Advocates honored Antin Gorbachevsky with a series of presentations

On January 27, Ukraine celebrated the 170th anniversary of Antin Gorbachevsky's birth at the state level (Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada No. 4748-IX dated December 18, 2025). The UNBA also joined in honoring the memory of the jurist, advocate, public and political figure.

At the end of 2025, the fifth volume of the Ukrainian National Bar Association series «Advocate Biographies» was published: «Advocate Antin Gorbachevsky and his era». In 2026, a series of public presentations of the publication began in the regions.

The first presentations of the publication took place on January 8 in Ternopil – at the Ternopil Regional Universal Scientific Library and at the Western Interregional Center for the Provision of Free Secondary Legal Aid. The presentations continued on January 22, Unity Day. The author, Oleksandr Stepanenko, a human rights activist, chairman of the public organization «Helsinki Initiative-XXI» and member of the board of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, visited the Ternopil Regional Library for Children. On the same day, the book was presented in the reading room of the State Archives of the Ternopil Region for archivists from the Donetsk and Ternopil regions. Petro Hutsal, candidate of historical sciences and associate professor at the Volodymyr Hnatyuk Ternopil National Pedagogical University, Ihor Krochak, veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war and historian, and Fedir Polyansky, candidate of historical sciences and director of the State Archives of the Ternopil Region, took part in discussions on the subject of the publication.

The next venue was Chortkiv, a city with which a significant part of Gorbachevsky's professional and public activities are associated. In the local context, his activities are linked to a particular period in the city's development, known as the «Gorbachevsky era». It is symbolic that the presentations of the publication took place on the eve and on the day of the anniversary. «The Year of Gorbachevsky» began with the presentation of the book at the Art Gallery of the Chortkiv City Council Public Library. In Chortkiv, Gorbachevsky's contribution to the founding of the Ukrainian gymnasium «Ridna Shkola» is particularly noteworthy. Therefore, the book was also presented at the Chortkiv Lyceum No. 1 named after Markiyan Shashkevych, which is located within the historic walls of the city's first Ukrainian gymnasium.

«The biographical sketch of Gorbachevsky, written by Oleksandr Stepanenko, is an in-depth exploration of the professional and political activities of an advocate, intellectual, and public figure. He was a representative of a whole generation of Ukrainian lawyers and statesmen of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who shaped national legislation, defended Ukrainian statehood, and fought for values that are still relevant today. Therefore, preserving the memory of such figures is the task of the modern legal community», - emphasized Iryna Vasylyk, head of the Center for advocacy and law research at the UNBA.

Further presentations are planned for interested audiences in Drohobych, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zalishchyky and Antin Gorbachevsky's native village of Zarubyntsi.