Yurii's father, Ivan Lypa, was the well-known Ukrainian poet, doctor and patriot. At a young age, Yuriy Lypa showed an interest in writing. Famous Ukrainian writers Ivan Franko and Volodymyr Samiylenko read his work and commented positively. Lypa began his education in Odesa and after graduating from school he entered the Law Department of Novorosiyskyi University. In 1917, Lypa became the editor of the magazine and published his first pamphlets: Liberation of Ukraine Union, Kyivan Kingdom According to Bismarck’s Project, Wear your Awards and Hetman Ivan Mazepa. These works were published in his father’s publishing house, Narodnyi Stiah. During the Bolshevik Revolution in Ukraine, Yuriy Lypa sided against the Bolsheviks, and fought for the cause of an independent Ukraine. In 1920, Ivan and Yuriy Lypa moved to Kamyanets, in the western part of Ukraine. In 1922, Yuriy Lypa studied medicine at Poznan University, Poland. After graduation, he moved to Warsaw where he graduated from the Military School of Medicine in 1931.
Medical career and literary development
Lypa commenced work at Warsaw University. Yurii Lypa's first poetry book, entitled Serenity, was published in Poland in 1925. In 1929, Yuriy Lypa, together with Yevhen Malanyuk, established the literary group 'Tank'. The group's members included the outstanding Ukrainian writers L. Mosendz, N. Livytska-Kholodna and O. Stefanovych. The young writers gathered to discuss and develop their literary works, incorporating the ideal of reviving the Ukrainian nation. Yuriy Lypa's second poetry book Severity, which was published in 1931, reflected this ideology, expressing faith in the Ukrainian nation's independent and prosperous future. In 1934, Yurii Lypa's novel Kozaks in Moskovia was published in Warsaw, which was followed shortly by a collection of his literature essays, entitled Fight for Ukraine. In 1936, Notebook, comprising three volumes of the author's short stories, was published. The stories were mainly concerned with the national liberation movement of 1917–1921. The same year he produced the political works Ukrainian Age and Ukrainian Race. Perhaps Lypa's most well known political and philosophical work is his trilogy Cause of Ukraine , The Black Sea Doctrine and The Severance of Russia . Following his father's steps, Yuriy Lypa continued his medical practice. He specialised in phytotherapy and was a great phytotherapist. He also published the medical books: Phytotherapy , Healing Herbs in Ancient and Modern Medicine and The Cure Beneath Our Feet .
Political activities
Living in exile did not prevent Yuriy Lypa from working on matters concerning Ukraine and its future. In 1940, together with Ivan Shovhenivskyi, Valentyn Sadovskyi, Lev Bykovskyi and Vadym Scherbakivskyi, Lypa founded the Ukrainian Chornomorskyi Institute, a research body focused on the potential economic and political problems Ukraine would face if it gained independence. With the beginning of the World War II and invasion of Poland, Yuriy Lypa was mobilized. However, he soon returned to Warsaw, where he founded the Ukrainian Public Committee, to help eastern Ukrainian refugees. Yuriy Lypa was aware that both Soviet and Fascist authorities were monitoring him. Although Lypa had a chance to migrate to a safe destination, he decided to return to Ukraine.
Last years and death
In 1937, Yuriy Lypa married Halyna Zakhariasevych; they had two daughters. In 1943, Lypa moved his family to the Yavoriv region of western Ukraine. He became an active participant in the Ukrainian resistance movement. While working as a doctor, Yuriy Lypa also conducted training courses for medical staff from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. On 19 August 1944, NKVD officers apprehended Yuriy Lypa. Two days later, his wife was informed that villagers had found her husband’s corpse in the garbage tip near Shutova village. His entire body had been severely damaged and tortured.
Awards
He received the Simon Petlyura Cross Posthumously.
