The Khortytsia National Nature Reserve is handing over a real bibliographic treasure to the National Research and Restoration Center of Ukraine: a rare copy of Taras Shevchenko’s poem “Haydamaky,” published in 1886.

The Khortytsia National Nature Reserve is handing over a real bibliographic treasure to the National Research and Restoration Center of Ukraine: a rare copy of Taras Shevchenko’s poem “Haydamaky,” published in 1886.

This edition is one of the most valuable items in the museum’s collection, and it will now have the opportunity to be preserved in good condition for future generations.

Shevchenko wrote the poem “Haydamaky” in 1841, and it became the first romantic, heroic epic of national-historical content in Ukrainian literature. In 1886, on the 25th anniversary of Shevchenko’s death, the poem was published in a large format with unique illustrations by Ukrainian graphic artist Opanas Slastion.

This was the first illustrated edition of Shevchenko’s works, with a printing run of no more than 100 copies. Today, three copies are known to exist: two are stored in the Central Scientific Library’s collections, and one is in the Khortytsia National Reserve museum collections.

The illustrations of the poem have artistic value in their own right. Slastion, a famous Ukrainian painter, graphic artist, architect, ethnographer, and teacher, worked on them for almost a year. The book contains fourteen large and thirty-five small illustrations. Among them are “Prologue,” “Kobzar,” “Farewell of Yarema to Oksana,” “Gonta, stricken with grief, carries children to bury,” and others. These deep, emotionally rich images visualize the complex pages of our history.

In 2025, we will celebrate the 170th anniversary of Opanas Slastion’s birth. Born in Berdyansk and having spent his childhood in Prymorsk, he became one of the individuals who shaped Ukrainian national art and culture.

For our institution, this exhibit is more than just a valuable publication. It is a symbol of the steadfastness of the Ukrainian spirit and the immortality of Shevchenko’s words, which are visualized with the same emotional depth that characterizes our cultural memory. Restoring it contributes to preserving our national identity, which is especially important at a time when Ukrainian culture appears as an invincible outpost.