Skip to content
Call Us Today! 212-533-4646 | MON-FRI 12PM - 4PM (EST)
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
Search for:
About Us
Publications
FAQ
Annual Report 2023
Annual Report 2022
Annual Report 2021
Projects
Advocate
Educate
Cultivate
Care
News
Newsletters
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Join UNWLA
Become a Member
Volunteer With Us
Donate to UNWLA
Members Portal
Calendar
Shop to Support Ukraine
Search for:
Print
Print Page
Download
Download Page
Download Right Page
Open
1
2-3
4-5
6-7
8-9
10-11
12-13
14-15
16-17
18-19
20-21
22-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
30-31
32-33
34-35
36-37
38-39
40
25 НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ • Листопад 2022 as his talent was useful in enter - taining the prisoners. Unfortu - nately, someone betrayed him, reporting that he was indeed a priest. He was then transferred to a camp in Tomsk, now only 400 miles from Krasny Yar. This proved to be a Godsend since it was a larger city and his musical talent was soon discovered and put to broader use. The director of the Philharmonic at Tomsk rec - ognized Artemij from his days in Lviv. He sent a telegram to Krasny Yar and asked that Lesya’s mother and children be transferred to the Tomsk camp as well. It was a tear - ful and joyous reunion since they had not seen each other in five years. Lesya’s younger brother Petro was born after their reun - ion, barely surviving the subarctic climate of the taiga. However, he did survive and would later be - come the first violinist for the Kyiv opera, and then the concertmas - ter for the Warsaw Philharmonic for over 15 years. To date, no one has held that position as long as Petro. He gave concerts all over the world, including 20 in Japan alone. He certainly inherited his father’s talent. Return Home When Stalin died in 1953, Lesya and her family were finally al - lowed to go back home. Unfortu - nately, they didn’t have enough money for the trip back for the seven of them. They found work in a restaurant where Artemij en - tertained the guests with his mu - sicality and Marta worked in the kitchen until 1:00 a.m. It wasn’t until three years later, in 1956, that they saved up enough money for the trip back home. Lesya was now 13 years old. Her grandfather soon noticed her artistic talent and, after she completed gym - nasium, enrolled her in the Lviv Academy of Arts for tapestry. She trained under the master Karl Zvi - rinsky, whose work hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in Lviv. Lesya became an accomplished artist in her own right. Twice her tapestries were shown at interna - tional art exhibitions. However, she was not allowed to leave the country; instead, a KGB member would take her place. In one of her tapestries, made to honor the 350th anniversary of the Kyiv Mo - hyla Academy, she inserted what she called a “тиха бомба” (a quiet bomb): Hetman Mazepa’s coat of arms on a lectern holding a book. The KGB did not identify the image and thankfully did not discover her “quiet bomb.” To this day, one of her tapestries hangs in the Ivan Franko National Uni - versity in Lviv. St. Volodymyr Foundation In 1967, Lesya married Roman Krypyakevych, the son of the re - nowned historian Ivan Krypya- kevych. He was also a physi - cist and the first vice-consul of Ukraine to Austria. Lesya contin - ued to pursue her art, creating tapestries at the famed school of Karl Zvirinsky. With the proclama - tion of Ukraine’s independence in 1991, Lesya and her husband Roman established the St. Volod - ymyr Foundation, a public chari - table institution that was blessed by Metropolitan Husar. Because Roman was fluent in Ger - man, they established relations with Austria, Germany, and Swit - zerland and focused on Roman Catholic institutions that proved benevolent in helping their foun - dation. The foundation pursued solutions to the educational and socio-cultural problems of young families. It has provided personal and family protection in difficult circumstances, material assis - tance, medical and psychological care, and counseling for close to 25 years. Since Roman's death in 1999, Lesya continues to lead the foundation, with Ihor Matu - shevsky as its new president. In 2020, Lesya and Archbishop Bo - rys Gudziak organized their first Youth for Christ conference in a Lviv stadium, with close to 40,000 Lesya (center) received the Order of Princess Olha from President Petro Poroshenko in 2015. Lesya (seated) with Archbishop Borys Gudziak during the Youth for Christ conference in Lviv in 2020. One of Lesya’s tapestries hanging in the Ivan Franko National University in Lviv. Lesya preparing shipments for the front.
Page load link
Go to Top