Taras Shevchenko was a Ukrainian poet and artist born in 1814 in Ukraine, which was then part of the Russian Empire. He experienced a difficult childhood as an orphan and later a serf. He received some education as a young boy and showed a talent for drawing. In 1838, he was redeemed from serfdom by prominent Russian artists who recognized his talents. He went on to study art in St. Petersburg and gained recognition for his paintings and became one of the most important figures in Ukrainian literature through his poems addressing Ukrainian nationalism and promoting independence. However, his writings and involvement with a secret political organization led to his arrest in 1847 and exile for 10 years in Siberia and Kazakhstan, which took a