"My wife was two heads taller. We tried to walk separately on the street." Unknown facts about Zmitrok Biadulia
140 years ago, on April 23, 1886, the classic of Belarusian literature was born.
How much money he received at the "Nasha Niva" newspaper, why he married only 10 years after meeting his wife, and how he died in distant Kazakhstan.
"We spent pocket money on sweets, he on books"
Zmitrok Biadulia's real name was Samuil Plaunik. He was born in the village of Pasadzets, in today's Lahoisk district. His grandfather was a blacksmith who made copper and brass dishes, his father was a tenant and small merchant, and later an estate manager for a timber merchant.
Samuil received his education in an elementary Jewish school (heder). Then his parents sent him to a spiritual seminary (yeshiva), but Biadulia was expelled from there. "The works of Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, and Nekrasov supplanted the meaningless Talmud with its dead philosophy, with its tedious reflections on good and evil," the writer later wrote.
His father hoped that his eldest son would become an accountant, but he was drawn to books. He started writing at the age of 12.
— We spent pocket money on sweets, he on books, — Biadulia's sister recalled.
After the yeshiva, Biadulia worked as a private tutor, then as a clerk at logging sites. At the same time, he wrote poetry — first in Old Yiddish, then in Russian. He sent the latter to Russian magazines, where they were not published.
His fate changed after meeting his fellow countryman, a tailor by profession, who distributed the Belarusian newspaper "Nasha Niva". The following year, in 1910, Biadulia published five correspondences and one story on its pages. The first note was signed Sasha Pl-ik, the second showed the signature — Zmitro Biadulia, the rest — Zmitrok Biadulia.
Zmitrok Biadulia. Photo: wikipedia.org
In 1912, Zmitrok Biadulia was invited to Vilnius for permanent work. Uladzislava Lutsevich, Yanka Kupala's wife, spoke about her first impressions of meeting him.
— And then the news spread that Zmitrok Biadulia had arrived. I found out that he was in the Belarusian bookstore on Zavalnaya Street, 7 — the usual place for all our meetings and "flying" gatherings in Vilnius. Upon arriving at the bookstore, I saw a young, very shy guy, surrounded by my acquaintances. He was dressed in a village jacket, over which was a pelerine (a shoulder cape. — Note), and on his head — some funny hat. This gave him a semi-rural, semi-urban look.
Initially, Biadulia was hired by the publishing society, then by the newspaper "Nasha Niva". Its editor-in-chief was Yanka Kupala, and Zmitrok was the executive secretary.
"White Rus resurrected and firmly stood on the ground of state independence"
Zmitrok Biadulia. Photo: wikipedia.org
How much did the future classics of Belarusian literature earn? As historian Andrei Unuchak calculated, Kupala's salary was 40 rubles a month, Biadulia's — 30. Was that a lot? As historian Zakhar Shybeka wrote, at the same time a Minsk engineer received 70 rubles a month, his assistant — 50, minor officials received 25-30 rubles, paramedics — from 30 to 50. According to the historian, "only a worker who had at least 30 rubles monthly in 1911-1912 could provide for his family."
It turns out that the writers still had minimal money. However, it must be taken into account that life in Vilnius was more expensive than in Minsk. Therefore, they had to save money.
— The editorial office was located on Vilenskaya Street, 29, on the second floor, in two small, simple rooms. Kupala lived and worked here, and shortly before that, Zmitrok Biadulia settled in. Kupala and Biadulia lived modestly. They usually bought "scraps" for five kopecks at the sausage shop and bread — that was their dinner, — Uladzislava Lutsevich recalled. — Coming to Kupala and Biadulia's after work, I sometimes brought "potluck" — buns and sandwiches, placing them on the common table. Kupala grumbled and said he wasn't hungry, and Biadulia blushed, repeating: "What are you doing, Stankevichanka?" (Uladzislava's maiden name was Stankevich. — Note). However, in the end, we all sat down to dinner together. [Kupala and Biadulia] rarely ate a hot meal — they didn't have enough money for that.
In 1915, "Nasha Niva" ceased to exist — the front approached Vilnius (the First World War was ongoing). Kupala left for the east. Biadulia first returned to his homeland, and then, fleeing Jewish pogroms, moved with his family to Minsk. There he worked in the city department of the Belarusian Society for Assistance to War Victims.
