Vasil Uladzimiravič Bykaŭ (often spelled Vasil Bykov, be, Васі́ль Уладзі́міравіч Бы́каў, russian: Василь Влади́мирович Быков) (19 June 1924 – 22 June 2003) was a prolific Soviet and Belarusian author of novels and novellas about

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and a significant figure in Soviet and Belarusian literature and civic thought. His work earned him endorsements for the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

nomination from, among others, Nobel Prize laureates Joseph Brodsky and

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz (, also , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. Regarded as one of the great poets of the 20th century, he won the 1980 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, ...

Life and career

Vasil Bykaŭ was born in the village Byčki, not far from

Viciebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest ...

in 1924. In 1941 he was in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

when Germany attacked the USSR. Seventeen-year-old Bykaŭ 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, afte ...

, where he was assigned to digging trenches. As the war progressed, he later joined the fight against the Germans, rising to the rank of junior lieutenant. After the war, Bykau was

demobilized Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

, but later returned to the Red Army, serving from 1949-1955. He then began work as a journalist for the

Hrodna Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, "Truth") is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most influential papers in the ...

newspaper. In the same decade his first novellas began to be published, of which the most famous are "The Ordeal", "The Obelisk", "To Go and Not Return", and "To Live Till Sunrise". "The Ordeal" inspired director

Larisa Shepitko Larisa Yefimovna Shepitko (, uk, Лариса Юхимівна Шепітько, translit=Larysa Yukhymivna Shepitko; 6 January 1938 – 2 July 1979) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter and actress. She is considered one of the best fe ...

's film ''The Ascent'', released in 1977 and winner of the

Golden Bear award Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall * Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershi ...

at the

27th Berlin International Film Festival The 27th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June – 5 July 1977. The festival opened with ''Nickelodeon'' by Peter Bogdanovich. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Soviet Union film '' The Ascent'' directed by Larisa Shep ...

. During and after Perestroika, he participated in the pro-reform movement (e.g. Popular Front of Belarus). In October 1993, he signed the Letter of Forty-Two. Bykaŭ's literary achievement lies in his sternly realistic, albeit touched by lyricism, depictions of

battles, typically with a small number of characters. In the ferociousness of encounter they face moral dilemmas both vis-a-vis their enemies and within their own

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

world burdened by ideological and political constraints. This approach brought vicious accusations of "false humanism" from some

generals and the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

press. Other reviews praised the uncompromising writing. "Vasil Bykov is a very courageous and uncompromising writer, rather of the

Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repress ...

stamp," wrote Michael Glenny in

Partisan Review ''Partisan Review'' (''PR'') was a small-circulation quarterly "little magazine" dealing with literature, politics, and cultural commentary published in New York City. The magazine was launched in 1934 by the Communist Party USA–affiliated Joh ...

in 1972. Bykaŭ was one of the most admired writers in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. In 1980 he was awarded the honorific title of

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 Byelorussian SSR. Several of Bykaŭ's novellas are available in English, such as "The Dead Feel No Pain" (1965), "The Ordeal" (1970), "Wolf Pack" (1975) and "Sign of Misfortune". However, most of the translations were done on the basis of Russian rendering. Bykaŭ wrote all of his works in his native Belarusian language, and translated several of them into Russian by himself. Vasil Bykaŭ's status in his home country remains enormous. An opponent of

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luk ...

's regime and a supporter of the

Belarusian Popular Front The Belarusian Popular Front "Revival" (BPF, be, Беларускі Народны Фронт "Адраджэньне", БНФ; ''Biełaruski Narodny Front "Adradžeńnie"'', ''BNF'') was a social and political movement in Belarus in the late 1 ...

, he lived abroad for several years (first in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, then in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

), but returned to his homeland a month before his death in 2003. The memory of his turbulent life and uncompromising stance on the war have only enhanced his reputation at home and abroad ever since.

Awards

* Order of the Red Star (1944) * Jakub Kolas State Prize of the Belarusian SSR (for the story "The Third Rocket", 1964) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

(1974) *

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

(for ''To Live till Sunrise'', 1974) * Jakub Kolas State Prize of the Belarusian SSR (for the story "Wolf Pack", "His battalion", 1978) * People's Writer of the Belarusian SSR (1980) * Hero of Socialist Labour (1984) *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

(1984) *

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War (russian: Орден Отечественной войны, Orden Otechestvennoy voiny) is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisa ...

, 1st class (1985) * Lenin Prize (for ''Sign of Misfortune'', 1986) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

(1994) *

Order of Francysk Skaryna The Order of Francysk Skaryna ( be, О́рдэн Францы́ска Скары́ны) is an award of Belarus. It is named after Francysk Skaryna, one of the first book printers in Cyrillic script. Order of Francysk Skaryna is a single level awa ...

(Belarus, 1994) * San-Valentino International Golden Prize (1998).

Bibliography

* 1960 – "Crane's Cry" ("Жураўліны крык") * 1960 – "Knight move" ("Ход канём") * 1962 – "Third Rocket" ("Трэцяя ракета") * 1964 – "The Alpine Ballad" ("Альпійская балада") * 1965 – "One Night" ("Адна ноч") * 1970 – "The Ordeal" ("Ліквідацыя" Liquidation" originally published as "Сотнікаў" Sotnikov" * 1971 – "The Obelisk" ("Абеліск") * 1973 – "To Live till Sunrise" ("Дажыць да світання") * 1974 – "Wolf Pack" ("Воўчая зграя") * 1975 – "His Battalion" ("Яго батальён") * 1978 – "To Go and not Return" ("Пайсці і не вярнуцца") * 1983 – "Sign of Misfortune" ("Знак бяды") * 1989 – "In the Fog" ("У тумане") * 1997 – "

The Wall ''The Wall'' is the eleventh studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released on 30 November 1979 by Harvest/EMI and Columbia/ CBS Records. It is a rock opera that explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imp ...

" ("Сцяна") * 2003 – "The Long Road Home" ("Доўгая дарога да дому")

References

External links

Vasil Bykaŭ
(in Belarusian, Russian, and English)
Vasil Bykaŭ's works on-line

//

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

*
Vasil Bykov
on th
Official Website of the Republic of Belarus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bykau, Vasil 1924 births 2003 deaths People from Ushachy District Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR (1975–1979) Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR (1980–1985) Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR (1985–1990) Heroes of Socialist Labour Lenin Prize winners People's Writers of the Byelorussian SSR Recipients of the Byelorussian SSR State Prize Recipients of the Order of Francysk Skaryna Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Recipients of the Order of the Red Star Recipients of the USSR State Prize Soviet military personnel of World War II Belarusian partisans Soviet partisans Belarusian male writers Soviet male writers Deaths from stomach cancer

Life and career

Awards

Bibliography

See also

References

External links