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Mykola Dmytriiev — an outstanding figure in the history of Poltava and Ukraine, a public and cultural-educational figure, lawyer, publisher and publicist, was born on 22 April 1867 into the family of government official Andrii Dmytrenko, a native of the village of Kozacha Lopan, who worked as a magistrate in Kharkiv for about thirty years. His mother, Oleksandra, came from the famous family of Hryhorii Kvitka-Osnovianenko.
Mykola received his higher education at the law faculty of Kharkiv University. During his studies, he spent his summer holidays travelling around Ukrainian villages, getting acquainted with the life, traditions and customs of ordinary people. It was then that the young lawyer became convinced that his calling was to work for the good of the people.
After graduating from university in 1892, Dmytriiev served in the military in Poltava. There, he secretly married his home tutor, Hanna Teplytska, the daughter of a former serf from Ivanovo-Voznesensk.
After leaving the army, Mykola moved to Sumy, where he began his career as a solicitor. He later worked as a lawyer for the wealthy Kharytonenko family of sugar manufacturers. However, Dmytriiev's thoughts always returned to Poltava, the city that had become dear to him. And when, in August 1894, he was offered the position of secretary of the newspaper Poltavski Hubernski Vidomosti, he gladly accepted the offer and returned to his beloved city. Later, he left his position at the newspaper and devoted himself entirely to his law practice.
In Poltava, Mykola Dmytriiev gradually gained a reputation as an active public figure and became one of the leaders and inspirers of the local Ukrainian intelligentsia. Progressive figures with democratic and patriotic views gathered around him, including Panas Myrnyi, Hryhorii Markevych, Viktor Vasylenko, Lev Padalka, and others. Dmytriiev had a particularly close friendship with Panas Myrnyi. Their home became a real centre of cultural and public life in Poltava, where the Ukrainian spirit reigned supreme. Mykola Dmytriiev's wife, Hanna, shared his convictions and, together with her husband, supported activities aimed at developing Ukrainian culture.
Mykola was the inspiration and organiser of many important cultural events in Poltava. Thanks to his initiative, the townspeople had the opportunity to attend performances by leading figures in Ukrainian art, including concerts by Mykola Lysenko's choir and tours by Mark Kropyvnytskyi and Mykola Sadovskyi's theatre troupes. He also actively participated in the preparation and conduct of celebrations on the occasion of the opening of the monument to Ivan Kotliarevskyi in Poltava.
Mykola Dmytriiev took an active part in organising events on the occasion of the opening of the monument to I.P. Kotliarevskyi in Poltava. During the celebrations, which lasted from 27 to 30 August, numerous well-known Ukrainian writers, musicians and cultural figures, including Lesia Ukrainka and Olena Pchilka, stayed at Dmytriev's house.
Even before the opening of the monument to I. P. Kotliarevskyi in 1902, a discussion unfolded in the Poltava press about the construction of the Poltava Provincial Zemstvo building (now the Poltava Local History Museum named after Vasyl Krychevskyi). Mykola Dmytriiev strongly supported this idea in the pages of Poltava periodicals.
In July 1905, a congress of representatives of Ukrainian communities was held at Mykola Dmytriiev's home, where one of the most important issues of the time was discussed — the attainment of autonomy for Ukraine.
In addition to his active public activities, Dmytriiev was also involved in publishing: he took care of the publication of Panas Myrnyi's works, published Ukrainian calendars and other printed materials that contributed to the spread of national culture and education.
In early November 1905, Mykola Dmytriiev, together with Panas Myrnyi, Hrytsko Kovalenko, and Hryhorii Markevych, founded a weekly magazine called Ridnyi Krai (Native Land). It was in this magazine that Mykola Dmitriev revealed himself as a brilliant publicist. He published many of his sharp journalistic historical and artistic studies and bibliographic notes. Later, Olena Pchilka joined the editorial staff. When it became impossible to publish Ridny Krai in Poltava due to the reactionary conditions, Dmitriev handed it over to Olena Pchilka and focused on the problems of public schools, working with teachers, and the activities of the Ukrainian Teacher publishing house.
In March 1907, Mykola Dmytriiev was one of the organisers of the Shevchenko celebrations in Poltava. His son Yurii (who, incidentally, was Panas Myrnyi's godson) recalled: "On Shevchenko Day, there were many people in my father's house, and Shevchenko's bust, which stood in the corner on a large pedestal, was moved to the theatre stage, decorated with skirts and flowers, and remained there until the end of the holiday."
Despite being extremely busy in public and cultural life, Mykola Dmytriiev supported himself through his professional legal practice and work in the zemstvo and district court. At the same time, as his contemporaries recalled, he never remained indifferent to human suffering — he provided free legal assistance to many low-income peasants, seeing this as his civic duty.
The life of Mykola Dmytriiev was tragically and prematurely cut short — he was only 42 years old. In the summer of 1908, while vacationing on the Psel River near the village of Yaresky, he noticed a girl drowning and, without hesitation, rushed to save her. Unfortunately, Mykola was unable to escape the dangerous current and died, showing true heroism and self-sacrifice. The tragedy happened in front of his four-year-old son Yurii.
The entire city of Poltava accompanied him on his final journey. Contemporaries claimed that almost the entire city gathered at the funeral service near Stritynska Church. Mykola Dmytriiev was buried in the old city cemetery. Panas Myrnyi laid a wreath on his friend's grave with an inscription on the ribbon: "To the tireless worshipper of truth from his orphaned brother." In 1910, Hanna, Mykola Dmytriiev's widow, commissioned Vasyl Krychevskyi to create a tombstone for her husband – a monument in the form of a chapel made of grey granite. In the 1960s, a park was laid out on the site of the Old Poltava Cemetery and the Ltava factory was built. Dmytriiev's ashes were transferred to another cemetery, and only the majestic, ornate "rosary" pedestal remained of Krychevskyi's masterpiece. To protect the bust from theft and destruction, Dmytriev's family transferred it to the Panas Mirny Literary and Memorial Museum in Poltava, where it remains to this day.
Poltava still remembers and honours the famous lawyer and public figure Mykola Dmytriiev. In August 2007, a commemorative plaque was installed on the facade of the house where the lawyer lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (now Konstytutsii Square, 3). And in 2016, one of the city's central streets, formerly Volodarska Street, was renamed Mykola Dmytriiev Street.
Mykola Dmytriiev left a deep mark on the cultural and educational life of Poltava. His efforts to protect the language, education and national culture continue to inspire people today.
1867-1908
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3 Konstytutsii Square
