Aleksandr Mikhailovich Adamovich (, ; 3 September 1927 – 26 January 1994) was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

ian writer, screenwriter, literary critic and democratic activist. He wrote in both the

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

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 ...

languages. Having fought as a

child soldier Children in the military, including state armed forces, non-state armed groups, and other military organizations, may be trained for combat, assigned to support roles, such as cooks, porters/couriers, or messengers, or used for tactical adv ...

in the

Belarusian resistance during World War II Belarusian resistance during World War II opposed Nazi Germany from 1941 until 1944. German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II, Byelorussia was one of the Soviet republics occupied following Operation Barbarossa. The term Belarusian ...

, much of Adamovich's work revolved around the

German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II The Operation Barbarossa, German invasion of the Soviet Union started on 22 June 1941 and led to a German military occupation of Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Byelorussia until it was fully liberated in August 1944 as a result of Opera ...

and the Belarusian partisan movement. Among his best-known books are ''Khatyn'' and ''The Blockade Book''. Adamovich also wrote multiple screenplays, including that of ''

Come and See ''Come and See'' is a 1985 Soviet historical anti-war film directed by Elem Klimov and starring Aleksei Kravchenko and Olga Mironova. Its screenplay, written by Klimov and Ales Adamovich, is based on the 1971 novel ''Khatyn'' () and the 1977 c ...

''. A prominent critic of

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

and the Soviet system, he supported several democratic causes in the former Soviet Union, including

Soviet dissidents Soviet dissidents were people who disagreed with certain features of Soviet ideology or with its entirety and who were willing to speak out against them. The term ''dissident'' was used in the Soviet Union (USSR) in the period from the mid-1960 ...

, the

Inter-regional Deputies Group The Inter-Regional Deputies' Group () was the first legal parliamentary opposition in the Soviet Union, a faction formed in 1989 within the 1st Congress of People's Deputies. It was the base of the formation of the Democratic Russia Election B ...

, the

Belarusian Popular Front The Belarusian Popular Front "Revival" (BPF, ; ''Biełaruski Narodny Front "Adradžeńnie"'', ''BNF'') was a social and political movement in Belarus in the late 1980s and 1990s whose goals were national revival of Belarus, its democratization a ...

and

President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

Early life and World War II

Aleksandr Mikhailovich Adamovich was born 3 September 1927 in the village of Konyukhi in Minsk Region of what was then the

Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a Republics of the Soviet Union, republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 19 ...

of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. Both his parents were doctors. Shortly after his birth, he moved, along with his parents, to the village of Glusha, in Bobruysk Region. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Adamovich, aged 15, became a

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

unit member from 1943. Adamovich resumed his education following the end of fighting in Belarus in 1944. After the war, he entered the

Belarusian State University The Belarusian State University (BSU) (, ; ) is a university in Minsk, Belarus. It was founded on October 30, 1921. The university was ranked 387th in the world in the 2023 QS World University Rankings. History 1919–1949 On February 25, 1919, ...

where he studied in the

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

department and completed graduate course; he later studied in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

at the Higher Courses for Screenwriters and in the

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

Literary activities

Ales Adamovich 100 Anniversary Cover of Belarusan Post 2002

Adamovich was a member of the

Union of Soviet Writers The Union of Soviet Writers, USSR Union of Writers, or Soviet Union of Writers () was a creative union of professional writers in the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1934 on the initiative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (1932) a ...

from 1957, although he disliked the organisation and considered it to be too strongly supportive of the Soviet government. In 1962, Adamovich became an educator of Belarusian literature at Moscow State University, but was fired in 1966 for refusing to sign a letter condemning

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

writers

Andrei Sinyavsky Andrei Donatovich Sinyavsky (; 8 October 1925 – 25 February 1997) was a Russian writer and Soviet dissident known as a defendant in the Sinyavsky–Daniel trial of 1965. Sinyavsky was a literary critic for ''Novy Mir'' and wrote works critic ...

and

Yuli Daniel Yuli Markovich Daniel ( rus, Ю́лий Ма́ркович Даниэ́ль, p=ˈjʉlʲɪj ˈmarkəvʲɪtɕ dənʲɪˈelʲ, a=Yuliy Markovich Daniel'.ru.vorb.oga; 15 November 1925 – 30 December 1988) was a Russian writer and Soviet disside ...

