15. Top 10 prominent persons in Ukraine.

1. Taras Schevchenko (March 9 1814 – March 10 1861) was a Ukrainian poet and artist. He is also known under the name Kobzar after his most famous literary work, a collection of poems entitled Kobzar. His literary heritage is regarded to be the foundation of modern Ukrainian literature and, to a large extent, the modern Ukrainian language. Shevchenko also wrote in Russian. Shevchenko is also known for many masterpieces as a painter and an illustrator.

2. Ivan Franko. (August 27, 1856 – May 28 1916) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, social and literary critic, journalist, interpreter, economist, political activist, doctor of philosophy, ethnographer, the author of the first detective novels and modern poetry in the Ukrainian language. He was a political radical, and a founder of the socialist and nationalist movement in western Ukraine. In addition to his own literary work, he also translated the works of such renowned figures as William Shakespeare, Lord Byron, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Dante Alighieri, Victor Hugo, Adam Mickiewicz, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller into the Ukrainian language. Along with Taras Shevchenko, he has had a tremendous impact on modern literary and political thought in Ukraine.

3. Lesya Ukrainka (February 25, 1871 – August 1, 1913) was one of Ukraine's best-known poets and writers and the foremost woman writer in Ukrainian literature. She also was a political, civil, and female activist. Taras Shevchenko and Ivan Franko were the main inspiration of her early poetry. Her first collection of poetry, On the Wings of Songs, was published in 1893. Her illness made it necessary for her to travel to places where the climate was dry, and as a result, spent extended periods of time in Germany, Italy, Crimea, the Caucasus and Egypt. She loved experiencing other cultures, which was evident in many of her literary works, such as The Ancient History of Oriental Peoples. The book was published in L'viv, and Ivan Franko was involved in its publication. It included her early poems, such as "Seven Strings," "The Starry Sky," "Tears-Pearls," "The Journey to the Sea," "Crimean Memories," and "In the Children's Circle." Ukrainka also wrote epic poems, prose dramas, prose, several articles of literary criticism, and a number of sociopolitical essays. She was best known for her plays (The Noblewoman), a psychological tragedy centered on Ukrainian family in 17th century, which refers directly to Ukrainian history, and (The Forest Song), whose characters include mythological beings from Ukrainian folklore.

4. Ivan Kotliarevsky (9 September 1769, Poltava – 10 November , 1838, Poltava, Russian Empire, now Ukraine), was a Ukrainian writer, poet and playwright,social activist, regarded as the pioneer of modern Ukrainian literature. Kotliarevsky was a veteran of the Russo-Turkish War. Ivan Kotlyarevsky's mock-heroic 1798 poem Eneyida is considered to be the first literary work published wholly in the modern Ukrainian language. Eneyida is a parody of Virgil's Aeneid, where Kotlyarevsky transformed the Trojan heroes into Zaporozhian Cossacks. Critics believe that it was written in the light of the destruction of Zaporizhian Host by the order of Catherine the Great. His two plays, also living classics, Natalka Poltavka and Moskal-Charivnyk became the impetus for the creation of the Natalka Poltavka opera and the development of Ukrainian national theater.

5. Solomiya Krushelnytska (23 September 1872 – 16 November 1952) was one of the brightest Ukrainian soprano opera stars of the first half of the 20th century. On tours, she sang in four and five productions during a single week. She could learn a part of a new opera in two days, and develop the character of a role in another three or four. Her repertoire totaled 63 parts. In the history of music, Krushelnytska is known as an active promoter of the works of her contemporaries, and of Richard Wagner. In 1902 she won the hearts of Parisians in Lohengrin. And so it went – in the theatres of Europe, Egypt, Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and others. Her knowledge of eight languages allowed her to include in her concert programs songs of many nations. In the 1920s she left the opera stage to perform as a concert singer performing in Western Europe, Canada and the USA. She was a fervent promoter of Ukrainian folk songs and works by Ukrainian composers.

6. Ivan Mazepa (March 20, 1639 – October 2, 1709), Cossack Hetman of the Hetmanate in Left-bank Ukraine, from 1687–1708, the Prince of the Holy Roman Empire 1707-1709. He was famous as a patron of the arts, and also played an important role in the Battle of Poltava where after learning of Peter I's intent to relieve him as acting Hetman of Ukraine and replace him with Alexander Menshikov, he deserted his army and sided with Charles of Sweden. The politicization of this desertion has held a lasting legacy in both Russian and Ukrainian national history. Because of this, the Russian Orthodox Church has laid an anathema on his name since the beginning of the 18th century and refuses to renounce to this day. The alienation of Mazepa from Ukrainian history continued during the Soviet period, but since Ukraine's independence there have been strong moves to rehabilitate Mazepa's image, although he remains a figure of mixed standing.

7. Mykhailo Drahomanov ( August 30, 1841 in Hadiach – July 2, 1895) was a Ukrainian political theorist, economist, historian, philosopher, ethnographer and public figure in Kiev. He was also an uncle of Larysa Kosach (Lesya Ukrainka) the great Ukrainian poetess and brother - Olha Drahomanova-Kosach (Olena Pchilka). He lectured at Kiev University from 1870 to 1875, but because of the repressions against the Ukrainian movement peaking up in 1876 with Ems Ukaz was forced to leave the Russian Empire and emigrated to Geneva. In emigration he continued his political, scholarly and publishing activities. In 1885–95, he was a professor at the University of Sofia. Drahomanov wrote the first systematic political program for the Ukrainian national movement.

8. Bohdan Khmelnitsky (30 January 1648 – 6 August 1657), was a hetman of the Zaporozhian Cossack Hetmanate. He led an uprising against the Commonwealth and its magnates (1648–1654) which resulted in the creation of a Cossack state. In Ukraine, Khmelnytsky is generally regarded as a national hero and a father of the nation. His image is prominently displayed on Ukrainian banknotes and his monument in the centre of Kiev is the focal point of the Ukrainian capital.

9. Kvitka Cisyk. Kvitka "Kacey" (or "Cassie") Cisyk (Квітка Цісик) was an American soprano of Ukrainian ethnicity. Her given name, Kvitka, is Ukrainian for "flower". Her father, Volodymyr Cisyk, a well known Ukrainian concert violinist and teacher, taught his daughter the violin when she was 5 years old, grooming her for a career as a classical musician. Cisyk, a classically-trained opera singer, successfully pursued a career in four different musical genres: popular music, classical opera, Ukrainian folk music and commercial jingles for radio and TV advertisements. Cisyk recorded the version of «You Light Up My Life" heard in the movie (this song won the Best Song Oscar in 1977), sang the "Have you driven a Ford lately?" and "You deserve a break today!" jingles and also released two critically acclaimed albums of Ukrainian songs.

10. Klitschko Brothers. Dates of birth: Wladimir - 25 March 1976; Vitali - 19 July 1971. Vitali Klitschko (Віталій Кличко), older brother, is the current WBC world heavyweight champion. He has the highest knockout percentage (95%) of any heavyweight boxing champion in overall fights. He also holds the distinction of being a three time world heavyweight champion, having previously held the WBO and WBC titles, and has never been knocked out or knocked down in any professional boxing bout. Vitali is the first professional boxing world champion to hold a Ph.D. (in sports science). His younger brother, Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the unified IBF, WBO, IBO and Ring Magazine Champion of the world.