Ivan Franko short biography in Russian. Millions of suffering hearts

Franko Ivan Yakovlevich (1856-1916) - Ukrainian writer and poet, scientist. Led revolutionary movement in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. On his initiative, the “Russian-Ukrainian Radical Party” was created in Austria. For your creative achievements in 1915 he was nominated for Nobel Prize in literature, but due to the death of the writer, his candidacy was not considered. The city of Ivano-Frankovsk (formerly Stanislav) and the urban-type settlement of Ivano-Frankovo (formerly Yanov) are named in his honor in Ukraine.

Childhood

Ivan was born on August 27, 1856 into a wealthy peasant family in the village of Naguevichi, Lviv region. My father worked as a blacksmith. Mom belonged to the Kulchitsky noble family and was 33 years younger than her husband.

Early childhood Ivan later described in his works as the most happy years. In 1865, his father died. Mom got married for the second time. His stepfather, Grin Gavrilik, treated little Vanya as his own son and actually replaced his dad. Franco was then friends with his stepfather until the end of his life.

School and gymnasium

Little Vanya began studying in 1862 rural school in Naguevichi, but then he was transferred to a school in the neighboring village of Yasenitsa-Solnaya.

Two years later, Ivan’s mother and stepfather sent him to the city of Drohobych, where he continued his studies at the school at the Basilian Monastery. Their distant relative Koshitskaya lived on the outskirts of Drohobych, the boy settled in her apartment. The owners had a carpentry workshop, and Ivan often had to spend the night in wooden coffins.

In 1867, Franko entered the gymnasium (now it is the Drohobych Pedagogical University). The entire period of study in schools and gymnasiums was subsequently vividly reflected in autobiographical stories writer:

"Pencil";
"In the carpentry";
"Calligraphy";
"Gritseva school science".

In them, the writer showed the atmosphere of schools of that time, when corporal punishment and moral humiliation of students were used. From Franco's works it is clear how difficult it was for a gifted boy from a simple background to get an education. peasant family.

In 1872, Ivan’s mother died. He loved her very much and later dedicated his memories to this woman in poems: “Nasty things on the border”, “Song and practice”.

Ivan was then raised by his stepfather and stepmother. The teenager came to them during the summer holidays, helped with field work, and tended cattle. And although these people were actually strangers to him, to Ivan staying with them seemed like paradise compared to the gymnasium. The child suffered mental trauma for the rest of his life from uneducated and rude teachers who indulged the children of the rich and tortured ordinary village boys. Forever, Franco took from the gymnasium hatred of human oppression.

Despite all the bullying from teachers, both at school and at the gymnasium, Franco was the first among the students. Already during his studies, his phenomenal abilities manifested themselves: he knew by heart the entire “Kobzar” by Taras Shevchenko, he could repeat verbatim after a lesson to the children the teacher’s hour-long lecture, homework on Polish language did it in poetic form.

Ivan read a lot, mainly books on history and cultural studies, natural science works, European literature. He absorbed the content of the works he read very deeply, and, as it turned out later, he remembered all the books until the end of his life. Franco collected a fairly decent library for a high school student; it contained about 500 copies of books on different languages.

While still studying at the gymnasium, Ivan took up poetic translations of Western European (Polish, German, French) and ancient writers (Euripides and Sophocles), the Bible, and carried out these works in his native Little Russian language. The Galician poet Marianne Shashkevich and Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. Through their poems, he comprehended all the beauty and richness of the Ukrainian language. Franco began collecting folk songs and legends, and in 1874 he made his first independent travel in Subcarpathia, where he recorded samples of folklore.

University

In July 1875, Franko graduated from high school with excellent marks, received a certificate of maturity and went to Lviv to continue his studies at the university. Here he entered the Faculty of Philosophy. To the best of their abilities, Ivan was helped by his stepfather and stepmother. Also financial assistance he was assisted by the Galician linguist, professor of the Ukrainian language Emelyan Osipovich Partitsky, who at that time worked in Lvov at a teachers’ seminary.

During this period, Franco wrote many poems, which he began publishing in the university student magazine “Friend”:

"My song";
"Folk song";
“Petria and Dovbuschuk” (his first big story).

Ivan joined the student academic circle, and in the magazine “Friend” he became not only an author, but also an employee. Soon he was the most influential person in the magazine's editorial office.

Having begun cooperation with the Lvov magazine “Friends”, Franko published in it a translation of N. G. Chernyshevsky’s work “What is to be done?”. The authorities did not like such democratic activities, and in 1877 he, along with members of the editorial board, was arrested and spent about nine months in prison.

After his arrest, Ivan was unable to continue his studies at the university; he graduated educational institution only fifteen years later, when he defended his dissertation.

Creative and social activities

After leaving prison, Franco and his comrades began publishing new magazine"Public leisure".

Here the poet published his patriotic poems:

“To comrades from prison”;
“Patriotic events”;
story "Boa constrictor";
"Kamenari";
“My strіcha with Oleksa”;
“Thought about Naum Bezumovich.”

In 1878, Franco headed the workers' newspaper "Praca", which published the social program "What does the Galician community want?" and his famous poem "Anthem" ("The Eternal Revolutionary").

In 1880, Ivan twice visited the Drohobych prison, which he later described in the story “At the Depths.”