. In 1976, he was awarded the

Yakub Kolas Yakub Kolas (also Jakub Kołas, , – August 13, 1956), real name Kanstantsin Mikhailovich Mitskievich (Канстанці́н Міха́йлавіч Міцке́віч, , ) was a Belarusian writer, dramatist, poet and translator. People's Poe ...

Belarus State Prize in literature for ''Khatyn''. Most of Adamovich's works were about the

, with his most well-regarded works including the

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

''Khatyn'' and the memoir collection ''I am from the Fiery Village''. For ''I am from the Fiery Village'', Adamovich collaborated with two other Belarusian writers,

Janka Bryl Ivan Antonovich "Janka" Bryl (; 4 August 1917 – 25 July 2006) was a Soviet and Belarusian writer best known for his short stories. He was one of the older generation of Soviet writers who had begun their literary careers in Stalin's time ...

and Uladzimir Kalesnik, in interviewing three hundred survivors of the German occupation of Belarus. In 1989, Adamovich became one of the first members of the Belarusian chapter of

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide professional association, association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association ...

(

Vasil Bykaŭ Vasil Uladzimiravič Bykaŭ (also spelled Vasil Bykov, , ; 19 June 1924 – 22 June 2003) was a Belarusian dissident and opposition politician, junior lieutenant, and author of novels and novellas about World War II. A significant figure in ...

was founder and president of the Belarusian PEN). In 1994, following Adamovich's death, the Belarusian PEN Centre created the Ales Adamovich Literary Prize, a literary award to gifted writers and journalists.

Political activities

Adamovich's maternal grandfather, Mitrafan Tychin, in 1930 was arrested and forced into internal exile in the

Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (; ), also known as Soviet Sakha, Soviet Yakutia or the Yakut ASSR (, ''Yakutskaya ASSR''), was an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR within the Soviet Union. History The Yakut ASSR was formed ...

, alongside his wife and three children. His experiences with hardship under the rule of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

in the 1930s resulted in Adamovich becoming a prominent critic of

and the Soviet political system. In 1982, Adamovich represented the delegation of the Byelorussian SSR to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

. After the

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

in 1986, which had significant effects on Belarus, Adamovich actively promoted the disaster's effects among the Soviet ruling elite. From 1989 to 1991, Adamovich was a member of the

Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union () was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991. Background The Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union was created as part of Mikhail Gorbachev ...

, from the anti-communist

. Adamovich was also a significant supporter of the

, assisting in the group's founding and operations. Following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

, Adamovich chose to remain in Russia, where he had lived since 1986. In Russia, he continued his anti-communist activism, leading to him becoming co-chair of the

Memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

organisation. In October 1993, amidst the

1993 Russian constitutional crisis In September and October 1993, a constitutional crisis arose in the Russian Federation from a conflict between the then Russian president Boris Yeltsin and the country's parliament. Yeltsin performed a self-coup, dissolving parliament and insti ...

, Adamovich was a signatory of the

Letter of Forty-Two The Letter of Forty-Two () was an open letter signed by forty-two Russian literati, aimed at Russian society, the president and government, in reaction to the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis. It was published in the newspaper ''Izvestia'' on 5 O ...

, indicating his support for Yeltsin remaining in office.

Death and legacy

Adamovich died on 26 January 1994, at the age of 66, shortly after testifying for a property dispute involving two former literary organisations. According to his wife, the cause of death was a heart attack. Adamovich was remembered by Russian government news agency

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...

as a "prominent public activist who devoted much of his strength and energy to the strengthening of democracy in Russia". In accordance with his will, he was buried in Glusha, next to his parents. Adamovich has been posthumously regarded as among Belarus's greatest writers, and his works have received translation into over 20 languages.

Svetlana Alexievich Svetlana Alexandrovna Alexievich (born 31 May 1948) is a Belarusian investigative journalist, essayist and oral historian who writes in Russian. She was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to s ...

, the Belarusian winner of the

Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...

2015, names Adamovich as her "main teacher, who helped her to find a path of her own".

Honours and awards

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

2nd class *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

* Medal "To a Partisan of the Patriotic War" 2nd class *

Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" The Medal "For the Victory Over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" () was a military decoration of the Soviet Union established on May 9, 1945, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR to denote military partici ...

