Vira Roik was an artist who made an extraordinary contribution to the development of Ukrainian culture in Crimea. Throughout her life, she received numerous awards, including Hero of Ukraine, Honored Master of Folk Art of Ukraine, Honored Artist of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, the Order of Princess Olha, and the International Order of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker “For Multiplying Good on Earth.” She was also a laureate of the State Prize of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Volodymyr Korolenko Prize, and an honorary citizen of three cities: Lubny, Kobeliaky, and Simferopol, where one of the city’s squares is named in her honor.

Vira Serhiivna Roik was born on April 25, 1911, in Lubny, Poltava region, into an educated family that preserved national traditions and was aware of its Cossack roots. After graduating from a gymnasium, she worked at the Lubny Embroidery Artel, where she began to creatively reinterpret folk patterns, combining traditional elements in her original works.

In 1952, the Roik family moved to Crimea on the advice of doctors. According to art historians, Vira Roik founded the true Crimean school of Ukrainian embroidery. One of her admirers, academician Dmytro Stepovyk, called her “the Poltava Woman of Crimea.”

One of Vira Roik’s great achievements was that she was among the first in the Soviet period to promote Ukrainian folk embroidery, national culture, and art in Crimea. To this end, she implemented an almost fantastic idea—a traveling art gallery—and in the 1960s, she established the Museum of Folk Art of Crimea.

In 1981, her first personal exhibition, titled “Ukrainian Embroidery,” opened in her hometown of Lubny. In total, Vira Roik organized 140 solo exhibitions, and her embroidered works were exhibited in all regional centers of Ukraine, as well as in Germany, Bulgaria, Poland, Turkey, Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Mongolia, the USA, Croatia, and other countries.

One of the most touching moments in her career, Vira Roik recalled, was when she was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. For her mastery, she was also honored with the title of Honored Master of Folk Art of Ukraine and awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine in 2006. That same year, the International Prize in the field of folk art named after Vira Roik was established. In 2008, she participated in the creation of the “Rushnyk (Towel) of National Unity,” and on April 29, 2010, she was named an honorary citizen of Simferopol.

Vira Roik passed away on October 3, 2010, and was buried at the Abdal Cemetery in Simferopol.

By decision of the 65th session of the Simferopol City Council, 5th convocation, on October 21, 2010, one of the city’s squares was named after Vira Roik, where a monument to the prominent embroiderer was planned.

In April 2011, the 100th anniversary of Vira Roik’s birth was celebrated at the national level by decision of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. In Simferopol, an exhibition titled “Ukrainian Embroidery” was opened at the House of Artists, and at the Ethnographic Museum, an exhibition called “Wisdom and Talent in Folk Embroidery” was held. In December 2012, the Vira Roik Museum of Ukrainian Embroidery was opened in Simferopol.

In November 2013, on the eve of the Revolution of Dignity, the Ministry of Culture of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea decided to embroider a large “Towel of Unity,” to be embroidered by representatives of different nationalities and peoples living in Crimea in honor of Taras Shevchenko’s memory. The embroidery of the towel began with a Shevchenko-inspired motif from one of Roik’s works, and nearly 20 embroiderers from various national communities in Crimea participated in the project.

However, the occupation of Crimea by Russian forces in February 2014 prevented the realization of this artistic project, as well as the construction of the monument to the prominent embroiderer in Simferopol.