Famous Ukrainian poet has died in Kyiv

Photo from open source

On 19th of June, famous Ukrainian poet of Soviet times, politician, writer, play writer, critic has died. It is reported by «Obozrevatel».

Popular poet has died in Kyiv in «Feofaniya» hospital after long illnesses. He was 81 years old.

For your information. Ivan Fedorovych Drach was born on 17th of October 1936 in Telizhyntsi, Kyiv Oblast. After military service in 1962 he graduated from the language and literature faculty of Kyiv University.
Then he entered the Higher Courses of Scriptwriters and Film Directors under the State Committee for the State of the USSR in Moscow (1962-1964). At the same time, Ivan Drach wrote his first poems, some of them contained criticism of Soviet power.

Together with Vyacheslav Chernovol, Mikhail Goryn and other prominent Ukrainian dissidents, Ivan Drach created in 1989 the People’s Rukh of Ukraine (NRU) – the first official Ukrainian anti-Soviet organization.
As the first president of Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, stated in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, it was Ivan Drach who proposed to insert into the text of the draft Declaration on the sovereignty of Ukraine the thesis about the neutral status of the country. He also owns the saying: "A Jew in Ukraine should live better than in Israel, a Russian in Ukraine should live better than in Russia."
From August 1992 to May 19, 2000, Ivan Drach was the head of the Ukrainian World Coordinating Council.
Since 1995 and until his last moments of life Drach headed the Congress of Ukrainian Intelligentsia.