Valentyn Rechmedin
Encyclopedia
Valentyn Ostapovych Rechmedin ' onMouseout='HidePop("7112")' href="/topics/Ukraine">Ukrainian
journalist and writer.
He grew up in the village of Andrushivka in present Pohrebyschenskyi Raion
, Vinnytsia Oblast
(province
), where his father was a teacher.
After studies at Uman
Cooperative Technicum
(Уманський кооперативний технікум) he started his career as a journalist in 1934 at Molodyi Bilshovyk (Молодий Бiльшовик) in Vinnytsia
. In 1939 he started to work at Vilna Ukraïna (Вільна Україна) and later at Leninska Molod (Ленінска Молодь) in Lviv
.
Valentyn remained in Ukraine
also after the German invasion of the Soviet Union
in the summer of 1941. Later he became active in the Soviet partisan movement in the Vinnytsia area. In his partisan group he edited its Partyzanska Pravda. After the war he was awarded the Order of the Red Star
.
After World War II
he moved to Kiev
where he worked at the newspapers Radianska Ukraïna, Literaturna Ukraïna (as deputy chief editor) and Kultura i zhyttia (as chief editor) and the magazine Vitchyzna (as deputy chief editor from 1963).
Valentyn started to write novels after the war. The stories were often based on his own experiences during the war. He always wrote in the Ukrainian language
, but several books have been translated into Russian
.
Valentyn was also a well-known drama and literary critic.
In one of his literary critiques of Mykhailo Stelmakh published in May 1972, Rechmedin noted: "The older generation sees itself in the heroes of Velyka ridnya, Krov lyudska - ne vodytsia, Pravda i Kryvda, Khlib i sil those who had their souls scarred with disaster, poverty, hard work and injustice.
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...
journalist and writer.
He grew up in the village of Andrushivka in present Pohrebyschenskyi Raion
Pohrebyschenskyi Raion
Pohrebysche Raion is a raion of Vinnytsia Oblast in west-central Ukraine.-Geography:The Pohrebysche Raion is situated on the Podillian forest-steppe area in the north-eastern part of Vinnytsia Oblast. To the north it borders Zhytomyr Oblast and to the east Kiev Oblast...
, Vinnytsia Oblast
Vinnytsia Oblast
Vinnytsia Oblast is an oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Vinnytsia.-Geography:The area of the region is 26,500 km²; its population is 1.7 million....
(province
Oblast
Oblast is a type of administrative division in Slavic countries, including some countries of the former Soviet Union. The word "oblast" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "zone", "province", or "region"...
), where his father was a teacher.
After studies at 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 ....
Cooperative Technicum
Technicum
Technicum was a Soviet institute of vocational education. A mass-education facility of "special middle education" category 1 step higher than PTU, but aimed to train low-level industrial managers or specializing in occupations that require skills more advanced than purely manual...
(Уманський кооперативний технікум) he started his career as a journalist in 1934 at Molodyi Bilshovyk (Молодий Бiльшовик) in Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia
Vinnytsia is a city located on the banks of the Southern Bug, in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast.-Names:...
. In 1939 he started to work at Vilna Ukraïna (Вільна Україна) and later at Leninska Molod (Ленінска Молодь) in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
.
Valentyn remained in 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...
also after the German invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
in the summer of 1941. Later he became active in the Soviet partisan movement in the Vinnytsia area. In his partisan group he edited its Partyzanska Pravda. After the war he was awarded the Order of the Red Star
Order of the Red Star
Established on 6 April 1930, the Order of the Red Star was an order of the Soviet Union, given to Red Army and Soviet Navy personnel for "exceptional service in the cause of the defense of the Soviet Union in both war and peace". It was established by Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC of the...
.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he moved 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 worked at the newspapers Radianska Ukraïna, Literaturna Ukraïna (as deputy chief editor) and Kultura i zhyttia (as chief editor) and the magazine Vitchyzna (as deputy chief editor from 1963).
Valentyn started to write novels after the war. The stories were often based on his own experiences during the war. He always wrote in the Ukrainian language
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, but several books have been translated into Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
Valentyn was also a well-known drama and literary critic.
In one of his literary critiques of Mykhailo Stelmakh published in May 1972, Rechmedin noted: "The older generation sees itself in the heroes of Velyka ridnya, Krov lyudska - ne vodytsia, Pravda i Kryvda, Khlib i sil those who had their souls scarred with disaster, poverty, hard work and injustice.