A lecture series on the literary legacy of Ales Adamovich and Daniil Granin at St Petersburg University
St Petersburg University, with the support of the representative office of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) in the Republic of Belarus (the Russian House in Minsk), holds the International Research Paper Competition "Literary destinies of Belarus and Russia: from dialogue to understanding". The contest provides a unique platform for studying the cultural heritage of the two brotherly nations.
In 2023, schoolchildren from Belarus and Russia are invited to explore the work of two outstanding writers: Ales Adamovich and Daniil Granin, who co-authored The Blockade Book, a documentary chronicle of the siege of Leningrad during World War II.
Detailed information about the competition terms and conditions, and topics of research papers is available on the contest page.
To assist the contestants in their learning and studying, St Petersburg University academics have prepared a series of lectures on the lives and works of Ales Adamovich and Daniil Granin. The lectures will be broadcast online. Video recordings of the lectures will be available at a later date.
The lecture series programme opened with a lecture "War prose of Daniil Granin and Ales Adamovich" by Aleksandr Bolshev, Professor in the Department of the History of Russian Literature at St Petersburg University. Both writers have been praised for their in-depth exploration of the theme of the Great Patriotic War. In his lecture, Professor Bolshev focused on two literary works: Chasteners, a story by Ales Adamovich, and My Lieutenant, a novel by Daniil Granin. In these texts, the authors offered a fresh and unexpected perspective on the war.
On 15 February, Liubov Bugaeva, Professor in the Department of the History of Russian Literature at St Petersburg University, will deliver a lecture "Ales Adamovich and Elem Klimov: literary language and film language". Professor Bugaeva will discuss "Come and See" — a 1985 film set in 1943 Nazi occupied Byelorussia, directed by Elem Klimov. Liubov Bugaeva will talk about the creative alliance between Elem Klimov and Ales Adamovich, who jointly wrote the screenplay for the film.
"Come and See" is not just a translation of prose into a cinematic language, but an independent creative work, in which a literary text is saturated with cinematic imagery. Professor Bugaeva will interpret the symbolism and metaphor of the film and talk about cinematic ways of depicting history and conveying literary narratives of the past.
On 16 February, Igor Sukhikh, Professor in the Department of the History of Russian Literature at St Petersburg University, will deliver a lecture "Ales Adamovich and the Blockade Book: Contexts". Professor Sukhikh will talk about the role of the Belarusian Soviet writer Ales Adamovich in the creation of the Blockade Book. The initiative to write the book came from Ales Adamovich. His idea then inspired Daniil Granin. As a result of collaboration of these two very different authors, a unique book was created. Not only did it become a monument to the siege of Leningrad, but it also encouraged new works in this genre, publications of historical documents and research, and discussion on many sensitive historical issues.
On 17 February, Aleksandra Toichkina, Associate Professor in the Department of Slavonic Philology at St Petersburg University, will focus on Ales Adamovich’s perception of classic Russian literature. In her lecture, Aleksandra Toichkina will talk about the importance of Russian literature of the 19th century in the life and work of the Belarusian writer. As illustration, Aleksandra Toichkina will refer to Ales Adamovich’s articles on Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy, and analyse the genesis of his literary and journalistic styles.