History of Ukrainian literature

The first outstanding written monument of Kievan Rus is the chronicle "The Tale of Past Years," which is not only a source of historical information but also a textbook of epic songs, and legends of the era of Kievan-Rus.

Despite the House of Romanov's colonial policy of coercive Russification of Ukraine (1863 – Valuev Circular, 1876 – Ems Ukaz), Ukrainian literature developed and achieved significant success.

The poets of the so-called "Kharkiv School of Romantics" P. Gulak-Artemovsky, M. Petrenko, V. Zabila, and others made a great contribution to the development of Ukrainian literature.

Panteleimon Kulish, Marko Vovchok, Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky, Borys Hrinchenko, Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky, Lesya Ukrainka, Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Spiridon Cherkasenko, and Arkhip Teslenko made a significant contribution to the development of Ukrainian literature.

On a rich literary palette, various art schools, styles, and trends coexisted – from radical proletarianism, whose theorists promoted the creation of a "purely proletarian culture" by "laboratory means" (V. Blaktyny, G. Mikhaylichenko, M. Khvylvoy) to futurism (M. Semenko) and even neoclassicism, whose representatives were guided by the creation of high harmonious art based on the development of classical samples of World Literature (a group of neoclassicists led by M. Zerov).

The discussion arose due to deep differences in understanding of the nature and purpose of artistic creativity among Ukrainian writers, and the ideological and political competition of literary organizations.

The poet M. Rylsky, recognized by the Soviet authorities, was arrested and spent 10 years in the camps on charges of participating in a mythical Ukrainian military organization.

Despite the rigid framework of the Soviet-style style of socialist realism, Ukrainian writers managed to create literature that has not lost its relevance today.