Biadulia's family rented a house on Tolstoy Street, and in the adjacent room lived the young, already seriously ill Maksim Bahdanovich. Biadulia, who smoked all the time, even in frost, would leave the house so that the poet could breathe more easily.
— Moreover, when Biadulia was asked to take an intelligent young man into his home for a couple of weeks ("A little sick, but writes poetry!"), he was not told that the resident had an open form of tuberculosis, the kind with coughing up blood, — Biadulia's son Yefim Plaunik told "Komsomolskaya Pravda in Belarus". — Daily washing and cleaning began, and the lively house, where artists, writers, and performers used to frequent, emptied with the appearance of the "tuberculosis patient". My father brought doctors, professors to Bahdanovich, but they could no longer help him with anything more than prescriptions and advice. In general, it was recalled that Bahdanovich could be very angry and untidy towards the end of his remission…
In Soviet times, this house was lifted from its foundation and moved to the neighboring Rabkorskaya Street. Now, "Belarusian Hut" — a branch of the Museum of the History of Belarusian Literature — is open within its walls. It got its name from the eponymous educational club that operated in Minsk in those years. Both Biadulia and Bahdanovich attended its meetings. It was there that the latter wrote the famous poem "Pahonia" (The Chase).
Perhaps the general atmosphere in the house also contributed to its creation. Biadulia adhered to national positions. He was present at the First All-Belarusian Congress, welcomed the February Revolution, but was disappointed by the Bolsheviks' rise to power. "Oh, freedom, you only glimmered like a ray, // Oh, freedom, you deceived us…" — Biadulia wrote in early 1918. The writer also welcomed the proclamation of the BNR's independence.
— Our homeland, our fatherland Belarus, came to life. For more than three hundred years, deadly silence reigned over it . But the life-giving spirit of eternal life also visited it. White Rus resurrected and firmly stood on the ground of state independence, — Biadulia wrote in one of his articles.
But already in 1920, Soviet power was finally established in Belarus, and Zmitrok had to adapt to the new living conditions.
"I felt sorry for the helpless man in such matters, and I began to help him"
Zmitrok Biadulia with his wife Maria. 1929. Photo from the book "Memories of Zmitrok Biadulia"
Biadulia was fortunate to live next to classics. In addition to Bahdanovich, he shared an apartment with Yanka Kupala for five years (1921-1926). Incidentally, one of their addresses was the house where the I Congress of the RSDLP took place (it completely burned down during the war; now a reconstructed building can be seen not far from Svislach).
Biadulia was still unmarried, and Kupala sometimes liked to joke about it, teasing him good-naturedly about his love affairs. However, at that point, Zmitrok had already known his future wife for many years, though he didn't remember her at all.
Maria Shirkes was born in 1900 in Grodno. When World War I began, the family moved to Minsk. In 1916, both Maria and Zmitrok brought laundry to a military base to be given to wounded soldiers.
— I noticed a young man there with magnificent thick hair, his curly hair looked as if it had just been permed. While my batch was accepted without any delays, the young man's situation was more complicated. Something was rejected, something was suggested to be folded more neatly. I felt sorry for the helpless man in such matters, and without his request, on my own initiative, I began to help him. When we were leaving the base, he thanked me warmly and introduced himself:
— Let's be acquainted. Biadulia, a Belarusian writer.
But immediately after that, Zmitrok said goodbye and left. For the next ten years, they did not see each other. However, Maria, who worked as a nurse in a polyclinic, continued to follow the work of her casual acquaintance and even knew some of his poems by heart.
In 1926, a female acquaintance visited Shirkes, intending to deliver a letter to Biadulia. They found out that the writer worked at the Institute of Belarusian Culture (later the Academy of Sciences was established based on it), and went to Revolutionary Street, 15 (the building still stands today). At first, the writer did not recognize the casual acquaintance, but he started a conversation with his guests. Upon saying goodbye, he suggested to Maria that they meet in two or three days. Thus began their romance.
Zmitrok Biadulia. Photo: wikipedia.org
Soon Maria and Zmitrok got married, which turned out to be very harmonious. As writer Barys Mikulich noted, the wife wonderfully complemented her husband, her energy supported and gave confidence to the somewhat insecure Biadulia.
Only one circumstance sometimes hindered harmony in their marriage.
