June 19 marks 100 years since prominent Belarusian writer Vasil Bykau was born. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addresses Belarusians on this occasion:
“Dear friends,
Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vasil Bykau. A writer. A thinker. But above all – a Belarusian.
Bykau’s fate and work reflect the fate of our people. This includes the heroic uprisings of Belarusians for freedom, collectivization, and the Chornobyl disaster.
This also includes the Second World War, which he sincerely described in his now-classic works that we read back in school. Today, as Russia wages war against our close neighbor Ukraine, we understand the pain and depth of Bykau’s works more than ever.
Bykau’s fate is a struggle for national revival. Together with Ales Adamovich, Bykau was the first to speak out against police violence in October 1988.
Bykau’s fate is a fight for the right to speak and write the truth and against ideological impositions.
He faced persecution for his dissident views. Vasil Uladzimiravich was also in exile – a fate that, due to a similar regime, has befallen many Belarusians since 2020.
Even Bykau’s funeral became a spontaneous popular demonstration against the regime, which was troubled by Bykau’s fearless honesty and genuine love for Belarus.
And the fact that the regime essentially ignored Bykau’s 100th anniversary speaks to how anti-people this government is. Even Bykau’s drawing exhibition was removed long before the anniversary! Imagine how much more dangerous his Word must be for the authorities!
Our Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski called Vasil Bykau the apostle of Belarus. And although Vasil Uladzimiravich did not live to see a Nobel Prize, he achieved the greatest recognition during his lifetime, the trust and gratitude of his readers in Belarus and around the world.
Some accused Bykau of pessimism. Indeed, he never sugar-coated reality; he always faced the truth. But he believed in the Belarusian people. In his readers and descendants. In us.
As we celebrate his centenary today, we Belarusians are proud of one of the most outstanding sons of our nation. A nation that is sensitive, sincere, brave, freedom-loving, and brilliant, like its apostle.
Long Live Bykau – in his books and his readers!
Long Live Belarus – in us”.
