Fedkovich, Osip-Iurii

Born Aug. 8, 1834, in the village of Storonets-Putilov (now the settlement of Putila), Bucovina; died Jan. 11, 1888, in Chernovitsy (now Chernovtsy). Ukrainian writer and democratic figure.

The son of minor Polish gentry, Fed’kovich served in the military from 1852 to 1863.

Fed’kovich’s early verses were written in German and appeared in 1857. Two subsequent collections, also in German, reflected the influence of Ukrainian folk and German romantic poetry. In 1862, Fed’kovich published a verse collection in Ukrainian under the title Poems by Iosif Fed’kovich (L’vov, 1862); three more volumes of verses appeared in 1867 and 1868. His narrative poem Luk’ian Kobylitsa (1865) deals with a legendary folk hero and the peasants’ struggle against the Polish landowners. The lyric poetry of Fed’kovich clearly shows his love for his native land and for the oppressed and his faith in a bright future for the working people.

Fed’kovich also wrote prose. His first novella, Ruinous Love, appeared in 1863, and the collection The Novellas of Osip Fed’kovich, was published in Kiev in 1876. Fed’kovich’s works dealt with the harsh life of soldiers, including Shtefan Slavich (1863), The Captain (1865), and The Soldier’s Wife (1887). Other literary works were devoted to everyday life and psychological conflicts, among them The Heart Cannot Be Taught (1863) and The Italian Woman (1864).

Fed’kovich’s works contributed to the development of critical realism in Ukrainian literature. His writings also include dramas as well as translations of the works of J. W. von Goethe, F. Schiller, H. Heine, and A. S. Pushkin. Two museums devoted to Fed’kovich have been established: one in Chernovtsy (founded 1945) and the second in the settlement of Putila, housing literary and personal memorabilia.