Busts of Bykov and Borodulin unveiled in Ushachi
The busts were created thanks to donations from admirers of Belarusian classics. The fundraising and project management was organized by Gleb Lobodenko from Minsk. As a result, people donated over Br27 thousand. The authors of the busts are sculptors Igor Zosimovich and Alexey Sorokin, and architect Viktor Karako.
Vasil Bykov and Ryhor Baradulin were lifelong friends. Nurtured by the same land, they chose the path of literature, understanding each other well. The duo of Belarusian classics was interesting not only for the former's novellas and the latter's poems, but also in epistolary genre. Their joint books "Letters to Helsinki" (2000), "When Souls Embrace... Poetry and Prose" (2003), "To Live Until the Green Grass..." (2008) became literary monuments to their friendship. Their correspondence shows the warm relationship between the two talents, the self-irony of old friends, and reveals unknown pages of life and the dramatic times in which the classics lived and created literature despite everything.
During the opening of the busts, the Chairman of the Ushachi District Executive Committee, Vladimir Avdoshko, thanked everyone who donated money and implemented this project. He said that the busts of Vasil Bykov and Ryhor Baradulin are the beginning of a future alley of famous countrymen. The authorities intend to erect sculptures to writer Petrus Brovka, poetess Evdokiya Los, and actor Gennady Garbuk. "We are probably the most poetic corner of Belarus, and we have always been proud of it. Vasil Bykov went through the Great Patriotic War and showed the harsh but truthful war in his works. He is known all over the world. The same can be said about Ryhor Baradulin. His poems are quoted everywhere. The poems heard in school are unforgettable. Both writers are great people," said the head of the district.
Vladimir Avdoshko added that in the Year of National Unity, it is symbolic that busts of famous countrymen have appeared in Ushachi. It doesn't matter who we are by age, gender, religion, or political views, everyone treats the writers' works with great respect, he emphasized.
Sergey Fomin, director of a private enterprise and a native of the district, one of the sponsors, noted that he gladly helped when the project arose. It is important for the people of Ushachi to express their gratitude to their fellow countrymen through the busts. "When I see the result, my feelings overflow," he said.
After the opening of the busts, literary meetings were held at the Vasil Bykov Museum-Estate in the village of Bychki on the eve of the writer's birthday.
Vasil Bykov (1924-2003) and Ryhor Baradulin (1935-2014) were born in the Ushachi district. The former was born in the village of Bychki, the latter in the khutor of Veresovka; after its liquidation in 1937, the poet's family moved to Ushachi. Ryhor Baradulin is buried in the cemetery in the town itself, while Vasil Bykov is buried in the Eastern Cemetery of Minsk. Both writers are honorary citizens of the Ushachi district.
