Oracle SQL*Plus: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition

What About Those Names?

To add interest to the book and because I'm half Ukrainian, I've used the names of notable Ukrainian literary and historical figures for the employee names in my example data. Thanks to Professor Myron Hlynka, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada for his kindness in providing the following, very brief biographical sketches of the people whose names I used:

Marusia Bohuslavka

A legendary Ukrainian heroine of the 16th or 17th century. Like Roxolana Lisovsky (see later in this section), Marusia was captured by the Turks and added to the harem of a Turkish lord. A famous Kozak duma (epic poem) of the period tells the story of how Marusia rises to such a level that her Turkish master leaves her with the keys to his castle (and dungeon). She uses the opportunity to free a group of Ukrainian kozaks who had been in captivity there for 30 years. Strangely, she does not flee with them but remains with her harem, as this has become the only life she is now comfortable with. Marusia symbolizes those who leave Ukraine but still have a strong connection to the land of their ancestry.

Pavlo Chubynsky (1839-1884)

Born in Boryspil, Ukraine. He was a geographer and ethnographer who collected information on folk customs and folk music in Ukraine. He wrote a book of poetry entitled Sopilka ("Ukrainian wooden flute"). He is best known for writing the lyrics to the current Ukrainian national anthem, "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" ("Ukraine is Not Yet Dead"). This strange negative title reflects the fact that Ukraine has often been under foreign rule; in Chubynsky's time, Ukraine was divided among Russia, Austria, and Romania.

Marusia Churai (1625-1650)

A singer and composer of Ukrainian songs. A historical novel in verse, Marusia Churai, by Lina Kostenko (1979), tells the story of Marusia who died during the Ukrainian struggle for independence from Polish rule. Among the songs she composed is "Oy ne khody, Hrytsiu" ("Don't go to the party, Hrytz"). This song (with its story about a poisoning by a betrayed lover) was turned into a novel V Nedilyu rano zillya kopala ("On Sunday morning, she gathered herbs") by Olha Kobylianska, 1909. Further, the song had completely different English lyrics written by Jack Lawrence (who learned the music from his Ukrainian born mother). The English language version of the song was "Yes, My Darling Daughter." Singer Dinah Shore sold over a million copies of this song in 1940.

Mykhailo Hrushevsky (1866-1934)

A scholar and politician, he was arrested by the Russian government in 1914 for his outspoken pro-Ukrainian positions. He was released in 1917. In 1918, he became President of the short-lived Ukrainian National Republic. In 1919, he left Ukraine, but returned in 1924 with the hope that the new Soviet government would allow more Ukrainian autonomy. However, in 1929, the Soviet authorities limited his work and, in 1929, he was exiled from Ukraine to Moscow. He died in 1934, one year after Stalin's famine genocide in Ukraine. Hrushevsky's 10-volume History of Ukraine is the standard on which all other major Ukrainian histories are based. An abridged English language version was published in the United States in 1941.

Hryhory Kytasty (1907-1984)

Born in the Poltava province of Ukraine. Kytasty was a performer on the bandura, a conductor, and a composer. (The bandura is the multistringed national instrument of Ukraine.) In 1935, Kytasty became the concert master of the Ukrainian State Bandurist Capella, and in 1941, he was drafted into the Red Army. Captured by the Nazis, he escaped to form and direct the Shevchenko Ukrainian Bandurist Capella in Kyiv. This group was captured and interned by the Nazis. In 1949, after World War II, having escaped from the Communists, Kytasty and many of the members of the group settled in Detroit and formed the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus, with Kytasty as conductor. This marvelous choir and bandura ensemble continues to amaze audiences across North America and Europe, long after the death of its founder.

Mykola Leontovych (1877-1921)

A Ukrainian composer, arranger and conductor. In 1918, he moved to Kyiv where his arrangements caught the attention of Oleksander Koshetz, who directed the Ukrainian National Choir. One of the works that Koshetz's choir performed on its world tour was Leontovych's arrangement of a Ukrainian New Year's carol called "Shchedryk." Peter Wilhousky, an American, heard the choir and obtained a copy of the score. He wrote a new set of English lyrics and titled the piece "Carol of the Bells." Under this name, the song has become one of the most popular Christmas carols in the world. "Hark, how the bells, sweet silver bells . . . ."

