By Alexander Korzhenevsky
Even in the past, Russian language readers were well aware of Belarusian classical writer Vladimir Korotkevich’s historical novels, poems, stories and essays. His Ears Under Your Sickle was twice printed in Moscow, while The Black Castle of Olshany and The Savage Hunt of King Stakh have been published many times.
Valentina Shchedrina, born in the Gomel Region, translated Korotkevich’s most famous works into Russian and, not long ago, the Literatura i Mastatstva Publishing House launched a new release of the writer’s works in Russian, with help from Belarus’ Information Ministry. Six volumes are planned, all united under the Light of the Past: Classics series and including Ms. Shchedrina’s famous translations — made in the 1970s.
The series starts with Christ Landed in Gorodnya — a novel with an interesting history of publication. Translated by Naum Kislik, its short version was published in Nieman magazine back in the 1960s. However, it failed to be released in its full version. Not long ago, the novel was released in St. Petersburg, under a different translation. Now, readers can experience another translation — made by a lecturer of the Belarusian State University’s Institute of Journalism, Candidate of Philological Sciences Piotr Zholnerovich.
“Last year, we celebrated Vladimir Korotkevich’s 80th birthday, releasing many new editions of his novels in the original language in Belarus,” Nikolay Minzer tells us, from the Literatura i Mastatstva Publishing House. “Korotkevich’s new Russian editions will start with our Light of the Past: Classics multi-volume collection. Probably, these will be distributed across all Russian speaking countries.”
