On March 22, 1845, the Council of the Academy of Arts decided to grant Shevchenko the title of artist. On that same day, he approached the leadership of the Academy with a request for a "pass" for a trip to Ukraine.

In Kiev, the poet met with M. Maksymovich, and was commissioned to paint historical sites. Shevchenko visited Kyrylivka, and in the fall of 1845, on an appointment by the Archeological Commission, he left to paint the historical and archeological sites of Poltava. In Myrhorod, the poet wrote the mystery play The Great Vault. Toward the end of October, Shevchenko went to Pereyaslav, where he lived to the beginning of 1846.

In the spring of 1846, the poet lived for some time in Kiev, where he met the members of the Kyrylo-Methodius Society. The views of the poet had a great influence on the program of this secret society and on the philosophical outlook of many of his contemporaries.

In 1847, arrests began of the members of the Kyrylo-Methodius Society and Shevchenko was arrested on April 5, on a ferry crossing the Dnipro River near Kiev. The next day, the poet was sent to St. Petersburg. He arrived there on April 17, 1847, and was imprisoned. Here he wrote the cycle of poems In the Dungeon. Of all the members of the association who came under investigation, Shevchenko was punished most severely: he was exiled as a private with the Military Detachment at Orenburg. Russian Tsar Nicholas I, in confirming the sentence, wrote, "Under the strictest surveillance, with a ban on writing and painting."

On June 8, 1847, Shevchenko was established at Orenburg, and later he was sent to the fort at Orsk. From the very first days, Shevchenko violated the tsar's order. He transcribed the prison cycle into a small secret book he kept in his boot, and he wrote new poems into the book. In 1848, Shevchenko was included as an artist in the Aral Survey Expedition. In 1850, Shevchenko was arrested for violating the tsar's order. Warned by his friends, the poet was able to give them his notebooks and to destroy some letters. The poet was taken to Orsk, where he was questioned. Then he was sent to a remote fort in Novopetrovsk. Once again, strict discipline was imposed, and the poet was subjected to more rigorous surveillance. It was not until 1857 that Shevchenko finally returned from exile, thanks to the efforts of friends.

While awaiting permission to return, Shevchenko began a diary, an important documentation of his views. On August 2, 1857, having received permission to travel to St. Petersburg, Shevchenko left the fort at Novopetrovsk. In Nizhniy Novgorod, he learned that he was forbidden to go to Moscow or St. Petersburg, on pain of being returned to Orenburg.

A kind doctor attested to Shevchenko's illness, and the poet spent the entire winter in Nizhniy Novgorod. The winter of 1857-58 was very productive for Shevchenko. During that time he painted many portraits and other paintings. He also edited and transcribed into the Bilsha knyzhka (The Larger Book) his poems from the period of exile, and wrote new poetic works. After receiving permission to live in the capital, he went to St. Petersburg. After his exile, Shevchenko devoted his greatest attention as an artist to engraving, and in this field he became a true innovator.

In May, 1859, Shevchenko got permission to go to Ukraine. He intended to buy a plot of land not far from the village of Pekariv, to build a house there, and to settle in Ukraine. In July he was arrested on a charge of blasphemy, but was released and ordered to go to St. Petersburg without fail. The poet arrived there on September 7, 1859. Nevertheless, to the end of his life, the poet hoped to settle in Ukraine.

In spite of physical weakness as a result of his exile, Shevchenko's poetical strength was inexhaustible, and the last period of his work is the highest stage of his development. In a series of works, the poet embodied the dream of the people for a free and happy life. Shevchenko understood that the peasants would gain their freedom neither through the kindness of the tsar nor through reforms, but through struggle. He created a gallery of images - Champions of Sacred Freedom - of fighters against oppression and tyrarny. On September 2, 1860, the Council of the Academy of Arts granted Shevchenko the title, Academician of Engraving.

The poet began to feel increasingly ill, and complained in letters about the state of his health. Taras Shevchenko died in St. Petersburg at 5:30 a.m. on March 10, 1861. At the Academy of Arts, over the coffin of Shevchenko, speeches were delivered in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish. The poet was first buried at the