«This must not happen again»: war and the fate of a warrior

On the eve of May 9 and the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders, we remember with gratitude those who won the Victory.

A symbolic photograph full of deep meaning by Mikhail Petrovich Ananin «The Curse of War» (Second title – «This must not happen again») (photo 1) in the 60s of the 20th century circulated in many publications, was awarded a first degree diploma at the All-Union Art Photo Exhibition, and At the international exhibition «Interpress Photo» in 1962 in Budapest she was awarded a bronze medal. Why did the photo attract so much attention and interest? The fact is that it was during these years that, thanks to the searches of the Russian writer Sergei Smirnov, the feat of the defenders of the Brest Fortress became known. When the 20th anniversary of the heroic defense of the fortress was celebrated in 1961, photojournalist of the Belarusian Telegraph Agency Mikhail Petrovich Ananyin (1912-1991) took a photograph full of deep meaning, causing real emotional excitement in the viewer. He photographed a group of former defenders of the fortress, fellow soldiers of the 125th Infantry Regiment, at the same place where they fought in 1941. In the foreground is a man, oppressed by difficult memories, reliving those terrible days.

This is a former sergeant, and later a doctor of biological sciences, Vladimir Ivanovich Fursov. This painting is reminiscent of materials from the collections of the Belarusian State Archive-Museum of Literature and Art, belonging to the writer Eduard Martinovich Skobelev (1935-2017). He wrote not only fiction, but also journalistic works. As can be understood from the materials of the foundation, the writer was interested in the personality of the photojournalist. His life path was extremely winding and eventful.

Here is what Sergei Smirnov wrote about him in the second edition of his book «Brest Fortress»: «Even before the start of the Great Patriotic War, Mikhail Petrovich Ananin was a photojournalist for Komsomolskaya Pravda.» From the very beginning he was a war correspondent on the Western Front. In October 1941 he was wounded near Vyazma. The editors considered that he had died and sent a «funeral message» to his relatives. But Ananyin survived. He ended up in a prisoner of war camp. Tried to run. Mikhas Petrovich himself could not escape – his comrades carried him out in a raincoat. When attempting to break through near Gzhatsk (now Gagarin), he again fell into the hands of the enemy and ended up in a Minsk concentration camp. But Ananyin managed to escape. In the camp, his comrades gave him a reliable address for contacting the Minsk underground. Having appreciated his excellent organizational skills and courage, he was entrusted with the leadership of the underground group. Mikhail Petrovich, having gone through the most difficult trials, managed to keep his journalist ID and party card (he sewed them into the waistband of his trousers), which in those conditions was a real feat. Ananin’s underground group was associated with the Varashilov partisan detachment and provided the partisans with clothing, shoes, weapons, ammunition, medicine, and food. In the spring of 1943, Mikhas Ananyin returned to the unit and was appointed political officer of the company and party organizer of the Varashilov detachment. And here he not only fights bravely (photo 2), participates in large-scale military operations, destroys the enemy with a sniper rifle, but also remains a journalist – he organizes the publication of the brigade magazine «People’s Avenger», which is now kept in the Minsk Museum of the Great Patriotic War. In the summer of 1943, Mikhail Petrovich sent a message to the «Mainland» to the editorial office of Komsomolskaya Pravda. And on August 8, a telegram was sent from the editorial office to Sverdlovsk: «Congratulations, your husband is alive.» The tireless photojournalist traveled with his camera to many corners of the USSR, such as the Urals, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and, of course, Belarus and Minsk, which became his home. Mikhail Petrovich Ananyin worked a lot. The publishing house «Belarus» has published books with photographs of Ananin: «Khatyn», «Brest Fortress», «Belovezhskaya Pushcha», «In the Name of Life», the monograph «Life in the Lens» and many others.»

It is not surprising that the reporter’s biography interested Eduard Martynovich Skobelev. He began collecting materials about this man, whose fate was so closely connected with Belarus. Among them are photographs, articles, photocopies of diplomas, certificates of honor. Skobelev also found documents of the underground group headed by Ananin. These materials would make a great book. Unfortunately, Eduard Martynovich did not have time to write it. And the photograph, with its name and content, still reminds us today that the war should not happen again.

The management of the Belarusian State Archive-Museum of Literature and Art cordially congratulates the employees and everyone who uses its funds on Victory Day and wishes them health, fruitful work, success and good mood!

Photo 1. – Photo by Mikhail Ananin «Curse of War» («This must not happen again»)

Photo 2. – Mikhail Ananyin. Photo of a military couple