A monument in the shape of an ancient cross has been erected on the grave of Alyaksey Dudarau. Nothing there is accidental
The massive stone cross seems to be taken from the times of the Belarusian Middle Ages. Every symbol carved on it is closely intertwined with the philosophy and famous plays of the writer himself.
Alyaksey Dudarau passed away in February 2023 and was buried at the Eastern Cemetery in Minsk. In the summer of 2024, a monument created by the famous Belarusian sculptor Ihar Zasimovich was erected on his grave.
The composition of the monument is built on the contrast of forms and textures of granite. At its base lies a geometrically regular, polished trapezoidal pedestal of reddish-brown stone. The inscription on it is as concise as possible: "Alyaksey Dudarau / Playwright" and dates of life (06.VI.1950 — 27.II.2023).
And above it rises a massive cross of light, rough granite. Its edges are intentionally uneven, imperfect, which gives the stone a spirit of naturalness and deep archaism. Such crosses can be seen in ancient rural necropolises.
On the front side, a traditional Belarusian six-pointed cross is carved. Its central, large crossbar has a specific shape: it gives the image an anthropomorphic resemblance to a person with widely outstretched arms.
At the same time, this silhouette strongly resembles the hilt and guard of a sword stuck into the ground. It was precisely this image of a knight's sword, plunged tip-down, that was placed on the cover of Dudarau's book "Prince Vitaut," so it can be considered a reference to the author's most important historical work.
On either side of the carved cross are round medallions with anthropomorphic images of the Sun and Moon. And the upper medallion of the cross contains a chrism (☧) — an ancient monogram of Christ, consisting of the Greek letters Chi and Rho, adorned with the letters Alpha and Omega, a symbol of the beginning and end of all existence, according to the Apocalypse.
If you go around the monument from behind, you can see a short, poignant text carved into the stone:
A man lived his life
His night has come
Our evening has come
These are the final words from Alyaksey Dudarau's most famous work — the play "Evening" (1983). They are spoken by the tragicomedy's character Vasyl (Multik) — a bright, wise old man who lives out his days in a desolate village. In the play, Multik has his own "cosmogonic system": he talks to the Sun, thanks it for life, for joy, and even for tears, believing that after death the human soul "will go to the Sun."
The monument perfectly corresponds to the personality of Alyaksey Dudarau. A descendant of a peasant family, he always felt a deep connection to Belarusian land and its history.
Living stone with its natural texture and hand-carved symbols stands in opposition to soulless black gabbro-diabase slabs, where portraits and inscriptions are stamped by laser engraving on industrial machines. The latter are encroaching even on such highly prestigious cemeteries as the Eastern, which can be considered a national necropolis. The monument to Alyaksey Dudarau turned out to be just like his plays — authentic, created on the foundation of Belarusian history and traditions.
«Nasha Niva» — the bastion of Belarus
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