— Zmitrok Biadulia's wife, Marya Isakauna, was a "prominent" woman. Stately, beautiful, but two heads taller than her husband. Somewhere over a meter eighty. When she and Biadulia had to go out together on the street, they tried to walk separately, so that the height difference wouldn't catch people's eyes. And her foot corresponded to her height — size forty. So when Marya Isakauna bought shoes, she first asked to try on size thirty-nine, although she knew beforehand it would be too small. And only then, returning the shoe, she asked the saleswoman: "Now, please, give me one size larger." Well, she couldn't bring herself to say in public: "Give me size forty," — recalled the grandmother of writer Mikhas Klimkovich.
They had two children in their marriage — a daughter Zoya and a son Yefim, named after the writer's father, Yefim (Khaim) Plaunik.
Biadulia read his works to his children, observing their reactions. It was after the birth of his children that he wrote his famous children's works: the poem-fairy tale "Murashka Palashka" and the story-fairy tale "Serebranaya Tabakerka" (The Silver Snuffbox).
"Such a rebirth as from Kupala was not required from him"
Literary association "Uzvysha". Zmitrok Biadulia in the center. Minsk. 1929. Photo: Belarusian State Archive-Museum of Literature and Art
His creative life also flourished. In 1923, the literary group "Maladniak" was created. Zmitrok Biadulia, among others, joined it, but after some time left its ranks. As poet Ales Dudar claimed, he was excluded "as a result of some personal quarrel." However, no documents confirming this have been found. Three years later, in 1926, the literary association "Uzvysha" was created, which included the best Belarusian writers of that time. And Biadulia, along with other "Uzvyshavtsy", signed a letter about leaving "Maladnyak". Therefore, it is possible that he left it himself.
Prose writer Kuzma Chorny became the head of the new organization, his deputy was playwright Kandrat Krapiva, and the secretary was critic Adam Babareka. Among other members of the association were poet Uladzimir Dubouka — the unofficial leader of "Uzvysha" — and Biadulia.
Zmitrok worked at Inbelkult, headed the local history magazine "Nash Krai", and also actively worked on new works. Moreover, most often at night.
— From his youth, since his time in Vilnius, Samuil Yefimavich was accustomed to writing at night. His daytime hours were taken up by his service, work at the newspaper. And only at night, after resting a little beforehand, he would sit down at his desk for a long time, — his wife recalled.
It's interesting that he smoked an enormous amount while working. Once he quit: doctors forbade it, but for three months he couldn't write a single line. As a result, Biadulia started smoking again, but significantly less than before, and only at night. From then on, he started writing again.
"My favorite Biadulia story is 'Three Crosses'. It was apparently written in the relatively vegetarian twenties. The poor man Yanka Harbach is illiterate; instead of a signature, he puts three crosses. But what for another peasant is a common and rather unpleasant procedure, for Yanka acquires its own special meaning. He managed to love his crosses, because he saw something personal, private in them, was able to make them part of his secret language. 'Three vertical sticks, three horizontal ones made up all his literacy and science' — but this is not just a signature, these are signs of his existence as a person: 'each time the crosses came out differently for him, depending on his mood', the sticks were thicker and longer and then 'reminded him in what conditions he wrote them, what he thought, whether he was cheerful or sad at the time'."
Such a talent reveals Yanka Harbach as a sensitive and gifted person — not everyone can learn to feel signs so deeply, whose primary purpose is so utilitarian. He loves his crosses so much that sometimes, forgetting himself, he even draws them with his finger in the air. "Throw away your graveyard!" — says the state farm teacher to him. "What graveyard?" — Yanka doesn't understand, unable to believe that someone would insult his crosses like that. Giving them up is a painful process; Yanka feels he is betraying something important — not for others, but for himself. But they convince him to learn literacy. The story ends here — short, exquisite, and a little creepy, a psychological study on the theme of sign systems.
Such a strange "peasant" had not yet existed in Belarusian literature. At first glance, a social subtext is easily discernible here: learn, learn, learn and learn again . But this is an illusion. Biadulia describes a person whose language they want to replace, whose talent will be leveled by literacy. Because where three crosses gave Harbach so much ground for reflections, however meager, other crosses will appear — which will form foreign words with a foreign meaning, looking at which he will no longer remember himself, because the new crosses, the alphabet — in this case, are an instrument of coercion, oblivion, and fusion."
