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Valeriy MarchenkoUkrainian dissident human rights activist, literary scholar and translator
Date of Birth: 16.09.1947
Country:  Ukraine |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Literary and Journalistic Career
- Arrest and Imprisonment
- Post-Release Activism
Early Life and Education
Vasyl Ovsynenko was born as Vasyl Umrilov on September 16, 1947, in Kyiv, Ukraine. His maternal grandfather was Mykhailo Marchenko, and his mother changed their surname to her stepfather's, Smuzhanytsya. At the age of 25, Vasyl adopted his grandfather's surname (his mother's maiden name). He enrolled in the philological faculty of Kyiv University while simultaneously studying Turkic languages at Baku University.
Literary and Journalistic Career
In 1970, Ovsynenko joined the staff of the newspaper "Literaturna Ukraina" while teaching Ukrainian language and literature at a Kyiv high school. From 1971 to 1972, he published translations from Azerbaijani literature, including works by Suleyman Akhundov and Jalil Mammadguluzade. During the period between 1968 and 1973, he wrote (but did not publish) articles on Mykola Zerov, as well as publicistic pieces such as "Kyiv Dialogue" and "Strashnyy kakoy-to tyagar" (A Terrible Burden).
Arrest and Imprisonment
On June 25, 1973, Ovsynenko was arrested by the KGB. On December 27, 1973, the Kyiv Regional Court sentenced him to six years in a labor camp and two years of internal exile. He served his sentence in Camp No. 35 in Perm, a notorious detention center for political prisoners. There, he met fellow Ukrainian human rights activists Ivan Svitlychny and Semyon Gluzman. Despite severe kidney disease that rendered him disabled, Ovsynenko refused to repent or withdraw his views.
Post-Release Activism
After his release, Ovsynenko returned to Kyiv but struggled to find work. He eventually became a night watchman and continued translating from English. He also wrote and distributed leaflets protesting the authoritarian regime in Ukraine. Ovsynenko actively denounced the Ministry of Education's directive "On Enhancing the Study of Russian in the Schools of Ukraine," which he likened to a "new Valuyev Decree" (a notorious 1863 policy aimed at suppressing Ukrainian culture).
