Yakub Kolas (also Jakub Kołas, , – August 13, 1956), real name Kanstantsin Mikhailovich Mitskievich (Канстанці́н Міха́йлавіч Міцке́віч, , ) was a Belarusian writer, dramatist, poet and translator. People's Poet of the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

(1926), member (1928) and vice-president (from 1929) of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences. In his works, Yakub Kolas was known for his sympathy towards the ordinary Belarusian peasantry. This was evident in his pen name 'Kolas', meaning 'ear of grain' in Belarusian. He wrote collections of poems ''Songs of Captivity'' (, 1908) and ''Songs of Grief'' (, 1910), poems ''A New Land'' (, 1923) and ''Simon the Musician'' (, 1925), stories, and plays. His poem ''The Fisherman's Hut'' (, 1947) is about the fight after unification of Belarus with the Soviet state. His trilogy ''At a Crossroads'' (, 1925) is about the pre-Revolutionary life of the Belarusian peasantry and the democratic intelligentsia. He was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1946 and 1949.

Biography

Kanstantsin Mitskievich was born in in a village Akinchytsy of

Minsk Governorate Minsk Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Minsk. It was created from the land acquired in the partitions of Poland and existed from 1793 until 1921. Its territory covered th ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, in a family of a forester. He graduated from Nesvizh Teachers' Seminary in 1902, and was sent as a teacher to a village in Palesse region. He took part in an illegal teachers convention in 1906, was fired and jailed for three years in Minsk. After jail he became a journalist for '' Nasha dolya'' newspaper, there he first used the name "Yakub Kolas". In 1915 he was mobilized into the army. In 1916, after graduating from the Moscow Alexander Military School with the rank of warrant officer, he served in a reserve regiment in Perm. In the summer of 1917 he was sent to the Romanian front, but for health reasons he was demobilized. In 1921 Kolas returned to Minsk to work in the newly established Institute of Belarusian Culture. In 1928 Institute was transformed into the Academy of Sciences, Kolas became an academician there, and later a vice president. In 1926 he was named a "People's Poet of Belarus". During the World War 2 Kolas was in evacuation in Russia. He died in Minsk, on August 13, 1956. In his honor, the

Yakub Kolas Square The Yakub Kolas Square ( - ''Plošča Jakuba Kolasa'') is a square in Pershamayski District of Minsk, located on the crossing of Independence Avenue, Yakub Kolas street and Vera Khoruzhaya street. The square was named in honour of the folk poet ...

and the Yakub Kolas Street in the center of

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

bear his name.

Bibliography

Biographies

*Вялікі пясняр беларускага народа. Зборнік артыкулаў аб жыцці і дзейнасці Якуба Коласа. Мінск, 1959. *З жыццяпісу Якуба Коласа: Дакументы і матэрыялы / Уклад., уступ. артыкул і імян. паказ. Г. В. Кісялёва; Рэд. В. В. Барысенка, М. І. Мушынскі. Мінск, 1982. *Казбярук У. М. Колас Якуб // Беларуская энцыклапедыя. У 18 т. Т. 8. Мінск, 1999. С. 382—384. *Лужанін М. Колас расказвае пра сябе. Мінск, 1982. *Мацюх М. Д., Мушынскі М. І. Колас Якуб // Беларускія пісьменнікі: Біябібліягр. слоўн. У 6 т. Т. 3 / Ін-т літ. імя Я. Купалы АН Рэспублікі Беларусь, Беларус. Энцыкл.; Пад рэд. А. В. Мальдзіса. Мінск, 1994. С. 299—304. *Мушынскі М. І. Коласазнаўства // Беларуская энцыклапедыя. У 18 т. Т. 8. Мінск:, 1999. С. 386—387. *Мушынскі М. І. Якуб Колас: Летапіс жыцця і творчасці. Мінск, 1982. *Мушынскі М. І. Летапіс жыцця і творчасці Якуба Коласа. — Мінск: Беларуская навука, 2012. — 1127 с. — . *Навуменка І. Я. Якуб Колас: Нарыс жыцця і творчасці. Мінск, 1982. *Разам з народам. Матэрыялы юбілейнай навуковай сесіі АН БССР, прысвечанай 100-годдзю з дня нараджэння Янкі Купалы і Якуба Коласа / Пад рэд. І. Я. Навуменкі. Мінск, 1983. *Тычына М. Колас Якуб // Энцыклапедыя гісторыі Беларусі. У 6 т. Т. 4. Мінск, 1997. С. 225—227. *Якуб Колас: Да 100-годдзя з дня нараджэння. Біябібліягр. паказ. / Склад. Н. Б. Ватацы, М. І. Пратасевіч, Н. А. Адамовіч, А. Б. Дунаеўская; Рэд. В. П. Рагойша. Мінск, 1983. *Янка Купала і Якуб Колас у кантэксце славянскіх літаратур. — Мн., 2002.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolas, Yakub 1882 births 1956 deaths People from Stowbtsy People from Minsky Uyezd Members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Byelorussia Second convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Third convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Fourth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Members of the Central Executive Committee of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR (1938–1946) Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR (1947–1950) Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR (1951–1954) Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR (1955–1959) Belarusian-language writers Socialist realism writers Translators of Alexander Pushkin Belarusian dramatists and playwrights Belarusian male poets Belarusian male writers Belarusian translators Soviet children's writers Soviet dramatists and playwrights Soviet male poets Soviet male writers Soviet translators Academicians of the Byelorussian SSR Academy of Sciences 20th-century Belarusian writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers People's Poets of the Byelorussian SSR Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour