The lines "And on the renewed land there will be no enemy, adversary..." by Taras Shevchenko were initially written about the tsarist autocracy, but could they not also resonate in the 20th century? The Soviet government constructed its myth around Kobzar, using his poetry as a convenient propaganda tool. They selectively extracted certain lines, altered their meanings, and distorted his ideas. Consequently, the truth conveyed by the poet was overshadowed by ideological clichés.
We will explore how authorities have rewritten the poet’s image for their own purposes over time. We will examine how the Bolsheviks portrayed him as a "revolutionary," how his poetry was used in military propaganda during World War II, and how contemporary russian propaganda attempts to incorporate his name into its narratives.
