Proud Of The Nation: Famous Belarusians - Part 2

... from literature

Vincent Dunin-Martsinkevich

Writer, founder of the new Belarusian literature and professional dramaturgy, creator of the first Belarusian theater group, actor. The 200th anniversary of the birth of Vincent Dunin-Martsinkevich was included in the UNESCO Memorable Dates Calendar in 2008.

Vasil Bykov

Belarusian novelist, playwright, essayist. He was born in 1924 in Bychki village in the Vitebsk region. People’s Writer of Belarus (1980). The best Bykov’s novels were dedicated to the Great Patriotic War.

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Writer Isaac Asimov was born in the village Petrovichi, Mogilev region (Belarus).

Svetlana Alexievich

Svetlana Alexievich is a Belarusian writer and journalist. Her books include "The War's Unwomanly Face," "Last Witnesses," "Zinky Boys," "Enchanted with Death," "The Chernobyl Prayer," "Last Witnesses: Solo Pieces for Children's Voices," and "Second-hand Time." Svetlana Alexievich was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time".

Guillaume Apollinaire

He was a famous poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist and art critic. His mother was born near Navahrаdak (Grodno region, Belarus). The boy was born in Rome. He formed his pen name from French variants of his names Wilhelm (Guillaume) and Apolinary (Apollinaire). Apolinary was also the name of his grandfather. Apollinaire had friendship with Pablo Picasso, Andre Derain, Francis Picabia, Maurice de Vlaminck and Henri Rousseau. Apollinaire made a manifesto of art of the future called "New spirit" at the personal request of Diaghilev and Cocteau in the spring of 1917. "New spirit" identified the development of young music France for two decades.

... from music

Vladimir Mulyavin

Brilliant musician, composer and arranger, collector of Belarusian folklore, and the founder of the legendary band Pesnyary (1970) which was one of the most popular bands in the USSR for many years. People’s Artist of the BSSR and USSR, holder of the Francysk Skaryna Order (2001). The name of Vladimir Mulyavin, who was a Belarusian in spirit but not by birth, was perpetuated in the Walks of Fame in Moscow and in Vitebsk, the host city of the international festival of arts Slavonic Bazaar.

Oksana Volkova

The Metropolitan Opera in New York opened a new theater season with the opera ”Eugene Onegin“ by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. Olga's party was performed by Oksana Volkova who is the honored artist of the Republic of Belarus and the soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus. Belarusian singer shines as a guest soloist at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Madrid (Teatro Real), in the theater Massimo (Palermo), Teatro Opera de Nice (France), in the Teatro dell'opera Giocosa (Italy) at the Mikhailovsky Theatre (St. Petersburg), at the Latvian national Opera. Oksana Volkova is the soloist of the Bolshoi Theater of two countries – Belarus and Russia.

Al Hoffman

Al Hoffman was born on September 25, 1902 in Minsk, Russia (now Belarus). Al Hoffman was a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame since 1984. The popularity of Hoffman's song, "Mairzy Doats", co-written with Jerry Livingston and Milton Drake, was such that newspapers and magazines wrote about the craze. Hoffman produced several hit songs including “Heartaches”, “I Apologize”, “Auf Wiedersehn, My Dear”, “Fit as a Fiddle”, “Black-Eyed Susan Brown”. In 1984 he was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall Of Fame. He has over 1,500 songs registered with ASCAP.

Irving Berlin

The song “God bless America”, which became, in fact, the unofficial anthem of the United States, has been written by immigrant from Belarus. The repertoire of the young singer was very diverse. In 1918 Berlin wrote the music for the musical which later became the song “God bless America”. The song «God, bless America» became the second major song in the country. She performed in the most difficult times for the country, it calls to love and cherish their homeland. It was written almost a century ago, however, is always up to date, always relevant.

People Alexievich Cinema Nobel Music