Valeriy Marchenko (Ukrainian:Валерій Марченко; September 16, 1947 - October 7, 1984) was apoet,journalist,translator, and member of theUkrainian Helsinki Group.
Marchenko was born into an educated family. His grandfather, Mykhaylo Marchenko, was the firstSoviet dean of theUniversity of Lviv.[1] His mother was a teacher of literature.[1]Valeriy Marchenko completed theKyiv Academy of Arts and worked in the newspaperLiterary Ukraine (Ukrainian: Літературна Україна) as a translator. He translated into Ukrainian fromAzerbaijani andPolish. His speciality was Azerbaijani-Ukrainian literary relations.
On June 25, 1973, Marchenko was arrested and charged withAnti-Soviet agitation and propaganda, mainly for three articles he wrote, as well as his efforts to publicizeIvan Dziuba's workInternationalism or Russification? in Ukraine. On December 29, 1973, Marchenko was sentenced to six years imprisonment and two years exile.[2]
During his incarceration in the Soviet prison system, Marchenko worked as archivist for everything he saw. He collected and published personal accounts about the daily life of prisoners, interviews, and essays.
He also translated many works into Ukrainian, such as theUnited States Declaration of Independence, as well as works byRobert Burns,Voltaire, andEdgar Allan Poe.[3]
On October 23, 1983, Marchenko was arrested a second time and again charged under Article 62 of the UkSSR Criminal Code with "Anti-Soviet Agitation and Propaganda". Declared a dangerous offender, he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment and five years ofexile.
He was held in terrible conditions, where he became ill. Because of international pressure for the freedom of journalists, he was allowed to move from the camp to a hospital. However, it was already too late.[3]
On or about October 7, 1984, Valeriy Marchenko died in a Leningrad hospital.[4]
Marchenko is buried in the village of Hatne, in theKyiv Oblast.
Today, there is a museum devoted to the life and work of Valeriy Marchenko in Kyiv school No. 175. In October 2017 the Soviet-era "International Square" in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv was renamed Valeriy Marchenko Square in his honour.[5]
