Classic of Belarusian and World Literature Vasil Bykov Dies

The Belarusian and world literature has suffered a loss - 79-year old famous writer Vasil Bykov died on June 22. It happened in the Belarusian research institute of oncology and medical radiology named after N. N. Aleksandrov.

The day of his death coincided with the anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. June 22 is the date, which turned Vasil Bykov’s life and made him start writing. He celebrated his last birthday three days before in the homeland, where he returned after taking a course of treatment abroad.

On March 27 Vasil Bykov was operated on in Prague. In Minsk Vasil Bykov was promptly hospitalised. Doctors did everything possible to help him and improve his health. But unfortunately that was beyond human possibilities.

Vasil Vladimirovich Bykov was born on June 19, 1924 in the village of Bychki, Ushachi region, Vitebsk oblast. He became a People’s Artist of Belarus in 1980; Hero of Socialist Labor - in 1984. Vasil Bykov was born in a peasant family. In 1939-1940 he studied at the sculptural department of the Vitebsk art college. In the beginning of the Great Patriotic War Vasil Bykov was mobilized, was a Red Army soldier and graduated from the Saratov infantry military school. In 1947 the great writer was discharged and worked in Grodno in the artistic workshops and in the newspaper “Grodnenskaya Pravda”. In 1949-1955 Vasil Bykov was a Red Army officer and got demobilized /major in reserve/ to work in the “Grodnenskaya Pravda” again. In 1972-1978 he was a secretary of the Grodno department of the Union of Writers of the BSSR. He lived in Minsk since 1978.

His first works were published in 1947. With the story “In the first battle” Vasil Bykov started describing the tragic front-line fate of young soldiers and officers. At the end of 1950 - beginning of 1960 the writer was in the creative search. He wrote satiric miniatures, the historical novel “The last soldier”. In his book “Crane’s scream” Vasil Bykov came back to the military theme and wrote novels “Treachery” and “The third flare”, for which he was awarded the Literary Prize named after Yakub Kolas in 1964. Owing to courageous positions of chief-in-editors of the magazines “Maladosts” and “Novy Mir” Pimen Panchanko and Alexander Tvardovskiy one of the most truthful of his works - the novel “The dead does not feel the pain” was published in 1965. At the end of the 60s Vasil Bykov started writing about the partisan fight of the Belarusian people. In 1974 two of his novels dedicated to this theme – “Obelisk” and “Live to see the dawn” were awarded the State Prize of the USSR. The State Prize of the BSSR named after Yakub Kolas was presented to Vasil Bykov in 1978 for his novels “Wolf pack” and “His battalion”. In 1986 he was awarded the Lenin’s Prize for the novel “The trouble sign”. Among his last works - novels “Wolf pit”, “Adventures”, “Swamps”. This year the publishing house “Kniga” has presented Vasil Bykov’s memoirs “A long way home”.

Feature films “Alpine ballad”, “Live to see the dawn”, “Wolf pack” and the TV series “Long war miles” as well as different ballets and operas were based on the works of the great writer. Many post-war generations were raised on the basis of the creative heritage of Vasil Bykov.