A grave of one of the leaders of the first Belarusian party, who even from exile sent materials to "Nasha Niva", found in Kalvaryja
An abandoned grave of Viktar Zialiazey — a man in whose apartment the BSG congress took place and who kept the seal of the first Belarusian party — was found in Kalvaryja Cemetery.
Viktar Zialiazey's grave at Kalvaryja Cemetery. Photo: Facebook group "Kalvaryja Cemetery"
At the very beginning of the 20th century in Minsk, the Belarusian movement was just emerging in semi-underground circles and conspiratorial apartments. In 1903, the first national political force arose — the Belarusian Revolutionary Hramada (later renamed the Belarusian Socialist Hramada). And Viktar Zialiazey, a librarian at the Minsk Public Library named after Pushkin, became one of its first and most active members, along with the Lutskievich brothers, Vaclau Ivanoŭski, and Karuś Kahanec.
His role in this movement was far from secondary. His apartment in January 1906 became the venue for the historic second congress of the BSG. It was Zialiazey who was entrusted with keeping the party's seal. He was also responsible for distributing illegal literature, used a forged passport — in short, he was at the forefront of the revolutionary struggle of that time.
His fate followed a classic scenario for that generation: in early 1908 — arrest by the tsarist authorities, and in 1910 — exile to Kirensk district of Irkutsk Governorate. But even from Siberia, he continued to send letters to "Nasha Niva". After returning to his homeland after the revolution, Zialiazey worked at Inbelkult and was a member of the Society of Political Prisoners.
Viktar Zialiazey. Photo: Facebook group "Kalvaryja Cemetery"
How he survived the period of Stalinist repressions is still unknown — the further biography of this man still requires detailed archival study.
Until recently, Viktar Zialiazey's biography ended in 1951; it was only known that he lived in Ratomka near Minsk. It was logical to assume that the place of his final rest should also be sought in the nearby cemeteries.
However, Minsk local historians discovered that a person with this surname is buried in Minsk's Kalvaryja Cemetery. Among the neglected graves, to the right of the church, a modest concrete slab was found next to a simple metal cross.
Viktar Zialiazey's grave at Kalvaryja Cemetery. Photo: Facebook group "Kalvaryja Cemetery"
Viktar Zialiazey's grave at Kalvaryja Cemetery. Photo: Facebook group "Kalvaryja Cemetery"
The inscription, written in Russian, leaves no doubt: "Революционер ЗЕЛЕЗЕЙ ВИКТОР АДАМОВИЧ. 18 11/XI 81 — 19 1/IV 52". This find not only allowed to accurately establish the date of death of the Belarusian figure — April 1, 1952 — but also raised a new question.
Kalvaryja is a symbolic place. It is the oldest preserved Catholic necropolis in Minsk, preserving the memory of many generations of the city's inhabitants. Yanka Luchyna, the father of the Lutskievich brothers, and one of the leaders of the BSG, Vaclau Ivanoŭski, killed in 1943, already rest here. Now this pantheon of the Belarusian Revival has been augmented with yet another name.
«Nasha Niva» — the bastion of Belarus
SUPPORT USNow reading
Who are the two characters who didn't drink in interwar Vilnius, how Zośka Vieras was awakened from lethargy, and whether the fable about Karatkievič and the restaurant is true
Comments
і дзе вы дзяржаўныя патрыёты ? Дзе кветкі, "піянеры", святары і г.д?