Makar Kraŭcoŭ (also known as Makar Kaścievič, ; 18 August 1891 – October 1939) was an active participant in the

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 independence movement, writer and a victim of Stalin's purges. He authored the lyrics to Vajacki marš, a popular patriotic song.

Early years

Kraŭcoŭ (surname at birth, Kaścievič) was born into a prosperous farming family in the village of Babroŭnia, Hrodna province of the Russian Empire (nowadays in Hrodna district of Belarus). He received his education in a teachers' seminary in Svislač and worked as a teacher in the Hrodna province.

Involvement in the Belarusian independence movement

Kraŭcoŭ became actively involved in the Belarusian independence movement while serving in the Russian Imperial Army during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

he came to Minsk and took an active part in the preparation of the

First All-Belarusian Congress The First All-Belarusian Congress () was a congress of Belarusian political organisations and groups held in Minsk in December 1917. The congress gathered 1872 delegates from all regions of Belarus and was violently dispersed by the Bolshevik mil ...

. He was involved in the work of the

Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic The Rada of the Belarusian People's Republic (, ) was the governing body of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Since 1919, the Rada BNR has been in exile where it has preserved its existence among the Belarusian diaspora as an advocacy group ...

and of the Belarusian military commission which sought to create a Belarusian army.Арлоў, Уладзімер (2020).
ІМЁНЫ СВАБОДЫ (Бібліятэка Свабоды. ХХІ стагодзьдзе.)
' 'Uładzimir Arłou. The Names of Freedom (The Library of Freedom. ХХІ century.)''">Uładzimir_Arłou.html" ;"title="'Uładzimir Arłou">'Uładzimir Arłou. The Names of Freedom (The Library of Freedom. ХХІ century.)''(PDF) (in Belarusian) (4-е выд., дап. ed.). Радыё Свабодная Эўропа / Радыё Свабода - Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. pp. 192–193. A participant in the Slutsk uprising, Slucak Uprising, he was in charge of the insurgents’ printing house in Kletsk, Klieck.

Life in exile

After the defeat of the Belarusian independence movement by the Red Army, Kraŭcoŭ went into exile and lived in

Vilnia The Vilnia (also Vilnelė; , ''Vilnia'' ; ) is a river primarily running through Eastern Lithuania. Its source is near the villages of and , 6 km south of Šumskas, nearby to the A3– M7 Medininkai–Kamenny Log border crossing complexes ...

, then within the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. He was a prolific writer, contributing to numerous Belarusian newspapers and also translating a number of books into Belarusian.

Arrest and death

After the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

in 1939, he was arrested and died in Soviet incarceration in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the List of cities and towns in Poland, tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Biał ...

in October of that year. The exact date of his death and the place of burial are unknown.

Author of Vajacki marš

Kraŭcoŭ is best known as the author of the lyrics of Vajacki marš. It was first published as a poem in the newspaper “Belarus” in 1919. After being set to music by composer

Uladzimier Teraŭski Uladzimier Teraŭski (; 11 November 1871 - 10 November 1938) was a Belarusian composer, choirmaster and a victim of Stalin’s purges. He wrote music to a number of popular Belarusian songs such as Vajacki Marš and Kupalinka. Early years T ...

, it became the national anthem of the

Belarusian Democratic Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; , ), also known as the Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in its Second Constituent Charter on 9 March 1918 during World War I. The ...

and later used as a popular patriotic song.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraŭcoŭ, Makar 1891 births 1939 deaths Belarusian independence movement Members of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic Belarusian male writers