Shevchenko National Prize (Ukrainian: Націона́льна пре́мія Украї́ни і́мені Тараса́ Шевче́нка) (Shevchenko Award), the highest award given for works of art and literature in Ukraine. It is named after the Spiritual leader of Ukrainian national revival Taras Shevchenko.
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The Shevchenko Republican Prize was established on May 20, 1961 by the Declaration of Ministry Council of Ukrainian SSR. It was awarded to the prominent performers of literature, arts, music, theater, and cinematography.
The first laureates received the Prize on March 9, 1962. They were Pavlo Tychyna (recent speaker of Verkhovna Rada) and Oleksandr Honchar in literature, and Platon Mayboroda in music.
Since April 23, 1969 the award was renamed into the Shevchenko State Prize of Ukrainian SSR. By the order of the President of Ukraine #800/2000 on June 22, 2000 the award became to be known as the Shevchenko National Prize.
From 1962 to 2007 the award was given to 566 people and eight collective ensembles.
The National Prize is awarded annually by the order of the President of Ukraine. There are up to five prizes in the following nominations:
A special committee is elected to organize a concourse in three stages. Once decided the names of the candidates are forwarded to the State Committee of Awards and Heraldry that petitions them to the President.
The Awarded are paid by the Committee of amount size of which is identified annually by the President. The monetary award of the Prize for 2009 was ₴160,000 for each prize.[1] For comparison, in 2008 the Prize money amounted to ₴130,000 which was equivalent to $25,000+. The first award in 1962 was given along with 2,500 Soviet rubles. The monetary award of the Prize in 2010 was confirmed at ₴130,000 which by 40,000 less than the last year (implying that it was ₴170,000). The Party of Regions spokeperson Hanna Herman commented that the funds were awarded only that one that were already on the Shevchenko's Fund. Shevchenko lived modestly, lived in need, and to buy him out of serfdom the Russian Intelligentsia collected 2,500 rubles - she added.[2]
The works that seek the National Prize are presented by the Ministry of culture and tourism of Ukraine, the Ukrainian National Academy of Science, the Ukrainian Academy of Arts, the Ukrainian artistic unions, and the Ukrainian literally and artistically critical associations. It may be awarded to the citizens of Ukraine as well as with a foreign or no citizenship.
The literary and artistic works that reached the third stage can be nominated for the second time, but no more than two times. The special committee accepts all the works for the National Prize starting the following year from August 1 to November 1 of the current year.
The collective authors of a presented work cannot exceed three persons, no more than five for collective of performers. The participants that performed any administrative, organizational, or counseling functions cannot be included among the laureates.
The National Prize is awarded to an author or a performer only once in the lifetime.