Jan Zaprudnik (9 August 1926 – 26 May 2022, born Siarhej Vilčycki) was a Belarusian-American historian and publicist. He was also one of the leaders of the Belarusian community in the United States and an honoured member of the Belarusian PEN-centre.

Biography

Jan Zaprudnik was born into a family of school teachers in what was then the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. During the

Occupation of Belarus by Nazi Germany The German invasion of the Soviet Union started on 22 June 1941 and led to a German military occupation of Byelorussia until it was fully liberated in August 1944 as a result of Operation Bagration. The western parts of Byelorussia became part ...

, Zaprudnik graduated from the Gymnasium in

Baranavičy Baranavichy or Baranovichi is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Baranavichy District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has a population of 170,817. ...

and studied at a high school there. In 1944, Jan Zaprudnik fled to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

because of his likely persecution for collaboration with invaders by Soviet authorities.''Запруднік Янка''.
("Zaprudnik, Janka"). Aradžency Biełarusi. 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2009. Электронная Бацькаўшчына Бібліятэка
(Fatherland Electronic Library). Retrieved 6 August 2009. In 1954, he graduated from the

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

faculty of the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (; ) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) * Katholieke Universiteit Leuven or KU Leuven (1968 ...

in Belgium. Later he worked for the Belarusian service of

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

. In 1957, Jan Zaprudnik moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and was a member of the

Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic The Rada of the Belarusian People's Republic (, ) was the governing body of the Belarusian Democratic Republic. Since 1919, the Rada BNR has been in exile where it has preserved its existence among the Belarusian diaspora as an advocacy group ...

working "to ensure that the world did not forget about the Belarusians and their right to their own independent state". In 1969, he received a doctorate in history from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

about Belarusian representatives in the

State Duma of the Russian Empire The State Duma, also known as the Imperial Duma, was the lower house of the legislature in the Russian Empire, while the upper house was the State Council (Russian Empire), State Council. It held its meetings in the Tauride Palace in Saint Peters ...

at the beginning of the 20th century and later worked as a professor in

at several universities.

Works

Jan Zaprudnik started his publishing in 1947. During his life, he was a correspondent and an editor of many periodicals of the Belarusian diaspora, including the English-language

Journal of Belarusian Studies The ''Journal of Belarusian Studies'' (formerly the ''Journal of Byelorussian Studies'') is an English language academic journal in the field of Belarusian studies. It was described as “one of the longest lasting Belarusian publishing projects ...

. Main works in English are: *''Belarus: At a Crossroads in History'' (1993, ) *''Historical Dictionary of Belarus'' (1998, )

Recognition

Zaprudnik was awarded a

Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal The Belarusian Democratic Republic 100th Jubilee Medal () is a medal awarded in 2018 by the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic (the government in exile of the Belarusian Democratic Republic) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the esta ...

Notes

References

External links

Biography
at

- interview for

Палітычнае змаганне за Беларусь у царскіх Дзяржаўных думах (1906-1917 гг.)
// ARCHE. 2009. № 1/2. С. 43-217. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaprudnik, Jan 1926 births 2022 deaths People from Karelichy district 20th-century American historians Belarusian emigrants to the United States Belarusian male writers Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science alumni Columbia University staff Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty people People from Mir, Belarus American male non-fiction writers Members of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic American people of Belarusian descent