Ivan Kulik
Encyclopedia
Ivan Yulianovych Kulik (January 14, 1897—October 10, 1937) was Jewish
-Ukrainian
poet
, writer
, translator, diplomat
and Communist Party activist, . He also wrote under names "R. Rolinato" and "Vasyl Rolenko".
, in the Kiev Governorate
of the Russian Empire
(now in Cherkasy Oblast
, Ukraine
) into the family of a teacher
. He finished the four-grade college in Uman
where he moved with his parents. There his first poem was published in the Uman newspaper Provincial voice («Провинциальный голос»), in Russian.
In 1911 he enrolled into the Odessa
Art academy, but soon, at the start of World War I
in 1914, together with parents, emigrated to the United States
. There he worked on the factories and mines in Pennsylvania
. He was publishing his poems in the local Russian newspaper New world («Новый мир»). In 1914 he became a member of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
(RSDLP).
In spring 1917 through the Russian Far East
and Siberia
returned to Kiev
where he joined the local revkom. Actively participated in the Kiev Bolshevik Uprising
to establish a Soviet government in Kiev
along with Volodymyr Zatonsky
and Georgiy Pyatakov. In December 1917 he was elected to the Central Executive Committee of Soviets and the first Soviet government of the Ukrainian SSR
(heading the People's Secretariat
of the Foreign Affairs). In summer of 1918 together with Vitaliy Primakov participated in the formations of the Red Cossacks military units.
From May 1921 to May 1922 he was a secretary of the Kamyanets-Podilsky uyezd committee of the Communist Party (Bolshevik) of Ukraine. There he was an editor in the local newspaper Red Truth, simultaneously teaching history in the Institute of the People's Education. At this time he published his poem the Green heart (1921).
In 1924-1926 he was consul of the Soviet Union
in Canada
. From September 15, 1930 to June 1932 he returned to Kamyanets-Podilsky as a secretary of a raion
committee.
He was one of the leaders of the All-Ukrainian Association of the Proletarian Writers (VSPP), and after 1934 became the leader of the Ukrainian Association of Soviet Writers
. Along with those duties he also was heading the State Political Publishing, editing in the Literary newspaper («Літературнa газетa») and the journal Soviet Literature («Радянська література»).
He was married to the Ukrainian writer Luciana Piontek (1899–1937), an ethnic German
.
He was arrested during the Great Purge
in 1937, and executed for "spying against the Soviet Union
". Two months later his wife was shot as well for "supporting her husband in anti-state activities".
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
-Ukrainian
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, translator, diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
and Communist Party activist, . He also wrote under names "R. Rolinato" and "Vasyl Rolenko".
Biography
Kulik was born in the city of ShpolaShpola
Shpola is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Shpoliansky Raion , and is situated at . As of 2004 the estimated population is 18,400.-History:...
, in the Kiev Governorate
Kiev Governorate
Kiev Governorate , or Government of Kiev, was an administrative division of the Russian Empire.The governorate was established in 1708 along with seven other governorates and was transformed into a viceroyalty in 1781...
of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(now in Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast
Cherkasy Oblast is an oblast of central Ukraine located along the Dnieper River. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Cherkasy).-Geography:...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) into the family of a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
. He finished the four-grade college in Uman
Uman
Uman is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. The city rests on the banks of the Umanka River at around , and serves as the self-governing administrative center of the Umanskyi Raion ....
where he moved with his parents. There his first poem was published in the Uman newspaper Provincial voice («Провинциальный голос»), in Russian.
In 1911 he enrolled into the Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
Art academy, but soon, at the start of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1914, together with parents, emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. There he worked on the factories and mines in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He was publishing his poems in the local Russian newspaper New world («Новый мир»). In 1914 he became a member of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , also known as Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or Russian Social Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party...
(RSDLP).