Since 1881, Franco worked in the magazines “Svet”, “Delo”, “Zarya”. In them he published his stories “Zakhar Berkut” and “Borislav laughs”, as well as revolutionary poetry, which was later included in his famous collection “From Peaks and Lowlands”.

The poet really dreamed of having his own magazine; he traveled to Kyiv twice in the hope of receiving financial assistance from the literary community. But the Kyiv liberals only deceived him, making empty promises.

In 1889, Franco was arrested again, accused of trying to separate part of Galicia from Austria and annex it to Russia.

In 1893, the poet defended his dissertation and received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. In Lvov, he opened a “scientific reading room”, where he himself gave lectures on political economy and the history of the revolutionary struggle.

In 1898, Ivan became editor of the Lviv magazine “Literary and Scientific Newsletter”.

At the same time, he did not forget for a minute about his main calling - to write poetry. Every two years a new one came out poetry collection:

1896 – “The leaves are yawning”;
1898 – “My Izmaragd”;
1900 – “From the Days of Zhurby” and the wonderful story “Crossing Stitches”.

In 1905, in honor of the revolution, Franco wrote the famous poem “Moses” and the poem “Conquistadori”.

Personal life

In 1885, Ivan first came to Kyiv. He knew and heard a lot about the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, St. Sophia Cathedral, St. Andrew's Church, and now he saw all this with his own eyes. He walked around the city with friends and told them a story Kievan Rus. Franco came to Kyiv to raise funds for a new literary magazine. But it turned out that it was here that he met his wife.

Olga Khoruzhinskaya is an orphan from an impoverished family of nobles, originally from the Kharkov province, an ardent “sweatshirt” by conviction. She studied at the Kharkov Institute of Noble Maidens. Olya was pretty and funny, full of energy and cheerful humor, played the piano excellently and knew several languages (English, German, French).

She seemed to Franco a worthy candidate for the role of wife. Moreover, for almost ten years he could not find a wife among the Galician girls. He set too high demands for his future life partner: first of all, Ukrainian and with a higher education, good-looking and with advanced views on family and marriage, and she must definitely be his assistant and friend.

Khoruzhinskaya immediately drew attention to him Western culture and deep intelligence. Before leaving, Franco wrote her a long letter in which he shared his views on family life. And already in next letter invited Olya to become his wife, but did not write a word about love.

In May 1886, Franco married Khoruzhinskaya in Kyiv in the St. Paul's Church. Immediately after the feast, the newlyweds went to Lviv and the first wedding night spent on the train.

In the fall of 1887, their first child, Andryusha, was born. Then, one after another, Taras, Petrus and Gandzia appeared.

Four children needed to be clothed and fed, and there was always not enough money. Many years of poverty eventually led to severe mental disorders in Olga. And in 1913, their first son Andrei died. As a child, he suffered a head injury, but despite this, he graduated from Lviv University and defended his doctoral dissertation, helping his father with his work. However, the consequences of childhood trauma affected later, Andrei died during an epileptic attack. After this, the mother ended up in psychiatric clinic.

Franco was disappointed in family life, he wrote to his friend that if he had another wife, life would have turned out completely differently. He took a mistress - Mrs. Zygmuntovskaya, a widow with two children, whom he took into full support. But he soon broke up with her too.

Illness and death

In 1908, the poet fell ill. Heavy loads and nervous strain led to the failure of both arms. He went to Croatia for treatment and there was improvement. But as soon as Ivan returned to work, his health deteriorated. Periodically, he underwent treatment in Odessa, Kyiv, and the Carpathians. When relief came, he immediately got to work.

In 1915, his health deteriorated so much that the poet began to foresee his death. In March 1916, he wrote a will, according to which he asked to transfer his entire library and handwritten works to scientific society named after Taras Shevchenko.

Ivan Franko died on May 28, 1916. The death was difficult; there was no one nearby. Walked First World War, son Taras was in captivity, Petrus was at the front, and daughter Ganna worked in Kyiv in a hospital. The writer was buried in Lvov at the Lychakiv cemetery. There is a monument with a stone carved on the grave.

Franko Ivan Yakovlevich(1856-1916) - great Ukrainian writer-thinker, scientist and public figure. Born into the family of a peasant blacksmith in the Drohobych region. After numerous ordeals and disasters, he graduated from high school; studied at Lviv University. The Austrian authorities persecuted Franco, threw him into prison three times on charges of socialism, creating secret societies, sympathizing with the Russians, and having connections with the peasant movement. Franco’s worldview was formed under the influence of T. F. (see) and Russian revolutionary democrats - (see), (see), (si.), (see), (see), Saltykov-Shchedrin, Nekrasov.

The spread of Marxism influenced the development of Franco's revolutionary democratic ideology towards scientific socialism. He studied and popularized "(q.v.) Marx and Engels and "" (q.v.) Marx; first translated into Ukrainian language The 24th chapter of volume I of “Capital” and selected sections from “” (see) F. Engels. Franco’s worldview is closely connected with the liberation movement of the working people, with the awakening to political life the proletariat, which was being formed at that time in the oil fields and in the cities of Western Ukraine, with the achievements of natural science, with the doctrine (see) and Darwinism. Franco criticizes false Darwinists who apply biological laws to the interpretation of development human society and drawing reactionary conclusions based on this. He calls for the democratization of science, for its transformation into a weapon in the struggle for the interests of the working people.

