The collection of war diaries of Belarusian writers based on BGAMLI documents has been released

The Mastatskaya Litaratura Publishing House has released a book of war diaries of Belarusian writers based on documents from the Belarusian State Archives-Museum of Literature and Art (BGAMLI).

The diaries of four Belarusian writers from the period of the Great Patriotic War have been published for the first time in one book. The uniqueness of each diary is that they reflect events in different military directions and represent a kind of geographical or toponymic indicator of the great paths to the Victory. Mikola Loban – a participant in the battles on the Leningrad Front, was twice wounded. Anton Aleshko went through the Great Patriotic War as a front-line medical doctor, first on the Western Front, and then on the 3rd Belarusian Front. The diary of Pyotr Volkodayev reveals the heroic and tragic pages of the Partisan movement in the Mogilev region. The notes of Vissarion Gorbuk reflect the events of 1941-1945 connected to the defense of Moscow, the liberation of Belarus, Poland, and the capture of Berlin.

The publication of this collection solves two very important issues: it introduces new sources on the history of the Great Patriotic War into wide scientific and public life and protects unique documents from extinction.

The book contains autographs of diaries and photographs from the collections of the mentioned writers held at the Belarusian State Archives-Museum of Literature and Art. Anna Zapartyko is the compiler and author of the preface, introductory articles and comments.

The publication was commissioned and funded by the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus.