Paraska Vasylivna Korolyuk ( ua, Параска Василівна Королюк, commonly known as Baba Paraska (Granny Paraska; ua, баба Параска); 3 May 1939 – 26 November 2010Померла баба Параска

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...

(November 27, 2010)) 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 ...

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...

and one of the iconic figures of Ukraine's '

Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...

'. An enthusiastic supporter of former

Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

and of

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( uk, Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко, ; Hrihyan ();sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

s' at

Maidan Nezalezhnosti Maidan Nezalezhnosti ( uk, Майдан Незалежності , literally "Independence Square") is the central square of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. One of the city's main squares, it is located on Khreshchatyk Street in the Shevchen ...

, which occurred during the Orange Revolution's entire duration, and for participating in various other political protests. Acknowledging her contribution, in 2005 Viktor Yushchenko awarded Korolyuk Ukraine's

Order of Princess Olga The Order of Princess Olga ( uk, Орден княгині Ольги) is a Ukrainian civil decoration, featuring Olga of Kiev and bestowed to women for "personal merits in state, production, scientific, educational, cultural, charity and other ...

, ''3rd grade'', during a ceremony at

Mariinskyi Palace The Mariinskyi Palace ( uk, Маріїнський палац, ''Mariinskyi palats'') is the official ceremonial residence of the President of Ukraine. The Elizabethan baroque palace is sited on the right bank of the Dnipro River in Kyiv, Ukra ...

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 ...

. In March 2007, Korolyuk was accepted into the Our Ukraine party. Despite the split between the Orange Revolution's leaders, Korolyuk remained a staunch defender of Yushchenko and Tymoshenko.

Life

Korolyuk was an inhabitant of Dorogichivtsy village in the Ukraine's

Ternopil Oblast Ternopil Oblast ( uk, Тернопі́льська о́бласть, translit=Ternopilska oblast; also referred to as Ternopilshchyna, uk, Терно́пільщина, label=none, or Ternopillia, uk, Тернопілля, label=none) is an obl ...

. For about twenty years, she worked on a collective farm as a milkmaid, then as a watchman, and later on a radio station. During the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

era, she was awarded the

Medal "Veteran of Labour" The Medal "Veteran of Labour" (russian: медаль «Ветеран труда») was a civilian labour award of the Soviet Union established on January 18, 1974 by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to honour workers f ...

. From the end of the 70s up to the 90s she was on earnings in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. On the eve of the

2004 Ukrainian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 31 October, 21 November and 26 December 2004. The election was the fourth presidential election to take place in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union. The last stages of the election ...

Korolyuk 'stumped' (campaigned) for Viktor Yushchenko in many villages in central and western Ukraine. In 2005 she went to Maidan Nezalezhnosti with her three daughters. In the same year, she met then Ukrainian First Lady

Kateryna Yushchenko Kateryna Mykhaylivna Yushchenko ( uk, Катерина Михайлівна Ющенко, née Chumachenko (Чумаченко); September 1, 1961 in Chicago) was the First Lady of Ukraine from 2005 to 2010. She is married to former Ukrainian Pr ...

, and presented some embroidered pieces to her. Kateryna Yushchenko reciprocated with gifts to Korolyuk’s grandchildren. Korolyuk spent several months campaigning widely across Ukraine to raise support for Yushchenko. Yushchenko's dismissal of Tymoshenko as

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

motivated Korolyuk to travel to Kyiv; reportedly she hoped to reconcile the

's leaders. During her travels, Korolyuk did not have a clear itinerary, and her travel plans frequently changed. However, she often returned to Kyiv to visit the president, give him accounts of public opinion, and pass along presents from herself or other people. She once said that she sometimes waited for hours near the Presidential Secretariat for the president to appear. Korolyuk was survived by six grandchildren.

References

External links

A set of Korolyuk's videos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Korolyuk, Paraska 21st-century Ukrainian women politicians 1939 births 2010 deaths Ukrainian democracy activists Recipients of the Order of Princess Olga, 3rd class People of the Orange Revolution