Yakub Kolas, whose biography is filled with various events, lived a really very difficult, but undoubtedly fascinating life. This writer is recognized as a truly outstanding person not only in his homeland, in Belarus, but also has become widely known beyond its borders.
Kolas Yakub Mikhailovich is rightfully considered the founder of a new and modern Belarusian culture. But for open nationalistic ideas, in due time, he had to pay a rather high price. This man served a prison sentence as a political prisoner for almost three years.
Yakub Kolas - biography of an amazing person
Few people know that the real name of this Belarusian writer is Konstantin Mitskevich. This man signed his books and works with a pseudonym, and that is why in world literature he became known under the fictitious name - Yakub Kolas. The biography of the future poet began in a small Belarusian village called Akinchitsy. He was born on 11/03/1882 in an ordinary family forester.
It was unlikely that then the parents could have suggested that the famous Yakub Kolas would grow out of an ordinary little boy who tried to learn to read and write and independently loved reading from childhood. His biography was largely determined by the fact that his father, being a simple forester, did everything possible to ensure that his son received a proper education. Also, his uncle Anton had a great influence on Yakub. It was he who managed to instill in the boy a great love of literature.
Biography: Yakub Kolas - education and the first manifestations of talent
In 1883, the future poet and his family moved to Lastock, where he began to attend the lessons of a "wandering" teacher named Ales Fursevich. Further Yakub continued his studies at the Nikolayevshchina elementary school. It was during this period that he became interested in the work of Gogol, Krylov, Pushkin, Nekrasov, Tolstoy and Lermontov. Among Russian poets, the greatest impression on the boy was made by his poems by Janka Lucin. In 1892, Yakub Kolas, whose photo is presented in our article, entered the public school in Nikolayevshchina, and after 2 years he graduated quite successfully.
Kolas wrote his very first work at the age of 12. It was called “Spring,” and the poet’s father, Mikhail Kazimirovich, became the first listener of this verse. He liked his son’s verse so much that he gave the little ruble for this piece, which at that time was a considerable sum.
The beginning of Kolas
In 1898, the young man entered the Nesvizh teacher’s seminary, where his writer's biography began to develop actively. Yakub Kolas read with genuine enthusiasm the works of Miscavige, Shevchenko, Gogol, Koltsov, Franco. In addition, he seriously became interested in Belarusian folklore, studied ethnography and recorded the oral work of Belarusians.
In parallel, he himself is trying to write in his native language. Basically, his poems and prose were about the nature and simple life of rural peasants, which was never easy.
It should be noted that the young author was heavily influenced by one of his teachers - Kudrinsky. He approved his work, drawing attention to the fact that texts written in Belarusian are of particular importance. Such praise from an authoritative person only affirmed Yakub’s desire to continue writing.
The beginning of active public work
After graduating from high school, a young graduate works as a teacher in the territory of Polesie. He continues to collect Belarusian folklore, writes his own patriotic works, and at the same time for the first time becomes acquainted with revolutionary literature.
Yakub Kolas begins to conduct active conversations with peasants, in which he tries to convey to them the need to fight for their rights. Being an educated person, he helps them to properly compose petitions to local landowners. They indicated the need to provide pastures and lakes for public use. Such activities could not go unnoticed by the authorities, and as a punishment for such work, Mickiewicz was soon transferred to teach at the Verkhmen National School.
But even there the writer does not stop his propaganda work. In 1906, he was the organizer and participant of the teacher’s congress (illegal), which actively discussed the need to overthrow the tsarist regime. Of course, this congress was dispersed by the police, and Miscavige was under investigation.
First publications and imprisonment
Finding himself without the right to teach, the writer accepts the offer of the famous publicist A. Vlasov and begins working in the newspaper Our Share. September 1, 1906 in this publishing house for the first time, under the pseudonym Yakub Kolas, published a poem by Mickiewicz.
At this time, the investigation into the organization of the teacher’s congress continued, and upon its completion the writer was sentenced to three years in prison. Serving his sentence in rather difficult conditions, he continues to work. While in prison they tried to punish the public figure Konstantin Mickiewicz, the patriotic poet Kolas Jakub became more and more affirmed in him. Poems, books that were written by him during the period of imprisonment, over time, became his hallmark. It is in the prison where the poet gives birth to ideas for writing such world-famous works as:
- "Songs of Complaint."
- "New Earth".
- "Simon the musician."
They managed to transmit these works to freedom, and they were published in the publication "Our Niva". Even then, Russian critics drew attention to them, who noted in the works of Kolas the presence of patriotism, Belarusian nationalism and a clear penchant for humanism. Gorky himself gave a good appraisal of these powerful works.
The long-awaited release of Yakub
After his release, for two years, the writer taught in Pinsk. During this period, he met his future wife - Maria Kamenskaya, and in 1913 they got married. In this marriage, the couple lived together for almost 30 years. This period was very fruitful in the life of Miscavige, he wrote a lot and was able to establish himself as the strongest Belarusian author.
Participation in the war
After the outbreak of World War I, the poet was drafted into the ranks of the imperial army. He received the rank of ensign and served his service in Perm.
Then he was sent to the Romanian front and in 1917 was demobilized for health reasons. Since he had a favorable pedagogical education, instead of further service, he was allowed to stay in the city of Oboyan and work there as a teacher. At this time, he publishes his collections of poems in which antiwar calls are clearly audible.
The official recognition of the poet
After the end of the war, Yakub Kolas gained widespread fame and recognition. In 1921 he returned to Minsk, where he actively wrote and published. He is engaged in scientific work and acts as a teacher. In 1926 he was awarded the honorary title of “People's Poet of Belarus”.
Two years later, he was elected to the post of vice president of the Academy of Sciences of the BSSR. Mitskevich was twice awarded the USSR State Prize for his poetry collections. After the Second World War, as an active figure, he was elected as a deputy to the Supreme Soviets of the BSSR and the USSR. In addition, the writer became an honorary academician of the Academy of Sciences of the BSSR and was recognized as an honored worker of science. During his lifetime, Yakub was awarded numerous medals and orders.
The death of a writer
Under Soviet rule, many writers with nationalistic ideas fell under close surveillance of repressive organs. Yakub Kolas was no exception.
The awards and prizes received by him from the Soviet government could not save the writer from constant suspicions, interrogations and searches. This greatly undermined his morale and physical health. The poet died in 1956 and was buried in his homeland, in the city of Minsk.