Vyacheslav Bryukhovetskyi, founder of the revived Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, has died
On 12 November 2026, Vyacheslav Bryukhovetskyi, Hero of Ukraine, literary scholar, educator, journalist, public figure, one of the founders of the People’s Movement of Ukraine and the driving force behind the revival of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, passed away. He was 79 years old.
This was reported by Censor.NET, citing information from the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
On 12 November, the heart of Vyacheslav Stepanovich Bryukhovetsky (1947–2026) – Hero of Ukraine, an outstanding literary scholar, educator, journalist, public figure, one of the founders of the People’s Movement of Ukraine, and the driving force behind the revival of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, as well as its first and honorary president – ceased to beat.
How Bryukhovetskyi revived the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
Vyacheslav Stepanovich was one of those people who did not merely dream of an independent Ukraine, but who helped to build it through their civic courage and determination to succeed. In 1991, when Ukraine had only just gained independence, he set about realising an idea that many considered impossible: to revive the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Thanks to his tireless work, brilliant intuition and vision for the future of Ukrainian higher education, the Mohyla Academy became one of the most successful projects and symbols of independent Ukraine.
By combining the traditions of the old Academy with the best practices of modern Western higher education institutions, the revived National University "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" has cast off its post-Soviet legacy, becoming a model of the first innovative, entirely Ukrainian-speaking, corruption-free and patriotic university with a dynamic and demanding community, united by shared values and virtues.
Bryukhovetskyi’s role in the development of modern Ukrainian education
It was here that the first master’s programmes were launched in 1996, and in 2008 the Doctoral School was established, offering the first structured programmes for training PhD candidates. It was here that genuine student self-governance took root, along with a distinctive internal culture of mutual trust and respect, an atmosphere of creativity and freedom, and a focus on critical thinking.
These principles have shaped not only university life but also the Academy’s civic stance. The Academy became an active participant in the Orange Revolution (2004–2005) and the Revolution of Dignity (2013–2014), and defended the principles of university autonomy within the Consortium for University Autonomy (2005–2010).
But perhaps Vyacheslav Bryukhovetskyi’s most important achievement was the people – generations of Mohyla Academy graduates who take responsibility for their country. Today, they work in public administration, academia, education, diplomacy, the media, business and the civil society sector, and are also defending Ukraine on the front line.
The loss of Vyacheslav Bryukhovetskyi is irreparable for the Mohyla Academy community and for the whole of Ukraine. But his life’s work lives on. It lives on in the university he revived, in the people he united and inspired, in the values he upheld, and in the future for which he worked.
May the memory of a great man – Vyacheslav Stepanovich Bryukhovetsky – live on. Our sincere condolences go to his family, loved ones, friends, colleagues and the entire Mohyla Academy community.
