Petro Timofiyovich Tronko ( uk, Петро́ Тимофі́йович Тронько́; 12 July 1915 - 12 September 2011) was a Ukrainian academician of the

National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU; uk, Національна академія наук України, ''Natsional’na akademiya nauk Ukrayiny'', abbr: NAN Ukraine) is a self-governing state-funded organization in Ukraine th ...

and veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was a head of editorial collegium for the 26 volume encyclopedia on "

The History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR ''The History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR'' ( uk, Історія міст і сіл Української РСР) is a Ukrainian encyclopedia, published in 26 volumes. It provides knowledge about the history of all populated places ...

Early life and career

Born during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1915 to peasant family in

Sloboda Ukraine Sloboda Ukraine (literally: Borderland of free frontier guards; uk, Слобідська Україна, Slobidska Ukraina), or Slobozhanshchyna ( uk, Слобожанщина, Slobozhanshchyna, ), is a historical region, now located in Northeas ...

, Tronko started to work in 1932 in mines of Dzerzhynsk city in

Donbas The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

. Eventually after finishing some teacher classes, he worked as teacher of social sciences and Ukrainian language in village school of Bohodukhiv Raion and director of Lebedyn children home. Since 1937 he worked in

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...

and in 1939 joined the Communist Party of Soviet Union. In 1939 Tronko was a member of Western Ukrainian People's Assembly that voted in for the

Western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austria ...

to join the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

. During

he was a member of the South-western, Stalingrad, Southern, 4th Ukrainian fronts, participated in defense of Kyiv and Stalingrad and later in liberation of Rostov, Donbas, Left-bank Ukraine, and Kyiv. One of the first, Tronko entered the liberated Kyiv on 6 November 1943 as a major and appointed the first secretary of the city and regional

organization. In 1947 he was dismissed from the position due to accusations of

Lazar Kaganovich Lazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich, also Kahanovich (russian: Ла́зарь Моисе́евич Кагано́вич, Lázar' Moiséyevich Kaganóvich; – 25 July 1991), was a Soviet politician and administrator, and one of the main associates of ...

in "nationalistic perversions".

Post-war

His dismissal from Komsomol work, Tronko used for education and in 1948 he graduated from the Historical faculty of Kyiv University. The same year Tronko enrolled into aspirantura of the Academy of Social Sciences (today –

Russian Academy of State Service Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

) of the

Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee direct ...

defending his dissertation in three years. In 1951-60 Tronko worked for the Kyiv regional committee of the

Communist Party of Ukraine The Communist Party of Ukraine, Abbreviation: KPU, from Ukrainian and Russian "" is a banned political party in Ukraine. It was founded in 1993 as the successor to the Soviet-era Communist Party of Ukraine which was banned in 1991 (accord ...

and in 1960-61 he headed the department of propaganda and ideological agitation for the party. During the next 17 years (1961–78) Tronko worked as a Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR taking care of matters on culture, education, healthcare, press, book publishing, cinema, radio and television broadcasting, social sciences and archives. He was a member of

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

for nine convocations. In 1968 Tronko defended his doctorate dissertation "Ukrainian people in fight against Hitlerites occupiers during the Great Patriotic War (1941-45)". In 1969 Tronko initiated the creation of

Pyrohiv Pyrohiv ( uk, Пирогі́в), also known as Pirogov (russian: Пирого́в), originally a village south of Kyiv, is a neighborhood in the southern outskirts of the Ukrainian capital city. It is now home to an outdoor Museum of Folk Archi ...

scansen that was opened in 1976.

In independent Ukraine

He was a deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. He was an advisor to the President

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corrup ...

on the preservation of historical heritage. Shortly before his death, he suffered a stroke. He was buried in Kyiv on the central alley of Baikovo Cemetery. A memorial plaque was installed in his honor, in his native village. In 2015, in Kyiv, the nameless passage between Zabolotny Street and the Pirogovo Museum was named after academician Tronko.

References

External links