The directory «Plots»

Shamiakin (Шамякин) Ivan Petrovich
(1921—2004)

A prose writer, playwright and political figure, was born into a peasant family in the village of Karma, Homel region. In 1940 he finished his studies at a technical school of building materials in Homel. During WWII he fought in the ranks of the Soviet Army against the Nazis. After the war he taught at a village school and completed a correspondence course at a teacher-training college in Homel. In 1963, as a delegate from Belarus, he took part in the work of the 18th Session of the United Nations' General Assembly. For many years he was one of the leaders of the Belarusian Writers' Union. He was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus, and from 1980 till 1992 he worked as editor-in-chief for the Belarusian State Encyclopaedia.

He started to write before WWII and his first works were published in 1945. After that he wrote many short stories, novellas and the novels The Blue Current, A Heart in Your Palm, Snowy Winters and Atlantes and Caryatids, to name only a few. Shamiakin was one of the founders of the new main topics of Belarusian post-war prose, depicting in his works the true story of a Belarusian village during the social upheavals of the 20th century.

He was awarded numerous orders both for his actions in the army and his literary work, given the title of the 'People's Writer of Belarus' (1972), 'Academician of Academy of Sciences of Belarus' (1994) and 'Hero of Socialist Work' (1981). He was also a National Literary Prize winner (1951), a holder of the Yakub Kolas Literary Prize (1957, 1967) and the Belarusian National Prize (1982).

Belarus, 2006, Ivan Shamiakin

Belarus, 2006.06.02, Minsk. Ivan Shamiakin