Roxolana Lisovsky (1505-1558)

A Ukrainian girl captured by Tatars. She was purchased as a slave and added to the harem of Sultan Suleyman (the Magnificent) of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), 1494-1566, who ruled as Sultan from 1520. This was at the height of the power of the Ottoman empire. Roxolana persuaded the Sultan to marry her and she acquired great power. Her Turkish name was Hurrem. One comment on her influence was "The slave girl enslaved Suleyman." One of the sons of Suleyman and Roxolana was Selim II, who became the next Sultan (one of the worst). Their only daughter, Mihrimah, was born in 1522. She became one of the most powerful princesses in the history of the Ottoman empire. Roxolana is the subject of a 1991 opera by composer Denys Sichynsky.

Ivan Mazepa (more often spelled Mazeppa) (1638-1709)

The hetman (chief) of the Ukrainian kozaks from 1687 until his death. In his youth, he served as a page of Jan Casimir in Poland. A famous legend tells the story of how Mazepa had an affair with a Polish noblewoman and how her husband got revenge by tying Mazepa to a wild Ukrainian horse that was sent into the steppes of Ukraine. Mazepa was supposed to perish but he was rescued by Ukrainian kozaks and eventually became their leader. This legend was the subject of a poem by Byron and a symphonic poem by Liszt. Mazepa was the subject of a book by Pushkin and an opera by Tchaikovsky. In 1709, when the Ukraine was under Russian rule, Mazepa joined forces with Charles XII of Sweden to secure Ukraine's independence. At the famous Battle of Poltava, Tsar Peter I defeated Charles and Mazepa, leaving much of the Ukraine under Russian control for most of the next 300 years.

Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861)

Born a serf in central Ukraine. In 1830, his owner, Engelhardt, moved with his serfs to St. Petersburg, Russia. There Shevchenko's talent as an artist was discovered and in 1838, generous artists and writers raised enough money to purchase his freedom. In 1840, Shevchenko's first collection of poetry, The Kobzar, was published in the Ukrainian language. This work was immensely successful among the Ukrainian people, who had not been able to boast of a literary figure of his stature. His poetry encompassed many different styles: historical epics, lyrical poetry, philosophical musings, and political commentary. Speaking of the many nationalities held forcibly in the Russian empire, he wrote, "Each, in his own language, holds his tongue." Shevchenko's political poetry got him in trouble with the tsarist government. As a result, he was arrested in 1847 and did not see Ukraine again until 1859, two years before his death. His fame and importance to Ukrainian literature is so immense that even outside Ukraine there are major statues erected in his honor, in cities as diverse as St. Petersburg, Buenos Aires, Winnipeg, and Washington.

Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972)

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine at a time when Eastern Ukraine was part of Russia, and Western Ukraine was part of Austria, he began studies at the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute in 1907. He built his first (unsuccessful) helicopter in 1909. During and prior to World War I, Sikorsky designed and flew planes in Russia. He helped develop the world's first multiengine aircraft. After coming to the United States in 1919, he continued working on fixed wing aircrafts. Other people had developed helicopters prior to Sikorsky; however, none of their designs led to commercial development. In 1939, Sikorsky successfully designed and flew what was to be the world's first practical helicopter. The successful Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation in the United States stands as a legacy to his achievements. He was honored with a United States postage stamp in 1988 and a Ukrainian postage stamp in 1998.

Lesia Ukrainka (1871-1913)

The pseudonym of Ukrainian poetess Larysa Kosach. She is considered one of the three major early pillars of Ukrainian literature, along with Taras Shevchenko and Ivan Franko. Tuberculosis affected her most of her life, so she spent many years outside of Ukraine seeking medical aid. Her poetry often showed her yearning for Ukraine. Some of her lyric poetry appears in the collection Na Krylakh Pisen' ("On the Wings of Song"), 1892. Her most famous work was "Lisova Pisnya" ("Forest Song"), 1912.

Mykhailo Verbytsky (1815-1870)

Born in the Ukrainian region of Halychyna. He was a composer, conductor, and priest. His most famous composition is the music for the Ukrainian national anthem "Shche ne vmerla Ukraina" ("Ukraine is Not Yet Dead") with words by Chubynsky. He arranged church and choral music, and composed overtures, operetta music, and other musical works.

Pavlo Virsky (1905-1975)

A Ukrainian dancer and choreographer. In 1937, he helped found the State Dance Ensemble of Ukraine. From 1955 to 1975 he was the artistic director. The ensemble was renamed the Virsky Ukrainian National Dance Company in 1977, two years after Virsky's death. Since 1980, the artistic director has been Myroslav Vantukh. The company of 90 performers has toured the world many times. At the end of its first performance in New York City in 1958 (during the Cold War era), the company received a 25-minute standing ovation. The company has been called one of the ten best dance companies in the world. The concluding dance is usually the colorful, fiery, athletic Ukrainian Hopak.