It would have been Vasil Bykov's 90th birthday tomorrow. A journey through the places where the writer was born.

People keep coming to Ushachy district, to the village of Bychki, far from the district center and high-speed highways, where on June 19, 1924, a Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Lenin Prize, State Prizes of the USSR and BSSR, Yakub Kolas Literary Prize, holder of numerous orders and medals, a writer whose name is known throughout the world, was born.

Although the house built in 1933, where Vasily Vladimirovich spent his childhood and youth with his parents, brother, and sister, no longer exists. It had to be dismantled: over time, the floor collapsed, the ceiling caved in, the stove crumbled… But the former estate of the Bykov family has been completely restored: a house, a barn, a threshing floor… The trees planted by the writer's father have also survived.

The new building is an exact replica of Vasily Bykov's former parental home. The interior has been restored, the ethnographic and everyday life exposition contains items that belonged to the family and the writer personally; his works and copies of drawings, documents, photographs, books with autographs of famous people are kept here. Some exhibits, by the way, were collected by the residents of the village of Bychki, who remember and are proud of their famous fellow countryman.

The V. Bykov Estate Museum was established by a decision of the local authorities and in accordance with the decree of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee in 2004. It is a branch of the Ushaсhi Museum of People's Glory named after Hero of the Soviet Union Vladimir Labank. Excursions with information about the life and work of Vasil Bykov are conducted for everyone. However, even greater impressions are left from conversations with villagers, relatives who lived for many years next to the future writer and pride of Belarus, and met him often later: Vasil Bykov never forgot his roots and visited his native places. The museum custodian is the creator's nephew, Nikolai Bykov. Nearby, in a house, one of the rooms of which was once adapted into a school, Vasil Bykov finished the first grade, and now his relative lives there. Antonina Alexandrovna married the writer's brother and lived for some time with the Bykov family in the same house where the estate museum is now located. She recalls that they lived in 42 square meters, but always in peace and harmony. In the neighboring villages of Kublichi and Ushaсhi, other relatives of the writer live, including his own sister.

– He was calm, taciturn, – says Antonina Bykova. – Kind and generous. When we bought this house, he allocated a large sum for those times – 500 rubles. When we started living more prosperously, I collected the money and tried to return it to Vasil Vladimirovich. He didn't take it, saying, let it be my contribution to your happiness… When he came home, he always brought Pepsi-Cola for Kolya – such wonders for the village children!..

– It was happiness, – laughs Nikolai Nikolaevich. – And getting acquainted with his works is also happiness.

– Yes, I read until dawn, – smiles the mother. – I even controlled him during lessons. He would hide Vasil's book under his textbook, and as soon as I left the room, he would start reading again… I often visited relatives in Grodno and Minsk, I remember that Vasil wrote at night – either he was used to it, or he didn't want to disturb others.

In Bychki, they recall how they drove to the wedding of a nephew for the bride to a neighboring village in a "Volga" (some saw such a luxurious car for the first time in the countryside), and at the wheel was Vasil Bykov himself… He loved to sit by the lake with a fishing rod at dawn, and today the museum has a painting copied from the favorite spot of the avid fisherman.

– Residents of other countries also visit our museum – they are most interested in what kind of person he was. What can I say? He was real – simple, rustic, quiet and reliable, – says Nikolai Bykov. – And when I am reminded of my external resemblance to Uncle Vasil, I am sincerely proud…

Vasil Bykov's poignant, deeply psychological stories about the war have been read by more than one generation. Meanwhile, Vasil Vladimirovich could have become a talented sculptor or painter: after graduating from Kublitskaya seven-year school, he studied at the Vitebsk Art College, which he was forced to leave when scholarships were canceled. Every two years, artists from all over the republic gather for a regional plein air in his memory – the last one, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders, took place in May this year. At the end of June, an exhibition of the created works will be held at the Museum of People's Glory in Ushachi. The participants of the plein air intend to donate one work each to the residents of Ushachi – as a gift for the writer's 90th birthday and the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus.

Annually, the Department of Ideological Work, Culture and Youth Affairs of the district executive committee organizes events dedicated to the memory of the writer and his work. This year, they are held throughout the district. And today, on the birthday of Vasil Bykov, a literary festival "I am before you with my memory" is taking place in Ushachy. It has gathered compatriots and admirers of the writer's work from Minsk, Vitebsk and various parts of Belarus. The literary and musical composition "The Long Road Home" is being held in Bychki. The reader competition "Kombat in War, General in Literature" is held in the square on Leninskaya Street in the center of the urban village. And a little later, a literary evening "The Truth of History, Time, Life" will take place in the district House of Culture. On June 21, Bychki will once again welcome guests – a literary event in the writer's homeland is organized by the regional council of the Francysk Skaryna Belarusian Language Society.

Against the laws of nature, Vasil Bykov, who died in 2003 after a serious illness, continues to live. In his works about the war, which are deeply touching and tearful. In the memory of numerous admirers of true folk talent. In the hearts of relatives, friends, and compatriots who are proud that it was on the Ushachy land that a great writer was born.

Alena Telyatko, "Vitebskiye Vesti"