His philosophical views are set out in the works: “A few words on how to organize and maintain our popular publications”, “Thoughts on evolution in the history of mankind”, “Literature, its purpose and most important features”, “Critical letters about the Galician intelligentsia”, and also in a number of works of art. Franco sees the basis of all things in matter. Nature is immortal, eternal, in constant motion and seething. The spirit is not the second world-creating principle, but only a reflection of moving matter, a function of the material brain and nervous system. Franco interprets human knowledge as a reflection of reality and nature. He refuted agnosticism and relativism.

Franco expressed some dialectical ideas; he saw the continuous change of the world, its inconsistency, and was guided by what was moving forward. He is an atheist, a fighter against fideism and naked clericalism, against clericalism and the religious education of youth. The writer's most striking journalistic works are directed against the Vatican, Catholicism, Uniatism, and sectarianism. Franco criticized the false theory of the eternity of capitalism, exposed capitalist society as a predatory society, devouring generations and destroying the health and morality of the masses. This is a world of deceit and violence. Bourgeois democracy, proclaiming “equality” before the law, “looks as if they are consoling a hungry person with the fact that he has the right to be well fed without giving him bread.” Franco firmly believes in the triumph of the revolution. Referring to Marx’s teaching on socialism, Franco calls for the removal of the “wall” separating the working man from the instruments of production, for the transformation of the instruments of production into public property, for the elimination of “inter,” this synonym private property, To collective work and distribution according to work.

In the struggle for the ideological nature of literature, Franko contrasts idealistic aesthetics with its metaphysical ideas about the eternal norms of art with the materialistic aesthetics of Belinsky, Chernyshevsky, Dobrolyubov and Shevchenko. Oi emphasizes historical character art, argues that life is the main engine in art. For Franko, as for Shevchenko, poetry is “condensed, concentrated, crystallized reality.” He mercilessly criticizes the theory of “art for art’s sake,” decadence, and decadence in literature. In his artistic works, Franco deeply realistically reflected the forced position of the working people of Western Ukraine. He first introduced the image of a worker into Ukrainian literature. M. Gorky highly appreciated the work of Franco. An outstanding patriot, champion of friendship between the Ukrainian and Russian peoples, Franco believed that “the hour will come!” - and Ukraine will sparkle “in a crimson halo among the free peoples...”.

He fought for the reunification of Ukraine as part of Russia, where, in his opinion, the “spring of humanity” began - the revolution of 1905. Advocating for the equality of peoples, Franco wrote: “A nation that, in the name of either state or some other interests oppresses, strangles and stops the free development of another nation, digs a grave for itself and the state that this oppression is supposed to serve.” He proved the impossibility of a solution national question without solving the social issue. Franco was a decisive opponent of both bourgeois Ukrainian nationalism and rootless cosmopolitanism. He was the first in Ukraine to expose M. Grushevsky as an ideologist of Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism, a false theory without the bourgeoisness of the Ukrainian nation, denounced the activities of a spy organization that demagogically called itself the “Union for the Liberation of Ukraine”, condemned M. Grushevsky’s book on the history of Ukraine, written to please the German aggressors , who was preparing a plan to seize Ukraine and tear it away from Russia. Of scientific interest is Franco's book directed against M. Grushevsky (1912).

There were also erroneous views in Franco's ideological development. He was not always able to avoid national limitations, which Lenin pointed out in the interests of the democratic national liberation movement in Ukraine. Franco did not become a Marxist in his views, but his entire glorious life, his enormous artistic talent, which he put at the service of the working people, his military activities in the interests of the liberation of the Ukrainian people and strengthening the friendship of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples brought him universal love; not only the Ukrainian people, but all peoples Soviet Union honor the memory of Ivan Franko.

One of the initiators of the founding of the Russian-Ukrainian Radical Party, which operated in Austria.

In honor of Franko, the city of Stanislav was renamed Ivano-Frankivsk, and in the Lviv region the town of Yanov was renamed Ivano-Frankovo.

Biography

Born into the family of a peasant blacksmith, his mother was from a noble family, her maiden name- Kulchitskaya, was a chemist; In his stories, he depicts the first years of his childhood in the lightest colors. The father died before his son graduated from the Drohobych Basilian “normal” school. His stepfather, also a peasant, took care of the continuation of his education. Soon Franco’s mother also died, so for the summer he came to someone else’s family - and yet staying there seemed like paradise to the boy in comparison with school, where rude and uneducated teachers, pampering the children of the rich, inhumanly tortured the children of poor parents; According to Ivan Franko, he learned his hatred of the oppression of one person by another from a normal school. Both here and later at the gymnasium, he was the first student; in the summer, the high school student tended cattle and helped in field work; poetic translations from the Bible, ancient and Western European writers, with whom he was then studying, he wrote in the folk Ukrainian language.

Having entered the Lvov University in 1875, Franco joined the student circle of the so-called “Muscovophile” party, which was then still strong in the kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria; this party used “paganism” as a literary language, that is, a mixture of Church Slavonic with Polish and Ruthenian words. In this language, Franco began to publish his poems and the long fantasy novel “Detrii and Doboshchuk”, in the style of Hoffmann, in the organ of Muscovophile students “Friend”. One of the first who turned his attention to the work of the young poet Ivan Franko was the Ukrainian poet Caesar Aleksandrovich Belilovsky, who in 1882 published the article “A few words about the translation of Goethe’s Faust into Ukrainian by Ivan Franko” in the Kiev newspaper Trud.

