Ukrainian spiritual anthem "

Prayer for Ukraine "Prayer for Ukraine" ( uk, Молитва за Україну, Molytva za Ukrayinu, italic=no) is a patriotic Ukrainian hymn published in 1885, which became a spiritual anthem of Ukraine. The text was written by Oleksandr Konysky, and the music ...

Early life

Konysky was born in the village of Perekhodivka, today in the district of

Nizhyn Nizhyn ( uk, Ні́жин, Nizhyn, ) is a city located in Chernihiv Oblast of northern Ukraine along the Oster River. The city is located north-east of the national capital Kyiv. Nizhyn serves as the administrative center of Nizhyn Raion. It ...

, in the

Chernihiv Oblast Chernihiv Oblast ( uk, Черні́гівська о́бласть, translit=Chernihivska oblast; also referred to as Chernihivshchyna, uk, Черні́гівщина, translit=Chernihivshchyna) is an oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. T ...

. He was of the old heritage of the medieval

Principality of Chernigov The Principality of Chernigov ( orv, Чєрниговскоє кънѧжьство; uk, Чернігівське князівство; russian: Черниговское княжество) was one of the largest and most powerful states within ...

. The future writer grew up in the city of

, about which he wrote: "Nizhyn is a small city. At the same time it was the center of enlightenment of the ''Chernihiv lands'' and the north of the ''Poltava lands''. Here was located the Bezborodko Lyceum. Nizhyn has also had a glorious historic past, especially in trade, so among its people many have been distinguished".

Career

Konysky’s first publication was in the '' Chernigovsky Listok'' in 1858. In

Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...

and

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

he formed Sunday schools and wrote textbooks for them. Konysky was also the author of several church articles in local newspapers and was an active member of the Kyivan

Hromada A hromada ( uk, територіальна громада, lit=territorial community, translit=terytorialna hromada) is a basic unit of administrative division in Ukraine, similar to a municipality. It was established by the Government of Ukra ...

. As a member of the Kyiv City Council, he worked to introduce the

Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state langu ...

into the city's schools. Among his books and textbooks were ''Ukrainian writing'' ( uk, Українські прописи 1862), ''Arithmetic, or Reckoning'' (1863), and ''Grammar or first reading for early students'' ( uk, Граматка або перша читанка задля початку вченья 1882). Konysky also had links with the Ukrainian activists of

Halychyna Galicia ()"Galicia"
''

Little-Russian'' propaganda activist. In 1863 he was sent to

Vologda Vologda ( rus, Вологда, p=ˈvoləɡdə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. ...

, without receiving a trial. In 1871, his novel ''Don't give gold, don't beat with a hammer'' ( uk, Не даруй золотом і не бий молотом) was confiscated and destroyed by the local police. From 1865 Konysky lived beyond the borders of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

and came into closer contact with the Ukrainian activists of Halychyna. In 1872, after being released from police supervision, he returned to Kyiv, where he worked for the '' Kievskiy Telegraf''. Konysky was one of the founders of the

Shevchenko Scientific Society The Shevchenko Scientific Society () is a Ukrainian scientific society devoted to the promotion of scholarly research and publication that was founded in 1873. Unlike the government-funded National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the society ...

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

in 1873 and later initiated its transformation into a society ''without commercial activity''. In 1887, together with

Volodymyr Antonovych Volodymyr Antonovych ( ukr, Володимир Боніфатійович Антонович, tr. ''Volodymyr Bonifatijovych Antonovych''; pl, Włodzimierz Antonowicz; russian: Влади́мир Бонифа́тьевич Антоно́вич, ...

, and influenced by the

Brotherhood of Tarasovs Brotherhood of Tarasovs ( uk, Братство тарасівців, ''Bratstvo tarasivtsiv'') was an underground student organization. It was established in 1891 during a visit to the Taras Shevchenko burial grounds near Kaniv. The founders inc ...

as a member of the

Stara Hromada Stara is a village in the administrative district on Gmina Aleksandrów, within Piotrków County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Aleksandrów, south-east of Piotrków Trybunalski, and south-east of ...

, Konysky led the creation of the All-Ukrainian Public Organization, a civil-political fellowship with the aim of uniting all circles of nationally conscious

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...

. As the organization's publication source he founded the publishing firm ''Vik'', which existed for fifteen years and released over 100 books in

. Konysky died in Kyiv in December 1900.

References

Orthodoxy in Ukraine

Early life

Career

References

See also