ALLA GORSKA IN THE MEMORIES OF CONTEMPORARIES

Abstract

The article elaborates and summarizes the scientific achievements of researchers, the memories of contemporaries are studied in detail to reveal the multifaceted life, creative and political activities of the artist Alla Gorska. Emphasis is placed on her role in the resistance movement against the communist regime. Her successes as an artist, the realization of creative ideas, her perception of Ukrainianness, the creation of a number of monumental artistic compositions, mosaics, and paintings are emphasized. Her opposition to the imposition of violent Russification in art for the affirmation of the Ukrainian national core is emphasized. Gorska’s role in the organization and activities of the Club of Creative Youth was noted, as well as its infl uence on the promotion of the national cultural heritage, in particular the Cossack Baroque, traditions of Ukrainian folk art at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, a huge layer of the artistʼs life is reflected through the prism of contemporaries memories and her own. An important source for studying the artist’s biography and creativity was her correspondence, which made it possible to better understand and consider the thoughts and emotional experiences of the owner of the epistolary at different periods of her life. It was found out that an important creative stage for the artist was her theatrical activity as a scenographer and designer of costumes and decorations, as evidenced by the memories of the artistic directors of the theater, artists and art critics. Considerable attention is paid to the records and stories of friends and relatives, on the basis of which the transformation of the artist’s views on the language issue, her transition to the Ukrainian language, and the search for Ukrainian identity in creative and social activities are analyzed. Also, the greatest attention is focused on the participation of the artist in the Ukrainian dissident movement. The fi ght against the totalitarian regime became for her the alpha and omega of her entire life. It is claimed that Alla Gorska was one of the most active activists of the Ukrainian movement against the Soviet regime. She opposed the communist system, supported the repressed, wrote open letters, appealed to various authorities, delivered speeches in defense of the detained and imprisoned, her friends and associates. It is noted that the memory of Alla Gorska was honored by relatives and friends du ring the communist era and she is deeply respected during the time of independent Ukraine. Keywords Alla Gorska, dissidents, artists, creativity, repression, memories, resistance movement.