Conclusion

Under the influence of the letters of the Kiev professor Mikhail Drahomanov, the youth, grouped around the “Friend”, became acquainted with Russian literature of the era of great reforms and Russian writers in general, and became imbued with democratic ideals, after which they became the instrument of their literary speech chose the Galician language common people- Rusyn; Thus, Rusyn literature received Franco into its ranks, along with many other talented workers. Enraged by the massive loss of youth, old Muscovophiles, especially the editor of Slovo, V. Ploshchansky, turned to the Austrian police with denunciations against the editors of Friend. Its members were all arrested in 1877, and Ivan Franko spent 9 months in prison, in the same cell with thieves and tramps, in terrible hygienic conditions. Upon his release from prison, everyone in Galicia turned away from him as a dangerous person. conservative society- not only Muscovophiles, but also the so-called Narodovtsy, that is, Ukrainianophile nationalists of the older generation. Franco also had to leave the university (he graduated from the university course 15 years later, when he was preparing for a professorship).

Both this stay in prison, as well as a second imprisonment in 1880 and another in 1889, closely introduced Franco to various types of the scum of society and the working poor, brought to prison by poverty and exploitation, and provided him with a number of topics for fiction works that were published mainly in the Dragomanian journals he edited; they made up main glory Franco and immediately began to be translated into other languages. Among them, the following stand out: a cycle of stories from the life of proletarian workers and rich entrepreneurs in the oil fields in Borislav; imbued with humane treatment to human dignity, stories from the lives of thieves and “former” people; stories and tales from the life of Jews that are alien to religious and national antagonism (translated into Russian several times; poetic poems from the life of Jews seeking truth).

The prison is also inspired by cycles of lyrical works, some of which, according to a number of critics, are deeper and more talented, but less popular, full of idealistic sadness based on broad universal motives, while others, which have become extremely popular, energetically and effectively call on society to fight against social (class and economic) untruth. Franco also showed talent in the field of objective historical novel: his “Zakhar Berkut” (1883, from the time of the Tatar invasion of the 13th century) received a prize even at the competition of the national-bourgeois magazine “Zorya”, which did not see in it the “naturalism of Zola” (pseudo-classics and scholastics - Galicians always leveled this reproach against Franco ). In the Ukrainian provinces of the Russian Empire, this novel attracted serious attention from readers to its author, who was so unlike most figures in the cultural movement of the kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, and marked the beginning of closer communication between Ivan Yakovlevich and the Ukrainians of the Russian Empire.

Galicians also could not help but recognize the brilliant talent behind Franco’s “naturalistic” and “radical” works, despite the fact that these works contained a challenge to the entire bourgeois-clerical Galician society; Franco’s enormous reading, literary education and awareness of political-social and political-economic issues served as an incentive for the “people” to seek Franco’s cooperation in their bodies. ?

1885 onwards

Little by little, peaceful relations were established between Ivan Franko and the People’s people, and in 1885 he was even invited by them to become the editor-in-chief of their literary and scientific organ, Zorya. For two years, Franko led “Zorya” very successfully, recruited all the most talented writers from Little Russia into its staff, and expressed his conciliatory attitude towards the Uniate clergy with his beautiful poem “Panski Zharty” (“Barskie Jokes”), in which the image of an old rural priest is idealized. who lays down his life for his sheep. Nevertheless, in 1887, the most zealous clerics and bourgeois insisted on the removal of Franco from the editorial board; Other people also did not like Franco’s excessive love for Russian writers (Franko personally translated a lot from Russian and published a lot), in which Ukrainian chauvinism sensed “Muscolephilism.”

Franco found the highest sympathy among the Ukrainians of the Russian Empire. At that time, due to the Ems Decree in Russia, the publication of works in the Ukrainian language was greatly limited, so his collection of poems “From the Heights and Lowlands” (“From the Heights and Valleys,” 1887; 2nd ed., 1892) was copied and memorized by many as a keepsake, but a collection of stories from the life of working people: “In the Poti Chola” (1890); there is a Russian translation of “By the sweat of your brow”, St. Petersburg, 1901), brought to Kyiv in the amount of several hundred copies, it was sold out in great demand. He began to publish some things in “Kievskaya Starina”, under the pseudonym “Miron”; but even in Galicia, the people’s people inevitably continued to seek his cooperation and published, for example, his anti-Jesuit story “Mission” (“Vatra”, 1887). Its continuation, “The Plague” (“Zorya”, 1889; 3rd ed. - “Vic”, Kiev, 1902), was supposed to reconcile the people with Franco, since the hero of the story is an extremely sympathetic Uniate priest; Franco's participation in the nationalist magazine Pravda also foreshadowed peace; but the agreement of the Galician peoples with the Polish gentry, the Jesuits and the Austrian government that took place in 1890 forced Franko, Pavlik and all the progressive Rusyns of Galicia to separate into a completely special party.

