Iryna Kalynets
| Iryna Onufriyivna Kalynets | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Ірина Онуфріївна Калинець (Ирина Онуфриевна Калинец) |
| Born |
Iryna Onufriyivna Stasiv December 6, 1940 Lviv, Ukrainian SSR |
| Died |
July 31, 2012 (aged 71) Lviv, Ukraine |
| Nationality | Ukrainian |
| Citizenship |
 Soviet Union (1940–1991) →  Ukraine (1991–2012) |
| Alma mater | Lviv University |
| Occupation | poetry |
| Movement | dissident movement in the Soviet Union |
| Spouse(s) | Ihor Kalynets |
| Awards |
 |
Iryna Onufriyivna Kalynets (Ukrainian: Іри́на Ону́фріївна Калине́ць, Russian: Ири́на Ону́фриевна Калине́ц, 6 December 1940, Lviv – 31 July 2012, Lviv) was a Ukrainian poet, writer, activist and Soviet dissident during the 1970s.[1] Kalynets was the wife of another leading Soviet dissident, Ihor Kalynets.[1]
Kalynets graduated from Lviv University with a degree in philology.[1] She taught courses in Ukrainian literature and language before joining a human rights group called "shistdesyatnyky."[1] Kalynets was the publisher of a banned human rights journal, "Український Вісник."[1] She also publicly protested the detention of other dissidents, including Nina Strokata and Valentyn Moroz.[1] Kalynets and two other activists, Nadiya Svitlychna and Stefania Shabatura, were arrested for a writing on Soviet propaganda. She was sentenced to six years in prison and three years of internal exile within the Soviet Union.[1]
Kalynets was able to return to Lviv in 1981 following the completion of her sentence. A proponent of the Ukrainian independence movement, she soon joined Memorial and Rukh, a pair of civil rights organizations.[1]
Ukraine broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991. Kalynets was elected to the Verkhovna Rada as a deputy in Ukraine's first post independence parliament.[1] She continued to publish writings until her health deteriorated.
Iryna Kalynets died from a long illness on July 31, 2012, at the age of 71.[1][2]