Alhierd Bacharevich, "Bacharevich's Hamburg Account"
In the 1920s, Biadulia was one of the most published Belarusian writers. Yakub Kolas was the leader (125.5 thousand copies), followed by Tsishka Hartny, also known as Zmitser Zylunovich — not only a writer, poet, and translator, but also a public and state figure (81 thousand copies). Zmitrok Biadulia was third with 77.5 thousand copies. The novella "Salavei" (Nightingale) (1929) achieved the widest distribution with 15 thousand copies.
Zmitrok Biadulia and Yakub Kolas. Photo: wikipedia.org
But the flourishing of "Uzvysha" was short-lived. In the USSR, a struggle against "natsdems" (national-democrats) began, and the best Belarusian writers were labeled as such. Moreover, the authorities clearly bet on a split within "Uzvysha," calling on its members to repent and admit their mistakes.
— You see, they're betting on a split (Biadulia — Kliashtorny — Luzhanin, and others). Let them form a new organization. Why should we get involved with all this, — Dubouka wrote to Babareka in December 1929.
As critic Anton Adamovich noted, "the 'authorized representatives' convened a general meeting of 'Uzvysha' members. Their long and tedious sermons to the organization, which 'deviated' from the line defined by the party itself, took up the entire first session. However, it was already evident at this session that, for the first time in 'Uzvysha,' there was a division. Dubouka, Pushcha, Babareka, and several younger members stood for uncompromising opposition. The same members who had previously been summoned by the GPU (Krapiva, Luzhanin, Biadulia, and Kliashtorny) supported the efforts of the 'authorized representatives' and persuaded the majority of younger 'Uzvysha' members to repent before it was too late (GPU — Main Political Directorate, predecessor of the NKVD. — Note)."
As a result, in the summer of 1930, Dubouka, Babareka, and Pushcha were arrested. Other members of the association remained free and — it must be said — publicly condemned their recent friends.
— We demand harsh punishment for the agents of international bourgeoisie in Soviet Belarus — Belarusian counter-revolutionary national-democrats! [Belarusian national-democratism] also penetrated the Belarusian association "Uzvysha". In the person of its former leaders — Babareka, Pushcha, and Dubouka — and their younger comrades, it tried to expand its influence over the entire association .
This letter was signed by nine writers, including Kuzma Chorny, Kandrat Krapiva, Zmitrok Biadulia, and Piatro Hlebka.
"Uzvysha" existed for another year, until December 1931, and then ceased to exist. As Alhierd Bacharevich wrote, in the terrible thirties, Biadulia, it seems, "didn't even try to somehow oppose the system, but then again, such a rebirth as from Kupala was not required from him — different weight categories."
"He was so engrossed in work that he didn't notice what was going on in the house or around him"
House of Specialists
In the pre-war years, the intersection of modern Niezaležnasci Avenue and Kazlova Street was a distant outskirts of the capital. However, before the war, construction of a six-story house began here. It was completed in 1934 and named the House of Specialists, as employees of industrial enterprises received apartments in it. The following year, the writer, who had previously lived with his wife on Dalhabrodskaya Street, also received a three-room apartment there.
— Zmitrok Biadulia's apartment made an extraordinary impression on me. This impression began right from the entrance, from the electric doorbell, the colorful runner carpet in the hall, the chandelier, soft furniture, shelves with many books, a radio receiver, and all its coziness, — one of his guests recalled.
— Every time I visited them (the Biadulias), I found Biadulia at his writing desk. He was so engrossed in work that he didn't notice what was going on in the house or around him. Neither the children's noise nor the conversations of those present distracted him from his work. But then, if he did notice a stranger in his house, he would definitely give him a few minutes of attention. Apparently, he did this so that the person wouldn't be offended, — recalled his neighbor Dina Kharyk. Her husband, Jewish poet Izi Kharyk, would be shot during the repressions.
Zmitrok Biadulia. Photo: wikipedia.org
Architects believed that an entire district of similar houses would appear around the House of Specialists. But the war thwarted these plans: the house burned down in June 1941, the Germans demolished its remnants, and after liberation, other housing was built in its place.
It would seem that the writer's life was cloudless. But meanwhile, mass repressions were taking place in the country. Biadulia, who worked at "Nasha Niva" and supported the BNR, had every reason to worry about his life and freedom.
