Uladzimier Teraŭski (; 11 November 1871 - 10 November 1938) was a

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 ...

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

Teraŭski was born into the family of a parish priest in the village of Ramanaŭ,

Minsk Governorate Minsk Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Minsk. It was created from the land acquired in the partitions of Poland and existed from 1793 until 1921. Its territory covered th ...

of the Russian Empire (currently known as the village of Lenin in the Slutsk District, Minsk region of Belarus). He graduated from the Slucak Theological Seminary in 1889 but did not enter priesthood. After serving in the Russian Imperial Army, Teraŭski worked in Russia for a number of years and pursued his love for music. He joined the choir of the famous Russian conductor and musician Dmitrij Agrenev-Slavjanskij. The choir's repertoire included, among others, several Belarusian folk songs. In 1900 he returned to Belarus where he continued his passion for music. He worked as a psalmist, an assistant church choir regent and a music teacher.

A leading figure of Belarusian music

On the waive of the Belarusian national revival of the early 20th century, Teraŭski became a leading figure on the fledgling Belarusian music scene and is regarded as one of the founders of the national music school. In 1914 he created one of the first Belarusian choirs. 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 ...

, the choir became part of the First Belarusian Society of Drama and Comedy, and Teraŭski headed the musical part of the Society. During the existence 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 ...

, he was appointed the head of the state choir. After the defeat of the Belarusian national movement, Teraŭski was arrested by the

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...

and sentenced to death. However the sentence was commuted to 5 years’ imprisonment and he was released earlier, in 1923. After his release, he worked as a choirmaster in Soviet Belarus and wrote music for a number of plays (the best known of which was "On

Kupala Night Kupala Night (also Kupala's Night or just Kupala; Polish: , : , Russian: Ива́н Купа́ла: , Купала: , Ukrainian: Іван Купало: ) is one of the major folk holidays in some of the Slavic countries that coincides with the C ...

" (На Купалле) by

Michaś Čarot Michaś Čarot (also spelled ''Mihas Charot''; , born Michaił Symonavič Kudzielka (); 7 November 1896 - 29 October 1937) was a Belarusian poet, playwright, and novelist who wrote under the pseudonyms of Maksim Byadneyshi (Максім Бядн� ...

) and set to music poems by

Janka Kupala Ivan Daminikavich Lutsevich (; – 28 June 1942), better known by his pen name Yanka Kupala (Янка Купала), was a Belarusian poet and writer. Biography Early life Kupala was born on July 7, 1882, in Maladzyechna Raion, Viazynka, a f ...

Jakub 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 ...

, Zmitrok Biadula,

and others. He recorded and arranged folk songs, some of which were published in the collections "Belarusian songbook with notes for three voices according to folk melodies" (1921), "Belarusian lyricist" (1922), and "Military collection" (1926). In 1930 Teraŭski was accused of being a “national democrat” and lost his job as a result. He became a psalmist in a Minsk church.

Second arrest and death

Teraŭski was arrested again in August 1938 and in November sentenced to death by an

NKVD troika NKVD troika or Special troika (), in Soviet history, were the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD which would later be the beginning of the KGB) made up of three officials who issued sentences to people after simplified, speedy inve ...

as a "Polish intelligence agent". He was executed on 10 November 1938 in the Minsk NKVD prison. The

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

operatives ransacked his personal archive, which contained a large collection of Belarusian songs. Teraŭski was posthumously exonerated of all charges - first during the

Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw (, or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s when Political repression in the Soviet Union, repression and Censorship in ...

in 1957 and then in 1996, after Belarus’ independence.

Legacy

Teraŭski is best known for setting to music a number of popular Belarusian songs, such as: * Vajacki Marš (lyrics by

Makar Kraŭcoŭ Makar Kraŭcoŭ (also known as Makar Kaścievič, ; 18 August 1891 – October 1939) was an active participant in the Belarusian independence movement, writer and a victim of Great Purge, Stalin's purges. He authored the lyrics to Vajacki marš, ...

) * Belarusian Marseillaise (lyrics attributed to ; and * Kupalinka (

maiden). Despite Teraŭski’s exoneration, until recently his name had been forgotten and the music of Kupalinka had been described as “folk” with no identified authorship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teraŭski, Uladzimier 1871 births 1938 deaths People from Slutsk district People from Slutsky Uyezd Belarusian classical composers Great Purge victims from Belarus Soviet rehabilitations Composers from the Russian Empire