Ivan Melezh (Belarusian: Іван Паўлавіч Мележ; 8 February 1921, Hlinischy,

Homiel Voblast Gomel Region or Gomel Oblast or Homiel Voblasts ( be, Го́мельская во́бласць, Homielskaja vobłasć, russian: Гомельская область, Gomelskaya oblast) is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center i ...

— 9 August 1976,

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

) was a Belarusian writer of fiction and drama.

Biography

He was born to a peasant family. In 1939, he entered the , but was there for only a year when he was drafted into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

and served on the front in the

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

and

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

areas. He was seriously injured in 1942 and was moved to the rear following his recovery. Initially, he lived in

Buguruslan Buguruslan (russian: Бугурусла́н) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Orenburg Oblast, Russia. Population: History It was founded in 1748. Administrative and municipal status Within the subdivisions of Russia#Admin ...

, then studied at

Baku State University Baku State University (BSU) ( az, Bakı Dövlət Universiteti (BDU)) is a public university located in Baku, Azerbaijan. Established in 1919 by the Parliament of Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the university started with faculties of history and ...

. He later taught Belarusian literature at Belarusan State University in

. From 1945, he was a member of the

Union of Soviet Writers The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers (russian: Союз писателей СССР, translit=Soyuz Sovetstikh Pisatelei) was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded ...

, serving as Secretary after 1966 and Deputy Chairman from 1971 to 1974. From 1967 to 1976, he was a Deputy to the

Supreme Soviet The Supreme Soviet (russian: Верховный Совет, Verkhovny Sovet, Supreme Council) was the common name for the legislative bodies (parliaments) of the Soviet socialist republics (SSR) in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ...

. He was designated a

People's Writer People's Writer (, ''Narodný pisatelj'') was a title granted by the Republics of the Soviet Union and the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics to its distinguished writers. It was a title similar to that of People's Artist of the USSR People ...

of the Belarusian SSR in 1972 and was awarded numerous prizes, including the Lenin prize for his novels ''People of the Marsh'' (''«Людзі на балоце»'') and ''The Storm's Breath'' (''«Подых навальніцы»''). The central place in Melezh's work is made up by the novels of the '' Polesye Chronicle'' (''«Палеская хроніка»''): ''People of the Marsh'', ''The Storm's Breath'' and ''Snowstorm in December'' (''«Завеі, снежань»''). These novels portray the life in his homeland in the 1920s and 1930s: the establishment of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

, forced collectivization, and

dekulakization Dekulakization (russian: раскулачивание, ''raskulachivanie''; uk, розкуркулення, ''rozkurkulennia'') was the Soviet campaign of political repressions, including arrests, deportations, or executions of millions of kulak ...

. Melezh attempted to depict the history of this era truthfully, within the constraints imposed by the Soviet regime.

Novels

* «Мінскі напрамак» (''The Minsk Line of Advance'')(1952/1974) * «Палеская хроніка» (''Polesie Chronicles''): ** «Людзі на балоце» (1962) ** «Подых навальніцы» (1966) ** «Завеі, снежань» (1978)

Films based on Melezh's works

* «Дыхание грозы» (1981, directed by ) * «Люди на болоте» (1981, directed by Viktor Turov)

Biography

Novels

Films based on Melezh's works

External links