Raisa Žuk-Hryškievič (, née Žukoŭskaja; 22 October 1919 – 2 April 2009) was a prominent figure of the

Belarusian diaspora The Belarusian diaspora refers to emigrants from the territory of Belarus as well as to their descendants. According to different researchers, there are between 2.5 and 3.5 million Belarusian descendants living outside the territory of the Rep ...

Early life

Žuk-Hryškievič was born on 22 October 1919 in

Pružany Pruzhany ( be, Пружа́ны, ; russian: Пружаны, pl, Prużana, yi, פרוזשענע, Pruzhene) is a town in Brest Voblast, Belarus. Pruzhany is the center of the district in Brest Region, Belarus. Its population is about 18,500 people ...

(then Brest district within the

Civil Administration of the Eastern Lands Civil Administration of the Eastern Lands was a civil authority of the territories controlled by Second Polish Republic but not incorporated into the state itself, that was formed during the Polish–Soviet War in 1919 and existed until 1920. It was ...

, a temporary Polish administrative region existing in 1919–20; now Brest Region of Belarus). She finished a Polish primary school and Adam Mickiewicz gymnasium in her native Pružany before enrolling in the Belarusian Gymnasium in Vilna. In 1939 she embarked on a teaching career. Wypuskniki gimnazii perad maturaj

In 1949 Žuk-Hryškievič settled in the Canada. In 1953 she married Vincent Žuk-Hryškievič, a deputy chair of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic, and in 1954 graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in dental surgery.

Public life in the Belarusian diaspora

Apart from a successful dental practice, Žuk-Hryškievič became an active participant in Belarusian public life in Canada. She was one of the founders of the . For many years she led the and published its newsletter ''Kamunikat'' (). Between 1965 and 1975 she headed the Union of Belarusian Women in Canada (), was the secretary and treasurer of the in Canada and a member of the . In 1973 as a representative of the Belarusian community Žuk-Hryškievič was invited by the Canadian government to join the Canadian Consultative Council on Multiculturalism. In 1978 she became a member of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic and in 1997 a member of the Rada's Executive Council.

Belarusian Cross and Memorial at the Martyrs' Shrine

In 1988 Žuk-Hryškievič and her husband were instrumental in the erection of a memorial cross at the Martyrs' Shrine in Midland, Ontario. The cross was installed in commemoration of the first millennium of

Christianity in Belarus Christianity is the main religion in Belarus, with Eastern Orthodoxy being the largest denomination. The legacy of the state atheism of the Soviet era is evident in the fact that a part of the Belarusians (especially in the east part of the count ...

and shortly followed by an adjacent monument dedicated to victims of the Communist terror in Belarus. The cross and monument were sanctified by Mgr Alexander Nadson, Apostolic Visitor for Belarusian Catholics abroad. The cross is used as a place of pilgrimage by the Belarusian community in Canada.

Death and resting place

Žuk-Hryškievič died on 2 April 2009 and was buried next to Vincent Žuk-Hryškievič in the , New Jersey, USA.

Early life

Public life in the Belarusian diaspora

Belarusian Cross and Memorial at the Martyrs' Shrine

Death and resting place

See also

Archives

References

Further reading