In 1997 Ales Adamovich was recognized (posthumously) with the "Honor and Dignity of Talent" award (“За честь и достоинство таланта”). Recipients of this noble award include

Dmitry Likhachov Dmitry Sergeyevich Likhachev (, also spelled ''Dmitrii Likhachev'' or ''Dmitry Likhachov''; – 30 September 1999) was a Russian medievalist, linguist, and a former inmate of Gulag. During his lifetime, Likhachev was considered the world's fore ...

Viktor Astafyev Viktor Petrovich Astafyev (; 1 May 1924 – 29 November 2001) was a Soviet and Russian writer, playwright and screenwriter. He was recognized with the title Hero of Socialist Labour in 1989. Biography Viktor Astafyev was born in the village o ...

Chinghiz Aitmatov Chinghiz Torekulovich Aitmatov (12 December 1928 – 10 June 2008) was a Kyrgyz author who wrote mainly in Russian, but also in Kyrgyz. He is one of the best known figures in Kyrgyzstan's literature. Life He was born to a Kyrgyz father and Ta ...

Fazil Iskander Fazil Abdulovich Iskander (6 March 1929 – 31 July 2016) was a Soviet and Russian"There's no doubt I'm a Russian writer who praised Abkhazia a lot. Unfortunately, I haven't written anything in the Abkhaz language. The choice of Russian culture ...

Boris Slutsky Boris Abramovich Slutsky (; 7 May 1919 – 23 February 1986) was a Soviet Union, Soviet poet, translator, Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War veteran, major, and member of the Union of Soviet Writers, Soviet Union of Writers (1957). ...

Bulat Okudzhava Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava (; ka, ბულატ ოკუჯავა; ; May 9, 1924 – June 12, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, musician, novelist, and singer-songwriter of Georgian-Armenian ancestry. He was one of the founders o ...

Selected works

;Novels and stories * ''Partisans'' (in Russian, "Партизаны"), a novel (1960–63) and a film under same name. * ''Khatyn'', in Russian, "Хатынская повесть", published in 1972, in Belarusian, "Хатынская аповесць", published in 1976; English translation ''Khatyn'' published by Glagoslav, 2012; originally written in Belarusian.Timothy Snyder
Literary acts of memory
''Times Literary Supplement'', 17 July 2013, p. 10. * ''I am from the Fiery Village'' ("Я з вогненнай вёскі"), Adamovich, Ales, and Yanka Bryl and Uladzimir Kalesnik, 1977; English translation, Progress Publishers, Moscow, 1980. * ''Chasteners'' ("Каратели"), 1980. * '' The Blockade Book'' ("Блокадная книга"), in collaboration with

Daniil Granin Daniil Aleksandrovich Granin (; 1 January 1919 – 4 July 2017), original family name German (), was a Soviet and Russian author. Life and career Granin started writing in the 1930s, while he was still an engineering student at the Leningrad Pol ...

, 1977–81, written in Russian and later translated into Belarusian; in English translation: Peak Independent Publishers, Moscow, 2003. ;Criticism
Problems with the New Way of Thinking
Ales Adamovich' "sometimes controversial writing has been at the cutting edge of new thinking in the Soviet Union." ;Screenplay * Voyna pod kryshami, 1967 * ''

'', in collaboration with

Elem Klimov Elem Germanovich Klimov (; 9 July 1933 – 26 October 2003) was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker. He studied at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography, Gerasimov Institute of Cinematograph, and was married to film director Larisa Shepitko ...

(''Иди и смотри'', 1985). * ''

Franz + Polina Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

'', 2006 * Chitaem 'Blokadnuyu knigu', 2009

References

External links

Ales Adamovich biography

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071007213806/http://www.pen-centre.com/eng/premium.html ''The Ales Adamovich Literary Prize'' Belarusian PEN-center
Ales Mikhailovich Adamovich, bio- and bibliography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamovich, Ales 1927 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Belarusian writers Belarusian male writers Belarusian partisans Belarusian screenwriters Male screenwriters Belarusian State University alumni BPF Party politicians Child soldiers in World War II High Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors alumni Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union Moscow State University alumni People from Kapyl district Recipients of the Byelorussian SSR State Prize Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Soviet literary historians Soviet male writers Soviet partisans Soviet screenwriters Soviet male screenwriters