The composition "Carol of the Bells" is now known worldwide and often features in Christmas advertisements, TV series, and cartoons such as "The Simpsons", "Family Guy", "South Park", as well as in iconic films like "Home Alone", "Die Hard 2", and "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban". However, few know that the author of this melody is Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, a native of the Russian Empire. He was born on December 13, 1877, in the village of Monastyrek in the Bratslav district of Podolia, now part of Vinnytsia Oblast. From childhood, Kolyа was fascinated by folk songs and, while studying at the Podolian Spiritual Seminary, began singing in the choir and composing simple pieces. After graduating from the seminary, Leontovych worked in Vinnytsia, Tulchyn, and Donbas, and also studied with leading music theorists in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In 1905, he published two music collections "Songs from Podolia", inspired by folk compositions and giving them instrumental sound. His main achievement was the folk composition "Shchedryk", written in 1916. After the revolution, Leontovych remained in his homeland, performing concerts, but his public disagreement with the actions of the Bolsheviks led to him being wanted. In January 1921, Mykola Dmytrovych decided to hide from the new authorities in his father's village of Markivka in the Haisyn district, where he was shot in the chest by an agent of the Cheka, Afanasii Gryshchenko. During Soviet times, it was claimed that bandits attacked his father's house, but a report by Gryshchenko declassified in the 1990s clarified the true circumstances.