Journalist and dissident Margarita Dovgan has died
On September 8, news broke of the death of Margarita Dovgan, a journalist, civil society activist, and dissident. She died at the age of 95, according to her daughter, Kateryna Dovgan.
Margarita Dovgan was born on September 11, 1930, in Tashkent. Her family had been forced to move there following Stalin’s repressions. In 1928, her grandfather, a customs officer on the border with Poland, was arrested by Soviet authorities as an “enemy of the people” and sent to a political prison camp in Central Asia.
In August 1944, the family returned to Kyiv. Dovgan graduated from high school and later from the journalism department at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.
She worked at the newspaper *Vechirniy Kyiv* and the literary journal *Druh Chytacha*. It was during this period that she became actively involved in the cultural circles of the Ukrainian Shestydesyatnyky movement.
Dovhan was friends with and worked side by side with Vasyl Stus, Ivan Dziuba, Ivan Svitlychny, and Vyacheslav Chornovil. She organized large-scale poetry evenings, supported Ukrainian cultural figures, and corresponded with political prisoners.
For organizing one such evening, during which 13 poets read their poems, Margarita Dovhan was fired from *Evening Kyiv*. According to *Historical Truth*, she was spared imprisonment and the labor camps because her passport listed “Russian” in the “nationality” field.
Despite pressure from the Soviet authorities, Dovhan continued to support political prisoners and their families. Her husband, sculptor Boris Dovhan, created portraits of Ukrainian “Sixties” activists.
The journalist’s memoirs of that period were included in the book *The River of Life*. In it, she recounted her own story and the Ukrainian national movement of the 1960s–1980s.
After Ukraine declared independence, Dovhan worked for the People’s Movement of Ukraine. She also participated in the Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity.
In 2018, the journalist published the documentary book *Hospital Notes. February 2015 – March 2018.” It included stories of ATO participants that Dovhan recorded during her visits to the Kyiv Military Hospital.
The National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity described Margarita Dovhan’s death as a great loss for the Ukrainian community and highlighted her contribution to preserving the spirit of the 1960s movement.
“Margarita Dovhan was one of those who carried on her shoulders the spirit of the 1960s, the indomitable spirit of the 1960s–1980s, and boundless love for Ukraine,” the museum noted.
Dovhan’s daughter announced that the funeral will be private. Details regarding a memorial service in honor of the journalist and member of the 1960s generation will be announced later.
Earlier, Andriy Gavashi, the legendary goalkeeper for Kyiv’s Dynamo, passed away.