According to the agreement of 1890 (this is the so-called “new era”), the Rusyn language acquired very important advantages in Austria public life and school, up to and including university. The party of strict democrats, organized by Franco and Pavlik to counterbalance " new era", adopted the name "Russian-Ukrainian Radical Party"; its organ “People” (1890-1895), in which Franco wrote a lot of journalistic articles, existed until Drahomanov’s death (he sent articles from Sofia, where he was then a professor); Subsequently, instead of “The People”, this very strengthened party had other newspapers and magazines.

The “people” preached selfless devotion to the interests of the peasantry, and useful tool to raise peasant well-being, he considered the introduction of communal land ownership and artels; the ideals of German socialism were often presented to the “People” as something barracks-like, “like the Arakcheevsky military settlements” (Drahomanov’s words), the Marxist theory of promoting the proletarianization of the masses was inhuman; Franco ended up popularizing (in Life and Words) English Fabianism. In religious terms, the “People” were an ardent enemy of the union and demanded freedom of conscience. In terms of nationality, the “People” held the Rusyn language just as firmly as the “New Erists,” and considered its use obligatory for the Ukrainian intelligentsia, but derived this necessity from purely democratic motives and proclaimed the struggle against chauvinism and Rus-eating. In the polemics of "People" against the narrowly nationalistic "Pravda", the most caustic articles belonged to Franco; the volume of political poems he published (“Nimechchina”, “Donkey Elections”, etc.) irritated the nationalists even more. Reinforced journalistic activity and the leadership of the radical party were carried out by Franco completely free of charge; livelihoods had to be obtained through diligent paid work in Polish newspapers. Therefore, in the first two years of the publication of “The People,” Franco’s fictional work and his scientific studies almost ceased; there was enough time free from journalism and politics Franko, perhaps, for short lyrical poems (in 1893, the collection “Withered Leaves” - “Withered Leaves” - was published - a tender melancholic love content, with a motto for the reader: Sei ein Mann und folge mir nicht (“Be a man and don’t take my example ")).

1893 onwards

Around 1893, Franko suddenly devoted himself primarily to academic pursuits, again enrolled at Lvov University, where he was nominated by Professor Ogonovsky to succeed him in the department of Old Russian and Ukrainian literature, then completed his historical and philological education at the University of Vienna at the seminaries of Academician Yagich, publishing (1899) [specify ] extensive psychological research on John Vyshensky and a doctoral dissertation: “Varlaam and Yossaf”, publishes (since 1894) the literary, historical and folklore magazine “Life and Word”, prints Old Russian manuscripts, etc. In 1895, after a successful introductory lecture Franko at Lviv University, the professorial senate elected him to the department of Ukrainian and Old Russian literature, and Franko could rejoice that he finally had the opportunity to throw off the “yoke of corvée” (as he called compulsory work in Polish newspapers for the sake of a piece of bread for himself and his family ) and devote himself entirely to his native science and literature. However, the Galician governor, Count Casimir Badeni, did not allow a man “who had been in prison three times” to be confirmed as a professor.

Franco’s heavy pessimistic mood was expressed in his collection of poems: “Miy Izmaragd” (1898, compiled on the model of the ancient Russian “Izmaragds”); in one of the poems, the tormented poet declared that he was unable to love his inert, unenergetic nation, but would simply be faithful to it, like a yard dog that is faithful to its master, although it does not love him. Franco outlined the depravity of the Polish-gentry society in the novels “Fundamentals of Suspilnost” = “Pillars of Society”, “For the Home Fire” = “For the Sake of the Family Hearth” 1898), etc. Such works as “Fundamentals of Suspilnost” were interpreted by Franco’s Polish enemies in the sense condemnation not only of the Polish nobility, but of the entire Polish people.

Franco paid the most for his research on the psychology of Mickiewicz’s work, on the occasion of his anniversary: “Der Dichter des Verraths” “The Poet of Treason” (in the Vienna magazine “Zeit”). The general indignation of Polish society denied him access to Polish newspapers and magazines, even of the most impartial shade. The source of livelihood remained work in German, Czech, Russian magazines (“Kievskaya Starina”, “Northern Courier”), but this casual income was not enough, and the poet at one time was threatened with blindness from a dark apartment and starvation with his family.

Just in time for this" Learned Society named after Shevchenko in Lviv" received, under the chairmanship of Professor M. S. Grushevsky, a progressive character and undertook several series of scientific and literary publications; work in these publications began to be paid and Ivan Franko was brought in as one of the main employees. Since 1898, he was the editor of the Literary-Scientific Bulletin, a Ukrainian magazine published by the Shevchenko Society; Most of his fiction, poetic, critical and historical-literary works are published here. His novel “Perekhresni Stitches” = “Cross Paths” (1900) depicts the thorny life of an honest Rusyn public figure in Galicia, whose energy must largely be spent fighting petty squabbles and the intrusion of political enemies into his personal life. A lyrical recollection of the sad past experienced is a collection of poems: “From the Days of Zhurby” = “From the Days of Sorrow” (1900). Franco's scientific works on history, literature, psychology, sociology, archeology, ethnography, etc. are published in the “Notes” of the Shevchenko Academic Society and - as monographs - in numerous “Proceedings” of the society’s section, one of which Franko is chairman of. An incomplete list of the titles alone of what Franco wrote, compiled by M. Pavlik, formed a voluminous book (Lvov, 1898).

