Janka Maŭr (; ; ; Yanka Mavr; 11 May 1883 – 3 August 1971) was a famous

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

ian writer. Janka Maŭr was actually his pseudonym as his true name was Ivan Michajłavič Fiodaraŭ (Belarusian: Іва́н Міха́йлавіч Фёдараў). His son,

Fiodar Fiodaraŭ Fiodar Fiodaraŭ, ( be, Фёдар Іванавіч Фёдараў, , russian: link=no, Фёдор Иванович Фёдоров, Fedor Ivanovich Fedorov), (June 19, 1911 – October 13, 1994) was a Soviet and Belarusian physicist, whose scient ...

, was a famous Belarusian physicist. He was born in

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see #Names and toponymy, other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Planning Region, Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after R ...

Courland Courland (; lv, Kurzeme; liv, Kurāmō; German and Scandinavian languages: ''Kurland''; la, Curonia/; russian: Курляндия; Estonian: ''Kuramaa''; lt, Kuršas; pl, Kurlandia) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

but was raised in the Belarusian village of Lebianiški (now

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

). He graduated from vocational school in

Kaunas Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...

, then entered a pedagogical school in 1899, but was thrown out for being a member of an underground revolutionary club. Nevertheless in 1903 he passed all the exams as a non-resident student and became a high school teacher. In 1906 took part in the underground meeting of the Belarusian teachers, organized by the famous Belarusian writer Jakub Kołas. After his arrest, he could not work as a teacher anymore. He could teach again only in 1911, becoming a geography and history teacher in a private school in

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 ...

. He worked in different literary genres: satirical, historical, children, etc. His best-known novel is ''Amok'', but his best-selling and perhaps most known book was '' Palesse Robinsons''. Besides writing, he also translated stories into Belarusian from many foreign authors, including

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

, and

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

, among others.

Books

* ''The man is coming'' (''Чалавек ідзе'') 1924 * ''In the country of the Paradise Bird'' (''У краіне райскай птушкі'') 1926 * ''The son of water'' (''Сын вады'') 1927 * ''Amok'' (''Амок'') 1928 * ''The Trip to Hell'' (''Падарожжа ў пекла'') 1928 * ''Palesse Robinsons'' (''Палескія Рабінзоны'') 1929 * ''The story of the future days'' (''Аповесьць будучых дзён'') 1932 * ''Around the world'' (''Вакол свету'') 1947 * ''TVT'' (''ТВТ'') 1934, 1949 * ''Away from the Darkness'' 1920, 1956-1958 * ''Fantamobil of professor Cyliakouski'' (''Фантамабіль прафесара Цылякоўскага'') 1955 1883 births 1971 deaths People from Liepāja People from Courland Governorate Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Belarusian science fiction writers Recipients of the Byelorussian SSR State Prize {{Belarus-writer-stub