Archival documents on Yanka Kupala’s life and work

Collaboration with figures in Art and Literature

Letter from Kupala to the newspaper Nasha Niva requesting them to send the newspaper and exemplars of his books to his mother’s homestead of Akopy. Before 24 July 1911. Autograph of Kupala. (BGAMLI, fond 3, inv. 1, file 82, folio 7)
Programme of the “Belarusian Festivity” evening party with the production of “Paulinka” based on Kupala’s play. Saint-Petersburg. 1913. Print. Belarusian Latin script. (BGAMLI, fond 3, inv. 1, file 225, folio 111)
Dedicatory inscription by Kupala to the Library of Saint-Petersburg Imperial University on the book “On Paths of Life”. Saint-Petersburg. 22 April 1913. Autograph of Kupala. Russian. (The Kupala State Literary Museum, КП 768/1 кн-41)
Letter from Kupala, secretary of the Belarusian Publishers, to the writer G. Leuchyk concerning the publication of the latter’s book. Vilnius. 7 February 1914. Autograph of Kupala. (The Kupala State Literary Museum, КП 6996/А-522)
Letter from Kupala to the translator A. Korinfski requesting him to send the translations of his works. Vilnius, 24 February 1914. Autograph of Kupala on printed form. Russian. (The Kupala State Literary Museum, КП 376/А- 376)
Letter from Kupala to B. Tarashkevich, Belarusian linguist, politician and public figure, requesting him to hasten the writing of the Belarusian grammar. 4 March 1914. Autograph of Kupala. (BGAMLI, fond 3, inv. 1, file 226, folio 139)
Dedicatory inscription by Kupala to the Russian poet Valery Bryusov written on the book “On Paths of Life”. Vilnius. 18 August 1914. Autograph of Kupala. Belarusian and Russian. (The Kupala State Literary Museum, КП 739/1 кн-12)
Letter from Kupala to the newspaper Dziannitsa with request to send him several issues of the newspaper. 11 August 1918. Autograph of Kupala. (NARB, fond 4, inv. 1, file 19, folio 32)
List of books in the library of the Belarusian theatrical and literary intelligentsia club “Belarusian Hut”, in which Kupala was a library head. Minsk. 6 September 1919. Autograph of Kupala. (NARB, fond 603, inv. 1, file 4, folio 21)
Kupala among members of the theatrical circle at the Bobruisk teachers’ courses. 1921. (BGAMLI, fond 8, inv. 2, file 21, folio 21)
Minutes of the board session of the Belarusian Main Administration for Literature and Publishing authorizing the circulation of Kupala’s play “The Ravaged Nest”. 27 April 1923. Copy. Russian. (NARB, fond 42, inv. 1, file 214, folio 25)
Kupala among members of the Academic conference for the reform of Belarusian orthography and alphabet, the writers Ya. Rainis, Z. Biadulia, K. Krapiva, Ya. Pushcha, A. Babareka, U. Dubouka, P. Glebka, and K. Chorny. 1926. (BGAMLI, fond 26, inv. 1, file 110, folio 2)
The group of Belarusian writers and literary critics, members of the Institute of Belarusian Culture, at the House of Culture on the Fontanka Embankment: M. Azbukin, V. Charzhynski (first row); Ch. Rodzevich, Mikhalski, S. Nekrashevich, Ya. Kupala, Ya. Kolas (second row); A. Krutalevich, M. Gutkouski, M. Gramyka (third row). Leningrad. 1926. (BGAKFFD, 1-4912)
Ya. Kupala, Ya. Kolas, Z. Biadulia, P. Trus, U. Ignatouski, etc. among the employees of the magazine Polymia. [1926–1927]. Photoreproduction. (BGAMLI, fond 14, inv. 1, file 38, folio 1)
Kupala with the Czech writers, Jozef Gora and Jaroslaw Kratochwil, in Karlovy Vary. Czechoslovakia. 1927. (BGAKFFD, 0-93709)
Letter from Kupala to the Russian poet and translator, S. Gorodetski, requesting to send him the translation of the poem “Over the River Oressa”. 27 August 1933. Autograph of Kupala. Russian. (BGAMLI, fond 8, inv. 2, file 7, folio 1-1rev)
Letter from Kupala to the Russian poet and translator, S. Gorodetski, concerning the publication of Kupala’s book [Selected verses and poems, 1906–1935] by the Soviet Literature Publishing House. 9 December 1933. Autograph of Kupala. Russian. (BGAMLI, fond 8, inv. 2, file 8, folio 1-2)
Letter from Kupala to the Russian poet and translator, S. Gorodetski, proposing him to translate the poems “The Old Trenches” and “The Visitors” and expressing discontent with the translation by the Russian poet M. Svetlov. 16 June 1935. Autograph of Kupala. Russian. (BGAMLI, fond 8, inv. 2, file 10, folio 1-1rev)
Letter from Kupala to the Russian poet and translator, S. Gorodetski, commenting on his translation of Kupala’s poems “Alesia” and “The Roads” and requesting to send him the newspaper Pravda with his poems. 15 July 1935. Autograph of Kupala. Russian. (BGAMLI, fond 8, inv. 2, file 9, folio 1-2rev)
Kupala during the rehearsal of “Paulinka” at the Belarusian State Theatre-2 in Vitebsk. Among the present are the actors Molchanov, Ilyinski and Kashelnikova, the producer Skalski, and Kupala’s wife U. Lutsevich. [1935–1936] (BGAMLI, fond 96, inv. 2, file 36, folio 1)
Kupala with the actor P. Molchanov. 1938. (BGAMLI, fond 292, inv. 1, file 143, folio 1)
Kupala with the Russian writer A. Novikov-Priboev. 1938. (BGAMLI, fond 259, inv. 1, file 548, folio 1)
Kolas, Kupala and the Russian writer Alexei Tolstoi during the Decade of Belarusian literature and art in Moscow. 1940. (BGAKFFD, 0-63049)
Kolas, Kupala and the Russian writer A. Mironov at the 5th Plenary Meeting of Soviet Writers in Minsk. [1940] (BGAKFFD, 0-99772)
Kupala among the group of literary figures in Uzbekistan. [before 1941] (BGAKFFD, 0-37795)

Abbreviations:

NARB National Archives of the Republic of Belarus
BGAKFFD Belarusian State Archives of Films, Photographs and Sound Recordings
BGAMLI Belarusian State Archives-Museum of Literature and Art