Franco was familiar with the leaders of Viennese Art Nouveau Arthur Schnitzler, Hermann Bahr, the Czech philosopher and future President of Czechoslovakia Tomas Masaryk, the founder of Zionism Theodor Herzl, and the head of the Polish Symbolists Stanislaw Przybyszewski.

Franco's 25th literary anniversary was solemnly celebrated in 1895 by Ukrainians of all parties and countries. The best Ukrainian writers from Russia and Austria, regardless of direction, dedicated a collection to Franko: “Hello” (1898). During Franco's lifetime, some of his works were translated into German, Polish, Czech and - mainly at the end of his life - Russian.

Major works

Memory

Russia

Streets in Moscow, Lipetsk, Perm, Tula, Ufa, Cheboksary, Tambov and Irkutsk bear the name of the writer.

Ukraine

The name of the writer is given to the city of Ivano-Frankivsk, as well as streets in Kiev, Vinnitsa, Dnepropetrovsk, Ivano-Frankovsk, Simferopol, Izmail, Kerch, Lutsk, Lvov, Nikolaev, Odessa, Sumy, Cherkassy, Chernivtsi, Khmelnitsky, Luhansk, Kirovograd, Korosten, Evpatoria.

Kazakhstan

Streets in Rudny are named after the writer

Canada

A street in Montreal bears the name of the writer.

Ivan Franko on money

Ivan Franko is depicted on three various types Ukrainian banknotes in denominations of 20 hryvnia:

20 hryvnia, 1992-1994

20 hryvnia, 1994-2003

20 hryvnia, 2003

Ivan Franko in philately

USSR postage stamp, 1956

Postage stamp of Ukraine, 1994, 3000 karbovanets (Mikhel 134)

Postage stamp of Ukraine, 2006

After graduating from school, he studied at the gymnasium and worked along the way to ensure his life after the death of his parents. Higher education in the biography of Ivan Frank was started in 1875 at the University of Lvov. There he joined the “Muscovophile party.”

In 1877 he was arrested, spent 9 months in captivity, and was never able to finish his studies at the university. IN further biography Franco was under arrest twice more - in 1880, 1889.

During his imprisonment he collected significant material for his works. The fire of struggle against injustice flared up in the writer’s soul, which was reflected in his novels. From 1885 to 1887, Franco worked as editor-in-chief of the publication Zorya. His collection “The Peaks and Lowlands”, the story “Mission”, “The Plague” gained great popularity among the people.

Also, the biography of Ivan Frank is known as an active public and political figure. Together with Pavlik, he organized a party of strict democrats - the Russian-Ukrainian Radical Party, and for a long time published the publication “The People”. In 1893, Frank’s lyric collection “Withered Leaves” was published. Around the same year, he again devoted himself to teaching.

For his research on Mickiewicz, Ivan Franko was banned from publishing in Poland. Having begun to collaborate with the Shevchenko Society, Franko began working as editor of the Literary-Scientific Bulletin.

Since then he has published many scientific works. The great Ukrainian writer died in 1916 in poverty.

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Ivan Franko is a famous Ukrainian poet and writer. He distinguished himself not only in literary, but also in social and scientific activity. One of the greatest citizens of Ukraine is Ivan Franko. His biography, however, will be of interest not only to Ukrainians.

Origin of Franco

The years of our hero's life are 1856-1916. Ivan Yakovlevich Franko was born in the village of Naguevichi. Now it is located in the Lviv region (Drohobych district). His father was a village blacksmith. Ivan grew up an orphan. His father, Yakov Franko, died in 1865. At this time the boy was only 9 years old. Later, in 1872, his mother, Maria Kulchitskaya, also died. Despite the difficult financial situation, Ivan studied.

Period of study

From 1862 to 1864 he went to school located in a neighboring village; in 1864-67 - to an elementary school located in Drohobych; and in the period from 1867 to 1875, Ivan attended a gymnasium in Drohobych. Subsequently, being already a famous writer, he described with indignation the order that reigned in the gymnasium. In such stories as “Pencil”, “Penmanship Lesson”, “Grits at School”, “Father the Humorist”, Ivan Franko with amazing truthfulness portrayed cruel teachers who hammered stupid school wisdom into the heads of children.

Let us briefly describe one of these stories. In the work "Father the Humorist" we are talking about a man who is considered a merry fellow, a humorist. However, in reality, this thin man with a horse's face teases children if they make mistakes, mocks them, punishes them with rods, and puts the children on a “donkey bench.” Other teachers depicted by the writer were no better.

The photo above is from 1870. This is a high school photograph showing Ivan’s classmates (he himself is in the second row, first on the left).

Franco wouldn't an outstanding person, if at one time I had not supplemented my school knowledge by reading books. Reading was his favorite pastime. Ivan got books wherever he could: in libraries, from comrades, and sometimes, having saved a little money, he bought cheap publications. It should be said that Ivan distinguished himself in his studies. In 1875 he was awarded a scholarship from the Glowinski Foundation. That same year, in the fall, he entered Lviv University, the philological department. The scholarship to Ivan Franko was provided for the entire period of study at the university. It seemed that a calm and prosperous future awaited Ivan. He could become a university professor or a gymnasium teacher. His friends and family were counting on this.