In spring 1917 through the Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
and Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
returned to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
where he joined the local revkom. Actively participated in the Kiev Bolshevik Uprising
Kiev Bolshevik Uprising
The Kiev Bolshevik Uprising was a military struggle for power in Kiev after the fall of the Russian Provisional Government due to the October Revolution, that ended with a victory for the Kievan Committee of the Bolshevik Party and the Central Rada.-Chronology of activities:On November 7, 1917...
to establish a Soviet government in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
along with Volodymyr Zatonsky
Volodymyr Zatonsky
Volodymyr Zatonsky was a Soviet politician, Communist Party activist, member of the Ukrainian SSR Academy of Sciences ....
and Georgiy Pyatakov. In December 1917 he was elected to the Central Executive Committee of Soviets and the first Soviet government of the Ukrainian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic or in short, the Ukrainian SSR was a sovereign Soviet Socialist state and one of the fifteen constituent republics of the Soviet Union lasting from its inception in 1922 to the breakup in 1991...
(heading the People's Secretariat
People's Secretariat
The People's Secretariat of Ukraine was the executive body of the Provisional Central Executive Committee of Soviets in Ukraine. It was formed in Kharkiv on December 30, 1917 by the Russian and other local Bolsheviks as the Ukrainian Soviet government and the opposition to the Central Rada and the...
of the Foreign Affairs). In summer of 1918 together with Vitaliy Primakov participated in the formations of the Red Cossacks military units.
From May 1921 to May 1922 he was a secretary of the Kamyanets-Podilsky uyezd committee of the Communist Party (Bolshevik) of Ukraine. There he was an editor in the local newspaper Red Truth, simultaneously teaching history in the Institute of the People's Education. At this time he published his poem the Green heart (1921).
In 1924-1926 he was consul of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. From September 15, 1930 to June 1932 he returned to Kamyanets-Podilsky as a secretary of a raion
Raion
A raion is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet countries. The term, which is from French rayon 'honeycomb, department,' describes both a type of a subnational entity and a division of a city, and is commonly translated in English as "district"...
committee.
He was one of the leaders of the All-Ukrainian Association of the Proletarian Writers (VSPP), and after 1934 became the leader of the Ukrainian Association of Soviet Writers
Writer's Union of Ukraine
National Writer's Union of Ukraine is a voluntary social-creative association of professional writers, poets, prosaists, playwrighters, critics, and translators.-Organisation:...
. Along with those duties he also was heading the State Political Publishing, editing in the Literary newspaper («Літературнa газетa») and the journal Soviet Literature («Радянська література»).
He was married to the Ukrainian writer Luciana Piontek (1899–1937), an ethnic German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
.
He was arrested during the Great Purge
Great Purge
The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...
in 1937, and executed for "spying against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
". Two months later his wife was shot as well for "supporting her husband in anti-state activities".
Literature
- Kryzhanivsky, S. A. Kulik Ivan Yulianovych. Ukrainian Soviet EncyclopediaUkrainian Soviet EncyclopediaUkrainian Soviet Encyclopedia - was a multi purpose Encyclopedia of Ukraine, issued in the USSR.Following the publication of the first volume of the Ukrainian General Encyclopedia in Lviv, Ukraine the Ukrainian Soviet Encyclopedia was commissioned by Mykola Skrypnyk...
. - Soviet encyclopedia of history of Ukraine, vol. II.
- Encyclopedia of UkraineEncyclopedia of UkraineThe Encyclopedia of Ukraine is an English language, free, online encyclopedia covering wide range of issueson Ukraine, including its history, people, geography, economy, culture etc....
. Dictionary part, vol. IV. - Khmelnytsky Oblast writers: Bibliographical index. KhmelnytskyKhmelnytskyi, UkraineKhmelnytskyi is a city in Ukraine in the region of Podillia. It is located on the Southern Buh River and about from the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. The town's original name was Płoskirów, later Proskurov, but in 1954 was renamed Khmelnytskyi. It is the center of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast in western...
, 1989. - Soroka, M. Ivan Kulik, Writers of Ukraine — victims of Stalin's repressions. Кyiv, 1991.
- Khaim Volkovych Beyder. Secretary of povit committee. Vitchyzna #12 (pp 108–112), 1967.