Mykola Kondratovych Voronoi is a Ukrainian writer, translator, theater director, actor, public and political figure, theater critic.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on November 24, 1871 in the territory of the Yekaterinoslav province in the family of an artisan.
At first, he studied at the Kharkiv Real School, and later moved to Rostov. However, due to his connections with the populists, in particular for reading and distributing banned books, he was expelled from the educational institution. After that, he was under police supervision for three years. Then he was forbidden to enter any higher educational institution on the territory of the Russian Empire.
Subsequently, he continued his education at the Universities of Vienna and Lviv at the Faculty of Philosophy.
Career
At one time, he worked as a librarian and proofreader at the Shevchenko Scientific Society, as well as a director of the Ukrainian theater troupe of the “Ruska Besida” society and a theater actor. In addition, he joined the editorial board of the magazine “Life and Word”, where he was responsible for the “News from Russia” section. He was engaged in literary and theatrical criticism, translated works of fiction.
Voronoi was friends with the writer Ivan Franko. He helped him in preparing for the publication of the newspapers “Hromadskyi Holos” and “Radikal”, and for a certain period was also unofficially the editor of the magazine “Zorya”.
Since 1897, he acted as an actor in the theater troupes of Mykhailo Kropyvnytskyi, Panas Saksagansky, Oleksandr Vasiliev and others. He was a member of the Revolutionary Ukrainian Party.
In 1901, he left the stage and began working in institutions in Yekaterinodar, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Chernihiv.
In 1910 he moved to Kyiv. There he worked at the Mykola Sadovsky Theater and taught at the theater school.
During the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917, Voronoi was one of its organizers. He was a co-founder and director of the Ukrainian National Theater. In particular, he held the position of director.
Emigration
In 1920, after the arrival of the Bolsheviks, he emigrated abroad. He settled in Warsaw, where he worked in the government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic as a senior attaché with the rights of an adviser.
In 1921, in Warsaw, he published a collection of poems “For Ukraine”.
After that, he moved to Lviv. There he taught at the conservatory and at the drama school, which he himself organized. In particular, he published theatrical books – “Director”, “Dramatic Prima Donna”, as well as “Brush and Pen”.
Return to Ukraine
Voronoi returned to Ukraine in 1926. After that, he worked at the Kharkiv Music and Drama Institute, as well as at the All-Ukrainian Photo and Film Administration.
In 1934, he was arrested as a “Polish spy”. The court sentenced him to three years of exile.
In 1938, the writer was arrested for the second time. He was accused of discrediting the measures of the party and the government, in particular, criticizing the methods of Stakhanov’s work and allegedly deliberately reducing yields.
On June 7, 1938, he was shot in Odessa.
Personal Life
Voronoi was married to Vera Nikolaevna Verbytska, the daughter of Mykola Verbytskyi. The couple had a son, Marco.
Voronoi’s work
His first poem – “Don’t be sad, girl” – was published in 1893.
In 1899, Voronoi wrote one of his most famous works – the poem “Yevshan-potion”, in which he raised the issue of preserving historical memory.
Later, in 1911, his first poetry collection “Lyrical Poetry” was published. Two years later, in 1913, the second one was released – “In the Radiance of Dreams”.
In addition to poetry, Voronoi wrote articles about the theater and translated works from foreign literature.
Mykola Voronoi: interesting facts
Here are some interesting facts from Voronoi’s life:
- at the beginning of his literary activity, the writer published works using the pseudonym “Victor Paliy”;
- dreamed of visiting Africa;
- he was fond of collecting – he collected paintings, coins and old books;
- had a beautiful voice and sang in a choir;
- Voronoi loved fencing and horseback riding.
- the poet maintained friendly relations with Lesya Ukrainka, Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi, Borys Grinchenko and other famous figures of Ukrainian literature.
