People's Poet of Belarus Ryhor Baradulin has passed away

The Belarusian poet and translator Ryhor Baradulin has passed away at the age of 79 after a long and severe illness.

Ryhor Baradulin (Grigory Ivanovich) was born on February 24, 1935, into a peasant family in the khutor of Veryasovka, Ushachi District, Vitebsk Region. He studied at the Ushachi Secondary School and graduated from the Philological Faculty of Belarusian State University.

Baradulin's first poems were published in the newspaper "Chyrvonaya zmena". His first poetry collection, "Maladzik nad stepam," was released in 1959.

Ryhor Baradulin is the author of many books of lyrics, satire, and collections for children. The poet often turns to the genre of prayer, prayers for post-Chernobyl survival and the revival of the Belarusian nation. For his poem "Ballad of the Brest Fortress," he was awarded the Lenin Komsomol Prize of Belarus (1976), and for the collection "Rum" and the book of translations of F. Garcia Lorca's lyrics "The Blue Bell of Granada," he received the Yanka Kupala State Prize of Belarus (1976).

In total, the People's Poet published about 70 poetry collections. In 2006, Baradulin was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. The poet is also known for his translations of poems into Belarusian. He was awarded the Yanka Kupala Prize, the Order of Friendship of Peoples, the Order of the Badge of Honor, the Latvian Order of the Three Stars, and the Medal of Francysk Skaryna.

Baradulin translated into Belarusian "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" (1986), books by Federico Garcia Lorca ("The Blue Bell of Granada," 1975), Gabriela Mistral ("Windflower," 1984), Karol Wojtyła, Omar Khayyam's "Rubaiyat," and works by Shakespeare, Byron, Neruda, Mickiewicz, Yesenin, and others. In the summer of 2006, the book of Baradulin's selected poems "Runy Perunovy" was published. Ryhor Baradulin was one of the greatest connoisseurs and appreciators of the Belarusian language.

Baradulin is an honorary doctor of Belarusian State University and an honorary citizen of Ushachi District. In 1992, Ryhor Baradulin became the last Belarusian to be awarded the title of People's Poet.

Minsk /Corr. BELTA/.