Writer Maksim Bahdanovič
(Максім Багдановіч)
(December 9, 1891 - May 13, 1917)
(also Bahdanovich; Bogdanovich; Bagdanovich)
![[ Writer Maksim Bahdanovich ]](mbogdan-s.jpg)
Writer Maksim Bahdanovič(Максім Багдановіч) (December 9, 1891 - May 13, 1917)(also Bahdanovich; Bogdanovich; Bagdanovich)
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Photo Credit: Literature Museum of Maksim Bagdanovič [Літаратурны Музэй Максіма Багдановіча] (1996), frontispiece (circa 1915).
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Also see Dz'micier Zinowjew's Belarusian Poetry Web site for additional information and poems by Maksim Bogdanovič and other Belarusian poets.
Living with his family in Russia (Nizhnyi Novgorod and then Yaroslavl'), Bahdanovič developed an intense fascination for Belarus and its past that became the source of his poetic inspiration. His family had an extensive library of books about Belarus, especially folklore, together with his father's knowledge of folklore and his talent as a teacher, all contributed to Maksim's development and sensibilities.
On October 4, 1896, when Maksim was only five, his mother (Maryja) died of tuberculosis. She was 27.
In 1906, when the tsarist government lifted the prohibition against publishing in Belarusian and the first legal Belarusian newspaper, Nasha Niva (Our Soil), appeared, Bahdanovič became a contributor. In 1907, Maksim's first short story, "Musician," was published in Nasha Niva. The story was written in the style of a folk legend and became, in a sense, the poet's creative creed. He commenced writing poetry, in both Belarusian and Russian, and they were also published in Nasha Niva later in 1907.
Bahdanovič was the first of the Nasha Niva writers to insist on publishing under his own name instead of using one or more pseudonyms. A writer of erudition, with a knowledge of foreign languages and broad intellectual interests, Bahdanovič also published scholarly articles and essays in Russian- and Ukrainian-language periodicals.
In addition to original poetry, Bahdanovič produced a considerable number of translations into Belarusian and also Russian, from Latin, French, German, Finnish, Ukrainian, etc. These translations included the poets Heine, Schiller, Verlaine, Verhaeren, Pushkin, Maikov, Rosenhein, Shevchenko, Franko, and Krymsky. The purpose of the translations was to acquaint the Belarusian reader with the world masterpieces. In particular, he translated into Russian many of the most nationalistic poems of the Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, at a time when it would seem inconceivable for a Russian poet to have translated them.
Bahdanovič published a single volume of poems, The Garland (Vianok; 1913). In 1916, he graduated from the Juridical Lyceum at Yaroslavl', and returned to Belarus. Shortly afterwards, he became seriously ill with tuberculosis (his brother had also died of this disease). He was obliged to leave Belarus once again, and go to the Black Sea resort of Yalta. He died there in May, 1917.
As a poet, Maksim was known for his use of classical form and patriotic themes, and who has greatly influenced the further development of Belarusian literature and the nationalist movement. His poetry and prose are permeated with an acute sense of and images of the past, where he sought examples of achievements and valor to be emulated by his contemporaries.
![[ Literature Museum of Maksim Bahdanovich ]](mus-mbogdan-s.jpg)
Cover of guidebook to the Literature Museum of Maksim Bahdanovich (1996) |
The preceding summary information is from a variety of sources, including:
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News item, October 13, 2006: The grave of Afanasy Myakota, grandfather of great Belarusian poet Maksim Bahdanovich (1891-1917), has been found at a cemetery in Cherven, Minsk region. Vladimir Doroguzh, a local historian, told BelaPAN that he had found the grave accidentally this past summer [2006]. "I think many saw the text engraved on the gravestone but simply did not know who Afanasy Myakota was. He was the father of the renowned poet's mother, Marylya Myakota," he said. Afanasy Myakota was born in 1814 into a family of a Greek Catholic priest, which originated from the village of Myakota near Uzda. He served as a petty officer and a warden at an Orthodox monastery. For his participation in the 1853-1856 Crimean War between the Russians and the Ottoman empire, he was awarded an honorary medal and a noble title. Afanasy Myakota married Tatyana Malevich in the mid-1860s. They had five children. Galina Gamezo, head of the Cherven District Executive Committee's ideological work department, told BelaPAN that the local authorities intended to put up a fence around the grave, fix a Greek Catholic cross on the gravestone and renovate the inscription.
Source: Naviny [BelaPAN], 2006-10-13
News item, April 30, 2008: About 40 young people staged a protest on April 29 [2008] against the removal of the statue of poet Maksim Bahdanovich from the square in front of the National Opera and Ballet Theater.
The youths marched about 500 yards from Yanka Kupala Park to the square, laid flowers at the fence around a hole where the statue had stood, and attached photographs of the monument to the fence.
Participants recited Bahdanovich verses and played a bagpipe.
Police did not interfere but warned Franak Vyachorka, an organizer of the protest who heads of the Belarusian Popular Front’s commission on culture, that the demonstration was illegal.
As Mr. Vyachorka told BelaPAN, the removal of the statue was an insult to the memory of the great Belarusian poet and broke the architectural integrity of the area. “Many demonstrations in support of Belarus’ independence took place on the square in the 1990s and we want it to remain as it was,” he said.
Anton Astapovich, chairman of the Belarusian Voluntary Society for Historic and Cultural Heritage Protection, said that the statue should not have been removed by order of only one man, Alyaksandr Lukashenka. “It was a historic heritage item of the second degree and a special decision was required to remove it,” he said. “In general, such monuments are normally removed only in the event of a war, a natural disaster, and other force majeure events.
The Belarusian leader gave the go-ahead for the removal of the Bahdanovich statue while inspecting renovations to the building of the Theater in late March.
Culture Minister Uladizmir Matvyaychuk told the head of state that opinions were split about whether the monument should be removed from the square. He said that there were plans to create an “architectural ensemble” there, which would feature a fountain and sculptures, and to place the Bahdanovich statue in the adjoining park, closer to Bahdanovich Street. He noted that one of the authors of the monument was opposed to the plans, and that opponents of the government might use the removal of the monument in their interests.
“You should believe that the decision [to move aside the monument] has been authorized today,” Mr. Lukashenka said. “We destroy nothing in this case. Transfer it and do all that you need.”
The Maksim Bahdanovch monument was unveiled on December 9, 1981, the 90th birthday of the poet. Authored by sculptor Syarhey Vakar (1928-1998) and architects Yury Kazakow and Leanard Maskalevich, the monument consisted of a 4.6-meter high standing bronze statue of the poet and a red granite pedestal.
Born in Minsk into a family of a scientist in 1891, Maksim Bahdanovich moved with his family to Russia in 1896 and returned to Belarus after finishing school. He died of tuberculosis in the Crimea in May 1917 at the age of 26. His grave is located in Ukraine's Black Sea coastal resort of Yalta.
In 1916, Bahdanovich wrote his famous poem “Pahonya” that became one of the favorite songs of Belarusian patriots.
Opponents of the Lukashenka government say that the life of Bahdanovich stands as a rebuke to those Belarusians who neglect to speak Belarusian and learn more about their history and culture.
Source: Naviny [BelaPAN], 2008-04-30
See the following examples of his poetry: