Polina Raiko

Pelaheia Andriivna Raiko (née Soldatova; ; 5 May 1928 - 15 January 2004), also spelled Rayko, was a Ukrainian naïve painter who started painting her property at the age of 69. Her home was a national cultural monument of Ukraine, until June 2023, when it was reportedly destroyed by flooding after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Biography Raiko was born 5 May 1928 in Oleshky. She had three sisters. She was deported to Germany during the Second World War, but later returned to Ukraine before marrying Nikolay Alekseyevich Raiko in 1950 at the age of 22. They survived by growing their own fruits and vegetables and doing seasonal work on a kolkhoz. They had a daughter, Elena in 1951. Their son, Sergey was born in 1953. The family built a house on 74 Nyzhnia Street, Oleshky near the Chaika and Konka rivers in 1954. It was considered a national cultural monument of Ukraine.

Her house was destroyed in June 2023, by flooding following the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam.