Portrait of Taras Grigorovich Shevchenko (1814-1861)

Taras Shevchenko was a Ukrainian poet, artist and humanist. His literary achievements are integral to the canon of Ukrainian literature and have also influenced the development of modern Ukrainian language. Politically, Shevchenko advocated reform and was an active opponent of tsarist oppression in the Ukraine. His membership of the radical political group 'Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius' led to Shevchenko's arrest in 1847 and subsequent exile. According to his wishes, Shevchenko's remains were eventually reburied in his native Ukraine following his death in St. Petersburg in 1861.