Siarhiej Pałujan (; 19 October 1890, Brahin — 20 April 1910, Kyiv) was a Belarusian writer, journalist and theatre and literary critic.

Early years

Pałujan was born in Brahin (now a district capital in Homel Province), into a large family. His father worked as a tenant farmer but was later able to purchase a farm in Kryšyčy (now in Kalinkavičy District, Homel Province), where Pałujan would spend most of his childhood. He first studied in

Mazyr Mazyr or Mozyr (, ; , ; ; ) is a city in Gomel Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Mazyr District. It is situated on the Pripyat (river), Pripyat River about east of Pinsk and northwest of Chernobyl in Ukraine. As of 2025, ...

at a six-year secondary school, and later at a gymnasium in Mitava (now

Jelgava Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

, Latvia). Threatened with expulsion for anti-government activities, he terminated his studies and returned to Belarus where he worked on his father's farm.Literary Homel Region: Brahin District - Siarhiej Jepifanavič Palujan
/ref> Pałujan's involvement in the

1905 revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

resulted in estrangement from his father. He left the farm and went to Kyiv where he earned a modest living publishing articles and reviews in Ukrainian periodicals and doing temporary work as a tutor and proofreader, etc. In 1908, he joined the governing body of the Belarusian Socialist Assembly.

Career at ''Nasha Niva''

Between 1909 and 1910, Pałujan lived in Vilnia and was employed by ''

Nasha Niva ''Nasha Niva'' (, lit. "Our field") is one of the oldest Belarusian weekly newspapers, founded in 1906 and re-established in 1991. ''Nasha Niva'' became a cultural symbol, due to the newspaper's importance as a publisher of Belarusian literature ...

''. There he met prominent Belarusian literary figures, such as

Janka Kupala Ivan Daminikavich Lutsevich (; – 28 June 1942), better known by his pen name Yanka Kupala (Янка Купала), was a Belarusian poet and writer. Biography Early life Kupala was born on July 7, 1882, in Maladzyechna Raion, Viazynka, a f ...

and Ciška Hatrny. He persuaded the editors of ''

'' to publish poems of Maksim Bahdanovič, which the editors initially considered "incomprehensible to people". This resulted in friendship between the writers (evidenced by the fact that Bahdanovič's collection ''Wreath'' was dedicated to the memory of Pałujan).

Death

In March 1910, Pałujan abruptly terminated his seemingly successful literature career with

Naša Niva ''Nasha Niva'' (, lit. "Our field") is one of the oldest Belarusian weekly newspapers, founded in 1906 and re-established in 1991. ''Nasha Niva'' became a cultural symbol, due to the newspaper's importance as a publisher of Belarusian literature ...

and returned to Kyiv. On the night of 20 April, in his twentieth year, he committed suicide.

Heritage

Apart from his literary works "Village" and "Christ is Risen!", Pałujan is known for his literary reviews (such as "Belarusian literature in 1909", "Belarusian poetry in its typical representatives", review of Jakub Kolas's textbook "Second reading for Belarusian children") and was described as “one of the founders of Belarusian professional literary criticism”. He is also known as a theatre critic (notable reviews being "Belarusian party in Vilnius" and "Belarusian parties") and researcher of Ukrainian culture and literature and Belarusian-Ukrainian literary ties.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palujan, Siarhiej 1890 births 1910 deaths 20th-century Belarusian male writers Belarusian-language writers