Uładzimier Samojła (

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 ...

: Уладзімер Самойла, 29 January 1878, Miensk - 1941) was a Belarusian critic, philosopher, journalist and a victim of

Stalin's purges The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the assassination of Sergei Kirov by Leonid Nikolaev ...

Early years

Samojła was born into the family of a school headteacher who also worked as the head of the Society of Fine Arts in Minsk. After graduating from gymnasium, Samojła studied at Moscow and St. Petersburg universities. In the latter, he attended classes at several departments and mastered seven languages. He graduated in 1916. He participated in the literary and social movement in Minsk and was one of the founders of the "Minčuk" book society. During the

First World War 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 ...

, Samojła was mobilised to work in a state chemical laboratory in Minsk. 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 was elected a deputy of the Minsk City Duma from the Kadets Party. Since 1918, he 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 ...

, worked as a teacher in various educational institutions.

Involvement in the Belarusian national movement

In 1921–1922 Samojła joined the Belarusian national movement in 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 ...

and became a professional political journalist. He became a “generator of ideas" for the Belarusian democratic press. At the beginning of the 1930s, he withdrew from active participation in political life and worked as a librarian of a Belarusian museum in Vilnia.

Arrest and death

After the partition of Poland in September 1939, Samojła refused to go into exile and in October was arrested by 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 ...

. At first, he was held in the Vilnia Lukiški prison and later transferred to

Vialejka Vileyka or Vilyeyka is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vileyka District. It is located on the Viliya River, northwest of Minsk. The first historical record dates from 16 November 1460. As of 2025, the ...

and then to Minsk where he perished (presumed executed).

Legacy

Samojła's poems first appeared in the newspaper "Severo-Zapadny kray". He was the first translator of

Janka Kupała 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 ...

's works into Russian and authored the first reviews of Kupała's poetry (reviews of the collection "Žalejka" and the poem "Eternal Song"), among other reviews and articles about writers and theatre actors. In his publications of the early 1920s, Samojła explored the changing social and political circumstances in the life of Belarusians in the genre of political journalism. He was engaged in the history of Belarusian cultural heritage, prepared publications on issues of ethnography, literature, folklore and art.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samojła, Uładzimier 1878 births 1941 deaths Belarusian independence activists People from Minsk Great Purge victims from Belarus Belarusian-language writers Belarusian male poets