First arrest

However, in the very first years of study at the university, Ivan Franko showed himself as a public figure, moreover, of a socialist, progressive direction. He made friends with Mikhail Pavlik and Ostap Terletsky. Through the first, he began a correspondence with M. Drahomanov, who was in Geneva at that time. Drahomanov was a revolutionary socialist, dangerous in the eyes of the Ukrainian police. Because of correspondence with him, our hero was arrested in June 1877.

Together with his comrades, Ivan Franko was accused of creating a secret socialist society. In January of the following year, the court found Ivan guilty. He was sentenced to six weeks in prison. Since at that time the period of pre-trial detention did not count towards punishment, Ivan was released only six weeks later, on March 5, 1878.

Consequences of arrest

The sentence was short, but its consequences were dire. The fact is that a person with a criminal record could not, by law, become a teacher. Because of this, the purpose of Ivan Franko's further education became unclear. Our hero’s scholarship was also taken away. In addition, Franco caught a serious cold during his imprisonment. This disease later became chronic. She haunted Ivan all his life. But this is not all the consequences of imprisonment. The father of Franco's bride, Olga Roshkevich, was a priest and refused him matchmaking. He even forbade Olga to see the “criminal” and correspond with him. Their marriage, unfortunately, never took place.

New persecutions

The police persecution of our hero did not end there. He was arrested again in Kolomyia in March 1880. Franco was again accused of socialist agitation. He spent three months in custody while the investigation continued. Based on its results, it was recognized that Franco’s arrest was unfounded. On June 13 of the same year, our hero was sent along a convoy from Kolomyia to Naguevichi. The memories associated with this conclusion, the impressions Ivan received were reflected in his work. They formed the basis of Franco's story "At the Bottom".

The police did not leave Ivan Franko alone. The third time she remembered him in connection with the arrival in Lvov of a group of Ukrainians who came from Kyiv. Ivan was arrested in Lvov in August 1889. This time he was accused not only of socialism, but also of spying for Russia. However, this time the accusations turned out to be unfounded. The prison impressions of this time were reflected in the “Prison Sonnets” - a poetic cycle created by Franco.

Personal life

In 1886, Ivan got married. His wife was a girl from Kyiv, Olga Khoruzhinskaya. There were four children in the Franco family, but family well-being began to collapse in 1902. Ivan's wife began to have a mental disorder, which worsened over time. This brought our hero a lot of grief.

Ivan Franko moved to own house(he used to rent a house). The current address of the house where Franko lived is st. I. Franko, 152. Operates here memorial museum writer. To build housing, Ivan took out a large loan. Payments on it were completed after Ivan’s death by his son.

Ivan Franko's disease

In April 1908, Franco went for treatment and rest to Lipik, which is located in modern Croatia, near Zagreb. Here his illness worsened greatly - both his arms were paralyzed. In addition, signs of mental disorder became noticeable. In later years, these manifestations of the disease softened somewhat. However, Franco was never completely healthy again. Contemporaries believed that his illness was a consequence of syphilis, which he had once suffered. This caused great trouble for Ivan Franko. At present, however, doctors are inclined to believe that since 1877, since his imprisonment, our hero has been ill with a form of rheumatism. It's about o Concepts about it were formulated later long years after Ivan's death.

Death of Franco

Exhausted by illness, social and family problems, and lack of money, our hero died in Lvov, in his home, on May 28, 1916. The grave of Ivan Franko is located at the Lychakiv cemetery.

Ivan Franko as a poet

We now invite you to take a closer look at Ivan’s literary work. Ivan Franko first appeared as a poet in 1874. His biography is marked by the creation of poems before last days life, until 1916. Among his works are many beautiful poems about public affairs and personal experiences. They were collected in several books.

However, our hero’s poetic talent manifested itself with maximum strength precisely in large poems, and not in lyrics. Ivan created realistic pictures of Galician life, contemporary to him. Here we should note such works as “Botokudy” (1884), “Humanly” (poem of 1889), as well as the poem “For Love” created in 1890. Ivan Franko also captured images of the historical past of the Ukrainian people. Among the works on this topic, one should note “The Master's Jokes” (1887), the poem “Ivan Vyshensky”, created in 1895, as well as another work, “On Svyatoyurskaya Mountain” (1900). Ivan Franko dedicated several of his creations to discussions about God and religion. Of note is the 1885 poem Ex nihilo, as well as The Death of Cain, written in 1889.

An important place among the poems written by Ivan belongs to the processing of various subjects from world literature. These are works from the 1890s such as “Mikita the Fox”, “The Adventures of Don Quixote”, “The Tsar and the Ascetic”, “Abu Qasimov’s Shoes”, as well as the poem “The Blacksmith Bassim” created in 1900.

Which work is the pinnacle? poetic creativity the author we are interested in? Researchers believe that this is the poem "Moses" created in 1905. This work, which is based on a biblical story, presents the rise of the Ukrainian people, who began the struggle for their independence.

Franco - prose writer

Ivan Franko was not only a poet, but also a prose writer. In these works he acted as a realist who focused on the problems of Galician life contemporary to him. It was Franco who was the first Ukrainian writers depicted the life of Borislav workers who worked in the oil fields, as well as Jewish entrepreneurs who were their class antagonists. In 1877 the work “The Converted Sinner” appeared, in 1884 - Boa constrictor, in 1887 - “Yats Zelepuga”, in 1899 - “Oilman”. The novel "Borislav Laughs", created in 1882, is considered best work of this cycle.