Here is what Aizik Kucher and Vital Volski wrote about him in the newspaper "Litaratura i Mastatstva" in the terrible year of 1937: "Kupala, Kolas, Biadulia did not understand the significance of the Great October Revolution. They also did not understand that only the proletarian revolution brought true freedom to the Belarusian people." And here is another quote: "The counter-revolutionary leaders of 'Uzvysha' deceitfully attracted some capable, but politically unstable, writers prone to national waverings into their ranks. Thus, besides Z. Biadulia, they managed to involve K. Krapiva, K. Chorny, P. Hlebka in their association."
But the writer was lucky. He remained free. In 1939, the first national ballet was even staged in the Belarusian Opera based on his novella "Salavei" (Nightingale). According to Alhierd Bacharevich, in the thirties, Biadulia, who had previously written for children, "found some salvation in children's literature and managed to do something before his death for which he need not be ashamed — in 1940, his fairy tale 'Serebranaya Tabakerka' (The Silver Snuffbox) was published. The story of a rabbit-not a rabbit, an old man-not an old man, but some Did-Ded, who caught Death itself in his snuffbox."
"I ran up, squeezed through, supported him. Biadulia began to choke. And fell silent. He died in my arms"
Zmitrok Biadulia. Photo: wikipedia.org
The Biadulia family met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War separately. His wife and children were in Pukhavichy at the House of Writers' Creativity, from where they managed to evacuate. Zmitrok himself was on a business trip in Khoiniki. He returned, found his mother, and together they walked to Barysaŭ, where they managed to board a train and reach the modern Nizhny Novgorod region.
For some time, the writer did not know if his wife and children were alive. Then they managed to find each other.
How did Zmitrok Biadulia die? Five years ago, a direct witness of the events told the author of this text. The conversation is about Harald Volski, the paternal uncle of the famous singer Liavon Volski.
— For some time, we lived in the Saratov region, and then it was decided to evacuate the writers' families to Alma-Ata. The mud was so deep that carts had to be pulled to the station ourselves. We reached the station, boarded, and left. We were terribly hungry. So, wherever we stopped, we traded anything for bread. Once we stopped at the Semiglaviy Orel station, 12 kilometers from Uralsk.
The exchange was already ending when the train whistled. Zmitrok Biadulia became anxious that the train would leave without him, and he ran. We followed him. We made it. But Biadulia liked to roll makhorka with his fingers, which made it plump. I always paid attention to that, because I smoked myself. Biadulia rolled it, took a few puffs — and he felt unwell. Maryia Isakauna, his wife, asked: "Haryk, support him." I ran up, squeezed through, supported him. Biadulia began to choke. And fell silent. He died in my arms. Therefore, we disembarked in Uralsk, where Biadulia was buried, — Harold Volski recounted. This was November 1941.
Biadulia's funeral was organized by employees of BDT-2 (now the Yakub Kolas National Drama Theater, which operates in Vitebsk). At that time, this collective was evacuated in Uralsk.
***
Years passed. Getting to Uralsk was very inconvenient. Relatives tried to transport the remains to Belarus six times, but the authorities did not give permission. It only succeeded when Aliaksandr Sapeha, head of the Association of Belarusians in Switzerland, took on the case.
In January 2020, he received permission for the exhumation and repatriation of the body. In late February, the remains of the classic of Belarusian literature were brought to Minsk. Sapeha received organizational and financial assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, the honorary consul, and the Embassy of Belarus in Switzerland.
As the then director of the Museum of the History of Belarusian Literature, Mikhail Rybakou, recounted, "the Military Cemetery, where Yakub Kolas and Yanka Kupala are buried, or the Eastern Cemetery, where Uladzimir Karatkevich, Vasil Bykaŭ, and other classics are buried, were considered as the final resting place for the author of 'Salavei'. It turned out that it was difficult to make a new burial at the Military Cemetery, it is small, and there simply was no dignified place. Therefore, they began to consider the option with the Eastern Cemetery more closely. [As a result,] a place was allocated in section 26, which is just to the left of the central entrance, where the graves of prominent figures are located."
On November 3, 2020, Biadulia was laid to rest at the "Belarusian Hut", where he once lived with Maksim Bahdanovich. On the same day, he finally found eternal rest on Belarusian soil.
This is an archival material from 2021 of the Tut.by website, which was shut down a month later.
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