Death of long-lived Maryia Kananovich from Valozhyn region, 121 according to her passport, has been reported
On the monument to her deceased son, she herself arranged an engraving for herself, where, it seems, she indicated her real year of birth.
«Maryia Vikentsieuna died back on August 27, 2025,» — they said in the village council.
According to passport data, Maryia Kananovich was born on May 27, 1904. This means she allegedly lived for 121 years and 3 months. If this were true, the woman would have ranked second in the world list of long-livers throughout history.
However, the Belarusian woman did not make it into the Guinness Book of Records, as Soviet documents were not trusted. Moreover, there are also questions about the story of the absolute longest-living person, Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who allegedly lived for 122 years and 164 days.
Apart from Calment, no one has ever lived to be 120 years old.
Ihar Shakun, Deputy Chairman of the Valozhyn District Executive Committee, once expressed doubts about the veracity of the information in Maryia Kananovich's documents.
«She lived in Western Belarus. After reunification — in 1939, when this territory became part of the USSR, local officials recorded the age based on citizens' words, as there were no corresponding documents. Many added extra years to themselves because it affected the retirement age. Most likely, our heroine was no exception,» — the official shared.
According to him, when the woman ordered a monument for her second deceased son, she also asked to have an engraving made for herself there. And instead of the year of birth 1904, the monument indicated 1924.
A few months before her death, Maryia Kananovich managed to give her last interview to journalists. She recounted that she was born in the Smarhon district into a large family where, besides her, there were seven other brothers and sisters. During the war, when fascists came to their village, she hid in a pit and thus saved herself.
The woman outlived all her doctors, close relatives, her husband, and both sons. The second one passed away when Maryia was 108 years old, and she experienced this loss very painfully, asking God to take her to her loved ones sooner. She had no grandchildren.
In her time, Maryia Vikentsieuna suffered both a heart attack and a stroke, but she recovered and kept bees until the very end.
As of today, Belarus has 660 people aged 100 years or older. Nine out of ten long-livers are women. The largest number of centenarians live in Minsk and the Minsk region: 113 people each.
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