The Rada of the Belarusian People’s Republic (BPR) issued an appeal in which it called for the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vasil Bykau to be widely celebrated in Belarus and among the Diaspora.
“June 19, 2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vasil Bykau, the great Belarusian, who stands next to Skaryna, Kalinouski, Kupala, Kolas, Karatkevich in the National Pantheon. Bykau raised Belarusian literature to the world level and was in the first row of the struggle for the restoration of independence of Belarus, for national revival. He was not afraid to tell the truth to the dictator’s face and had to spend the last years of his life in a foreign land. Until now, the memory of Vasil Bykau has not been properly perpetuated in Belarus”, – the address of the BPR Rada says.
It is also noted that so far in the capital of Belarus, despite many years of public demands, there is neither Vasil Bykau Street nor a monument to the outstanding writer.
The BPR Rada initiated a wide celebration of the Bykau’s anniversary and called on Belarusians both at home and abroad to honor the memory of our great compatriot and demonstrate our unity in protecting national values.
“Belarus will be reborn if it does not submit to someone else’s power,” Bykau once said. And today we have both an occasion and an obligation to demonstrate to the whole world the “name and power of a Belarusian”, embodied in the figure of the great writer, and in the faces of the best daughters and sons of Belarus fighting for its freedom.