Creations, dedicated to life intelligentsia also occupy a significant place in Franco's prose. In 1880, Ivan wrote “At the Lower Depths”, in 1897 - “For the Hearth”, in 1900 - “Crossing Paths”. An important place among the works of this series belongs to those devoted to Ukrainian-Polish relations. Among them, it should be noted “Lel and Polel” (1887), as well as “Pillars of Society” (1894). Both works, unfortunately, remained unfinished.

Ivan Franko's fairy tale "Farbovaniy fox" ("farbovaniy" means "dyed") is also very noteworthy. Based on it, a Soviet cartoon was created in 1953, directed by Alexander Ivanov. “The Painted Fox” is one of A. Ivanov’s most popular works.

Many Ukrainians know the film called “Zakhar Berkut”. It tells the story of the struggle of a freedom-loving people against social oppression and invaders. This film is about a Carpathian village. The plot is based on the work “Zakhar Berkut” by Ivan Franko.

Ivan Yakovlevich also proved himself in drama. His play "Stolen Happiness" was innovative for its time. And even today it looks quite modern. The play "Stolen Happiness" depicts the life of a family that looks happy on the outside. However, this family is destroyed right before the eyes of the audience. A provincial Ukrainian town was chosen as the setting. The classic love triangle lies at the center of the plot of this work. The lives of three people are intertwined together - Anna, her husband Mykola and her lover Mikhailo. Jealousy, betrayal, love, true and imaginary deaths, repentance and murder, a miraculous “resurrection” - this play is not inferior to Shakespeare’s dramas in terms of intensity of passions.

Translation activities

Throughout his life, Franco worked on translations of various works of world literature. His merits in this field are very great. From the translations belonging to him, one can compile a whole library.

The range of works that attracted Franco was extremely wide. His translations include works of ancient Greek, ancient Arabic, and ancient Indian literature; ancient Babylonian poetry. Concerning new literature, it can be noted that Ivan Franko translated it in 1882. He was also interested in other German, as well as French, Polish, English and Italian works.

Among Franko's translations are entire books of works by K. Havlička-Borovsky and A. S. Pushkin. Separately, it should be noted the cycle of translations of works created by historians of ancient Rome. Ivan Franko worked on them from August 1915 to March 1916, that is, in Last year life.

It should be noted that he translated Ukrainian folk songs into German, and also helped M. S. Grushevsky create the German version of the “History of Ukraine-Rus”. Not only works of art were adapted by Ivan Franko. His biography is marked by his interest in popular science works. various topics, to which he addressed in the 1870-80s. Ivan considered them useful in educating the Ukrainian people.

Activities as a folklorist

From the very beginning of his creative activity, Franco showed interest in folklore. The first was published in 1876 folk tale in his entry. "Galician-Russian folk proverbs", as well as "Studio on Ukrainian folk songs"became Franco's most important achievements in this field. Ivan published many ethnographic and folklore records and studies. In addition, he recorded whole line folk songs.

Franco as a literary historian

Ivan Franko’s work on the history of literature proceeded in several directions. The first of these is the history of the plots. The most significant achievement in this direction is Franco's doctoral dissertation, defended in 1895. The second direction is collecting, studying and publishing various works Ukrainian literature. Here we should note Franko’s collection “Apocrypha and Legends from Ukrainian Manuscripts”. Ivan found and published the works of Ivan Vyshensky, about whom he wrote a number of studies. He also published works by T. Shevchenko, Y. Fedkovich, A. Svidnitsky and other Ukrainian writers. Another direction in which Franco worked was writing synthetic works, dedicated to history Ukrainian literature.

Social activity

Young Galician intellectuals in 1890 created the Russian-Ukrainian Radical Party, which was headed by Ivan Franko until 1898. This party adhered to the socialist direction. She strived to become a representative of a wide range of working people.

Ivan Franko in 1895 became a candidate for the Vienna parliament (from the Radical Party) in the constituency Mostiska - Dobromil - Przemysl. In 1898, he was a candidate in another constituency - Skalat - Zbarazh - Ternopil. However, both times Ivan Franko was not elected.

Franco in 1899 left the Radical Party, which he created, and joined the Ukrainian National Democratic Party. As a result, the radicals lost an influential leader, and the national democrats never gained significant power. Franco did not distinguish himself with any particular activity in the new party. After some time, he stopped political struggle and concentrated entirely on scientific and literary activities.

Let's sum it up

Ivan Franko, whose biography is discussed in the article, was a writer and poet by profession. However, he could not calmly observe the political situation in his country. Therefore, he did not allow himself to remain only a writer. Ivan Franko resolutely and willingly took on any business that, in his opinion, was useful for the Ukrainian people. Therefore many literary plans was never able to realize Franco, whose poetry and prose nevertheless enjoy well-deserved recognition. In some lyrical works our hero bitterly complained that he was unable to realize all his plans in literature.

However, it is precisely thanks to the universalism of Franko’s activities that we can say that he is one of the builders of the modern Ukrainian nation. This is confirmed by the fact that Ivan Yakovlevich is depicted on the 20 hryvnia banknote. Of course, this fact indicates that his figure is very important for the Ukrainian people. Since 1992, the image of Ivan Franko has been on the 20 hryvnia banknote. Her design changed several times, but Franco's figure always remained in place.