Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus

Pen, manuscripts and interiors of a classic: fascinating Yakub Kolas Museum

There is a cozy house in a quiet courtyard, where tall pines are talking to the sky. Here, in the post-war period, the writer and public figure Yakub Kolas lived and worked for 12 years. And here, in the work at his desk, he passed to eternity. Since 1959, it has been a literary and memorial museum, in which the writer’s office, bedroom, living room, dining room, his personal belongings, and the library have been carefully preserved. However, the building itself is located just behind the National Academy of Sciences, where the famous compatriot was vice-president until the end of his life. There is a spirit of love for life and creativity, great order and excellent taste in this house, in every corner of it.

On November 3rd, Belarus celebrated the 140th anniversary of the birth of writer Yakub Kolas

In the spacious living room

When Kolas returned from evacuation in May 1945, it was difficult to find surviving building in the burnt city. This house, brought during the war from a suburban village for the needs of a German hospital, became at that time the only possible solution to the housing problem. The house was quite small and modest. Representatives of the authorities, visiting the writer’s family (himself, two sons and daughter-in-law), were very surprised and offered to build a new, more comfortable house. The owner could not agree to this, knowing that about two million compatriots live in dugouts. They managed with a small extension, and only in 1952, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the national poet, a large spacious house was built on the foundation of the old one.
“The living room is the largest room in the house. And not in vain, because the classic had many guests. There is a huge chandelier made of bronze and crystal, which, like Kolas, turns 140 this year. The clock is over 200 years old. Everything in the interior is selected with a great taste, however, it was made by writer’s daughter-in-law. The TV set was presented to her father-in-law Yakub Kolas by the daughter of Yanka Mavr. The piano has been restored, which Kolas never played, but bought it for his grandchildren to play music,” explains the scientific secretary of the museum Maria Kazakevich. ...The painting with Neman River landscapes is a gift from the wife of the sculptor Zair Azgur, who created the monument to the verse writer. From his childhood, Zair Azgur visited the pre-war house of Yakub Kolas, recalled how deliciously the wife of the classicist Maria Dmitrievna treated him, and how he even found some money in his pockets later.

“When Kolas was alive, everything in the house was almost the same as it is now. The only thing is that at first a literary and documentary exposition was located here, while the memorial interiors were restored for the 100th anniversary of the birth of the classic. On both sides of the living room are the sons’ offices. For example, there is a large table in the office of the elder Danila, a wardrobe, a record player, a radio receiver, which was in every room in the Kolas house, because during the war the writer was used to being aware of all events. And above the sofa is a photo where Kolas and his son are sitting on the same sofa... The interior of the dining room has been renewed, even the dishes have been preserved,” Maria Kazakevich emphasises.

Same letter and pen...

The cabinet of a classic is the heart of the museum, its holy of holies. From here one can go directly to the bedroom. Here is a bed, pillows, a featherbed, on which the owner rested. Near is the thermos, in which he brewed medicinal herbs. In old age, Kolas often had joint pains — it was the healing herbal infusion that soothed the pain and improved sleep. The table in the office is another, most intimate story. The pen over the unwritten letter is a symbol of the legacy left to posterity. It was with pen and ink that Yakub Kolas used to write at the Nesvizh Teachers’ Seminary, carrying this tradition through his whole life. On the table is a tear-off calendar unfolded on the date August 13th, 1956, because on that day Yakub Kolas died. Instead of weeklies, the writer used tear-off table or wall calendars, and marks on them have now become history. For example, on one of the September days of 1953, it was marked: ‘Boletus mushrooms should already appear’. Yakub Kolas was an avid mushroom picker and usually went to Pukhovichi District for quiet hunting.
“The classic loved to observe nature, he was worried about the fertility of the soil, so we see a barometer on the table. There are some things in the office with which he went to work. Until the end of his life, he was not only vice-president of the Academy of Sciences, but also a deputy of the Supreme Council from various constituencies. He often helped people, which is confirmed by numerous tear-off coupons for money transfers to those who turned to him. However, the requests were different: someone asked for a cow, a wedding dress, a button accordion. People were very grateful for the help,” Maria Kazakevich adds.

On the desk there is a bust of Alexander Pushkin, whose work our countryman admired and, by the way, when he was evacuated in Tashkent, he met his relatives and helped them. In general, Kolas fell in love with Pushkin from childhood, he always took a volume with his poems with him to the pasture and fixed it on the branches of a tree. Standing in front of a book, as if in front of an altar, he memorised verses. Meanwhile, the herd could disperse far — it was necessary to gather it.  

According to an old Slavic tradition, all the clocks in the memorial part are stopped at 13:20, the time, when the writer died. He did not have time to put an end to the letter to his friend, translator Yevgeny Mazalkov, when his heart stopped. Both the letter and the pen were left lying...
Kolas worked all his life on his works, edited them, which is attested in the literary and memorial museum. One can see how in 1956 he made notes to A New Land in his deputy notebook. Here are the manuscripts of The Fisherman’s Hut. However, the Simon the Musician went through three editions. The first, for example, was banned due to the fact that the word ‘God’ was often mentioned there, and besides, it ended with the death of the main character.
“The writer took the manuscript of this work with him on vacation to Kislovodsk in order to finalise it, but on the way home the suitcase with personal belongings was stolen. His wife Maria Dmitrievna helped to reproduce the poem, she knew much of her husband’s work by heart,” explains the scientific secretary.
Yakub Kolas loved his wife very much, as evidenced by his warm letters. He called her a good friend and his shrine. Maria Dmitrievna left this world prematurely due to illness. The writer returned to post-war Minsk even without his son Yurka, who went missing at the front, and sent his last letter to his parents in September 1941. Due to the loss of loved ones, the classic felt very lonely, only a power of word saved him... 

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