«I am a through-and-through Belarusian». Uladzimir Nyaklyayew presented a new poem and shared what worries him

Before the presentation, a crowd gathered in the small corridor. Stalls lined the walls with books, Belarusian treats, and other knick-knacks dear to a Belarusian heart.

Right before the start of Nyaklyayew's presentation, Vasil Shery and Katsyaryna Vadanoshava enacted a scene from the new poem — about Jadwiga losing a child — a parallel for those who have lost their Homeland. The meeting itself was moderated by Andrey Khadanovich.

Павялічыць

«I grew up under the walls of Kreva Castle»

«I was born and grew up under the influence of a Russian father, but I have never been to that Russia, never saw how they lived there, or what they did there. I grew up under the walls of Kreva Castle, in the Belarusian language, in a Belarusian environment, in Belarusian culture. And I am a through-and-through Belarusian, a Belarusian nationalist, I make no secret of it», — said Nyaklyayew.

He spoke of «Litvins» as a personal book — a tribute to his ancestors and the places to which his life is tied.

«This is my tribute to my Kreva, to my ancestors, to everything out of which I was molded. Kreva is the dearest stage in the world to me. Because all of my most important events took place there», — the writer recounted.

He admitted that he would love to see this poem of his staged near the walls of Kreva Castle.

«Our attempt to cling to Europe»

In the writer's view, Belarusians were alienated from their history for a long time, and now disputes over the Grand Duchy of Lithuania are also arising from western neighbors.

«Neighbors from the east were constantly cutting us off from our history. And now this process has begun from the west. They dreamed up Belarusian Litvinism, claiming it is dangerous to the statehood of our western, closest neighbor», — he stated.

Nyaklyayew recalled that he had written a separate article about this, in which he formulated his understanding of Belarusian Litvinism:

«What you call Belarusian Litvinism is Belarusian Europeanism. It is our attempt to cling to Europe as salvation. Because otherwise, we may cease to exist».

He does not call for denying other nations' participation in shared history, but believes that Belarusians should not renounce their share of the heritage.

Павялічыць

«If that was so, then where is the Grand Duchy of Lithuania?»

Speaking of historical heritage, Nyaklyayew turned to the Union of Krewo of 1385 and the marriage of Jogaila and Jadwiga.

He recalled the widespread explanation according to which the marriage was a political decision necessary to defend the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the Teutonic Knights and Moscow. But Nyaklyayew raises a question: if that was truly the case, why was the duchy itself lost in the whirlpools of history?

«His [Jogaila's] marriage to Jadwiga is presented as a political decision: allegedly, there were crusaders, Muscovites, and there was a need to save the country, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, so that it would survive. Okay, fine. In that case, if that was so, then where is the Grand Duchy of Lithuania? And where are we?» — asked the writer.

Павялічыць

«How did we lose all this?»

From book history, Nyaklyayew transitioned to the history unfolding before our very eyes. He admitted that he had long been trying to find an answer to the question of why Belarus did not seize the opportunities it had in the late 1980s.

«I cannot find an answer to the question: we had the will, on our side there was more strength, more intellect, and more of everything. So how did we lose all of this? How, for what reasons? What happened here and how?» — Nyaklyayew reflected.

He does not agree with placing all the responsibility for what happened solely on the authorities.

«Blaming everything solely on the regime, on Lukashenka — that's not serious», — stated the writer.

Nyaklyayew recalled that some politicians back then believed Belarus did not need to join anything, since its geographical position was already advantageous, and trade routes would pass through the country.

«The premise was: we have a very advantageous geopolitical and geographical position, trade routes will pass through us, and we can manage just fine on our own, we don't need to go anywhere», — he recounted that stance.

Nyaklyayew himself doubted that Belarus would be able to hold its own between powerful neighbors merely due to its geographic position.

«What is Belarus in this world? Some grain of sand. When a grain of sand is caught between the poles of a magnet — and that is what Belarus is — how can it hold its position in the middle?» — he said.

The writer noted that even now he is trying to comprehend the reasons for that defeat. He wants to find an answer at least for himself and put it down on paper. While «Litvins» is a tribute to Kreva, his local homeland, the book analyzing the events of our contemporary history, which the author plans to write over the coming years, he plans to dedicate entirely to all of Belarus.

«We cannot surrender the memory of our fathers to anyone»

At the end of the meeting, Nyaklyayew read an excerpt from «Litvins». In it, a prince divides towns and lands among his sons, determining what each will inherit. One of the final lines of this fragment brought back the main theme of the evening — a memory that cannot be renounced:

«Neither in joy nor in sorrow, neither today, nor in a century, nor through ages of ages can we surrender the memory of our fathers to anyone».

At the end of the evening, Andrey Khadanovich and Uladzimir Nyaklyayew sang an a cappella Litvin military song. And after that came another warm part of the gathering — Nyaklyayew signed autographs for everyone who wanted to take home not only the poem, but also a small keepsake of that evening spent in a foreign land among their own people.

• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0
• 0