The role of the figure Taras Shevchenko in the cultural diplomacy of Ukraine
Authors: Tkach Dmitry 
Published: December 2022

According to the data of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, there are more than 1,100 monuments to Shevchenko in the world: 99 are located in 44 countries, another 1,068 - in Ukraine. It is noted that a significant number of monuments that were constructed abroad were erected during the independence of Ukraine at the initiative of Ukrainian embassies and organizations of the Ukrainian diaspora. Therefore, it is considered useful and interesting to tell the story of the creation of these monuments by those people who contributed to this noble activity their energy, strength and patriotism. First of all, we are talking about the teams of embassies abroad and their heads - Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. It is further reported about a difficult situation that appeared with the erection of the monument to Taras Shevchenko in Budapest in 2004 and 2005. Former Ambassador of Ukraine to Hungary Yuriy Mushka initiated the erection of the monument to Taras Shevchenko without the consent of the Ukrainian community. The monument was made by a Hungarian sculptor and it did not look like Shevchenko at all. The Society of Ukrainian Culture of Hungary, headed by its chairman Yaroslava Khortiani, opposed the installation of this sculpture. Eventually, they achieved their goal, and the Hungarian authorities decided not to erect the monument. But on March 15 on the square in Budapest there was a pedestal for the monument to Taras Shevchenko without a bust. The Ukrainian community appealed to the new Ambassador of Ukraine to Hungary, Dmytro Tkach, to remove the bust from the square. The solution was very simple - to install this monument in the courtyard of the embassy. And since it is the Ukrainian territory, no permits from the Hungarian authorities were required. The Hungarians gladly accepted this proposal, and the TUKU leadership supported it. It is described in details what work was carried out by the Embassy of Ukraine for the production and installation of Taras Shevchenko Memorial in Budapest. The role of the leadership of self-government body of the second district of Budapest in providing of a place for the monument, the owners of the Industrial Union of Donbass and, first of all, Sergiy Taruta in providing financial support for the creation of this complex is mentioned. The selfless work of the Ukrainian sculptor, professor of the sculpture department of Lviv National Academy of Arts Ivan Mykytyuk was especially noted. For a little more than a month, this talented artist managed to create a three-meter sculpture of Kobzar, which was then made of bronze at a leading foundry in Budapest. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine announced that the world record of the largest number of erected monuments to the cultural figure now belongs to the Ukrainian poet, novelist and artist Taras Shevchenko. This titanic work on creation of a memorial dedicated to Taras Shevchenko in Budapest was completed in this way. On July 11, 2007, President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko had an official visit to Budapest, during which he and Hungarian President Leonid Shoiom opened the monument to Taras Shevchenko, a prominent Ukrainian poet and fighter for Ukrainian independence On March 23, 2013, Taras Shevchenko Square appeared in Budapest, on the same place where the monument to Great Kobzar was erected.