The name of Marusia Churai is firmly inscribed in the cultural code of Poltava and the whole of Ukraine. She is a symbol of folk song, talent and a woman's destiny, full of both greatness and tragedy. She is a figure that balances between historical facts and legends, but is no less significant.
According to legend, Marusia was born in the village of Kryvokhatky near Monastyrska Hora in the suburbs of Poltava in the mid-seventeenth century. She is considered to be the author of a number of famous Ukrainian songs, including ‘Oh, Don't Go, Hryts’, ‘The Winds Are Blowing’, and ‘The Cossacks Have Risen to the World’. Whether she was a historical figure is still an open question. However, her image inspired many artists, including Levko Borovykovskyi, Mykhailo Starytskyi, Olha Kobylianska, and Lina Kostenko, whose historical novel in verse, Marusia Churai, became a classic of modern Ukrainian literature and won the Shevchenko Prize in 1987.
Poltava has always been closely associated with the name of Marusia Churai. A street in the city is named after the legendary Churai. In 1987, an open amphitheatre with 7,000 seats, the Marusia Churai Singing Field, was built in the city's Peremoha Park.
In 2006, a memorial to folk song in the form of the poetess Marusia Churai was unveiled in front of the Poltava Music and Drama Theatre named after M. Gogol, which is the only monument to the legendary singer in Ukraine.
Events dedicated to Marusia Churai are regularly held in Poltava: literary evenings, school readings, exhibitions, presentations of research papers and educational publications. Recently, an informational and educational brochure ‘The Story of a Monument: To the 400th Anniversary of Marusya Churai's Birth’ was presented, which reveals interesting facts about the perpetuation of her image in the urban space.
Marusia Churai is not just a poetic heroine. She is the embodiment of folk memory, an integral part of Poltava's cultural identity. Through her songs, legends and personality, we touch the soul of the people who have been creating, fighting and remembering for centuries.
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