Samuil Jafimavič Płaŭnik ( be, Самуіл Яфімавіч Плаўнік, translit=Samuil Jafimavič Płaŭnik; yi, שמואל בן חיים פּלאַווניק; 23 April 1886 – 3 November 1941), better known by the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Źmitrok Biadula ( be, Зьмітрок Бядуля), was a Soviet and Belarusian poet, prose writer, translator, and political activist in the Belarusian independence movement. He is considered one of the fathers of modern

Belarusian literature Belarusian literature ( be, Беларуская лiтаратура, Biełaruskaja litaratura) is the writing produced, both prose and poetry, by speakers (not necessarily native speakers) of the Belarusian language. History Pre-17th centur ...

Biography

Zmitrok Biadula (Samuil Jafimavič Płaŭnik) was born on 23 April 1886 in the small town of (now in

Lahoysk District Lahoysk District ( be, Лаго́йскi раён, pronounced ʌˈɣɔɪskɪ rʌɪon russian: Логойский район, English: Logoisk District) is a second-level administrative subdivision (raion) of Minsk Region, Belarus. Its capital is ...

Minsk Region Minsk Region or Minsk Oblast or Minsk Voblasts ( be, Мі́нская во́бласць, ''Minskaja voblasć'' ; russian: Минская о́бласть, ''Minskaya oblast'') is one of the regions of Belarus. Its administrative center is Minsk, ...

) to a Jewish family. He began writing

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

poems at age 13, based on medieval liturgical poetry. He later started writing in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries * Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and p ...

and

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

, publishing works in the Saint Petersburg press and the Vilnius magazine ''Mołodyje Porywy''. In 1910 he published poetic prose in ''

Nasha Niva ''Nasha Niva'' ( be, Наша Ніва, Naša Niva, lit. "Our field") is one of the oldest Belarusian weekly newspapers, founded in 1906 and re-established in 1991. ''Nasha Niva'' became a cultural symbol, due to the newspaper's importance as a p ...

''. Following the Soviet takeover of Belarus, he began writing novels in the

Socialist realist Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is c ...

genre. After the German invasion of the USSR in 1941, Biadula fled Belarus. He lived first in Pizhma, Gorky Oblast, then, until the end of October 1941, in the village of Novye Burasy,

Saratov Oblast Saratov Oblast (russian: Сара́товская о́бласть, ''Saratovskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Saratov. As of the 2010 C ...

. He died near

Uralsk Uralsk (russian: Уральск) is the name of several rural localities in Russia: * Uralsk, Republic of Bashkortostan, a '' selo'' in Uralsky Selsoviet of Uchalinsky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan * Uralsk, Orenburg Oblast, a ''sel ...

in Kazakhstan, where he was buried. In February 2020, the remains of Źmitrok Biadula were exhumed and delivered to Belarus. On 3 November that year, the 79th anniversary of his death, the remains were reburied at the 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 adm ...

in a Christian ceremony.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biadula, Zmitrok 1886 births 1941 deaths 20th-century Belarusian poets 20th-century Belarusian writers 20th-century translators People from Lahoysk District People from Vilna Governorate Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Soviet children's writers Soviet male poets Soviet male writers Soviet translators Belarusian Jews Belarusian male poets Belarusian male writers Belarusian translators Yiddish-language writers Translators from Ukrainian Translators from Yiddish Translators to Belarusian 20th-century pseudonymous writers