Vinnichenko, Vladimir

Related Category: Russian and Eastern European Literature: Biographies

(vlədyē´mĭr vyĕnĭchān´kō), 1880–1951, Ukrainian writer and statesman. Vinnichenko's early tales are naturalistic; his later novels concern the individual's conflict with society. Vinnichenko's witty and satirical dramas, including The Black Panther and the White Bear (1911), were internationally popular. He was repeatedly persecuted by the czarist government for revolutionary activities. In 1918 he was named president of the Ukrainian directorate, for a while heading the People's Republic. His Rebirth of a Nation (3 vol., 1920) deals with the history of the revolution (1917–20) in Ukraine. After the revolution failed, Vinnichenko lived in France.