5 Hryven Maria Zankovetska Ukrainian National Theater

Maria Zankovetska (1854–1934) was the dominant stage actress of late nineteenth-century Ukrainian theatre, performing under conditions of active imperial suppression — the 1876 Ems Decree had banned Ukrainian-language publications and severely restricted public performance in the language. That she built an international reputation despite this, touring to St. Petersburg and beyond to critical acclaim, is the reason her name anchors the Kyiv theatre that bears it.

The Ukrainian National Drama Theatre was officially named in her honor in 1922, two years before her death.