Vasil Bykov - a crane song for the Belarusian people

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In the center of Europe is a small but very picturesque country - Belarus. This republic is known to its neighbors as the state of “bulbashow” (translated from the melodic and beautiful language of this nation, bulba is a potato, which is considered a national dish). In addition, in all of Europe there is hardly another country where, throughout its existence, the leadership has been carried out by one person without change. Since the formation of the independent state of Belarus, it has been ruled by the permanent leader A. G. Lukashenko.

A miniature country can also be proud of its cultural figures. Marc Chagall, Vasil Bykov, Zdzislaw Stomma, Vladimir Korotkevich, Nil Gilevich, Ivan Shamyakin and many others - these people deserve a corner of memory in the heart of every Belarusian. Their work was not a momentary fashion trend, as it happens at the present time, they created with soul, and each of them put his whole self into his work, without a trace and hesitation.

The prose of such a great author as Vasil Bykov made a huge impact on all military literature. Surprisingly, how do Ia Belarusian and a lover of high-quality literature, never forget the heaviness in the hands of copies of books by this author. Tears, pain and hand trembling while turning the pages are far from all the feelings that I had to endure, burying another hero in paperback.

You might think that Vasil Bykov created tragedies on purpose - no. Absolutely not. He wanted to tell his readers the whole truth about the war, whatever it may be - heavy, black, deadly and tartly smelling of blood, but still it is the truth. The writer wanted to convey to every reader the pain of loss and the joy of meeting that ordinary citizens of Belarus and the entire Soviet Union experienced, faced with a terrible “beast” with the short name “war”.

A huge number of plots described in the books of the Belarusian playwright are based on real events. Collecting information bit by bit, writing down the memories of war veterans and vividly remembering his war years, Vasil Bykov gave the world masterpieces, each of which was truly unique. “Obelisk”, “Love Me, Soldier”, “Crane Cry”, “Alpine Ballad”, “Sign of Trouble”, “Wolf Pack” and many others are not just another books that make Belarusian schoolchildren read at literature lessons - they are piece of history, it's a huge guide on how to survive and how to survive.

Courage and honor, valor and unknown inner strength, kindness and gentleness, a crystal clear heart open to faith, hope and love - these are the characteristicsinherent in the positive characters of almost every work of the novelist. However, at the same time, Bykov Vasily Vladimirovich pays great attention to negative characters, their motivation, characterization of actions and description of their inner world. It shows how a person, depending on changing habitual conditions, can change the pattern of his behavior. Who, like a chameleon, adapts to new, sometimes terrible, conditions, and who does everything possible to change them. Sometimes the writer twists the storyline in such a way that it is not so easy to get to the truth. A good character who has become bad, and a bad character who has gone over to the side of good - such lines run through many of Vasil Bykov's novels.

This is an author about whom not enough can be said. This is a man with a capital letter. He was not afraid to show all the dirt and pain that people went through, in whose eyes the fire of war blazed with a scarlet flame. This is a writer who no longer exists. This is Vasil Bykov, whose biography, like many of his works, is riddled with sad notes of military events. Big bow to him and many thanks for his creativity!