Famous People

Byzantine historian. (August 9, 1874, the city of Druya, Dysna district of Vilna province — January 27, 1938, Leningrad) — lawyer (specialist in church law) and historian, Byzantine scholar, paleographer, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences (1924).

Soviet statesman, husband of director Natalia Sats. Born in the city of Druya, Vilna province, in the family of an accountant. Veitzer became a member of the board of the People's Commissariat of Internal Trade of the USSR, from 1925 to 1929 — a member of the board of the People's Commissariat of Internal and External Trade of the USSR, and from 1927 to 1929 — head of the grain and fodder management. In 1929—1930, Veitzer became the People's Commissar of Trade of Ukraine, and from 1930 to 1934 — Deputy People's Commissar of External Trade of the USSR and simultaneously in 1932-34 trade representative in Germany. On July 29, 1934, he was appointed People's Commissar of Internal Trade of the USSR. On October 17, 1937, he was removed from the post of People's Commissar, arrested on November 3. Shot on May 7, 1938. Rehabilitated in 1956.

opera artist (tenor). stage pseudonym Petrov) Isai Grigoryevich, 1876, the city of Druya, Vilna province (in some sources Voronezh) — 6.8.1942, Leningrad — opera artist (tenor), director, and vocal pedagogue. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1933). Born into a tailor's family. From the age of 13, he sang in a boys' choir, in 1889 he joined the choir of the Voronezh opera (antr. Kosarev), also worked here as a props master. In 1893 he sang in the choir and simultaneously studied singing with L. V. Sobinov and I. S. Tomars. In 1893—96 he was a chorister of the Kazan opera, then a soloist of the Samara opera, in 1896—97 — Tbilisi opera theater. Later he performed as a chorister, soloist, and director in opera theaters of Odessa (1899), Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg (1904—07, New Summer Theater "Olympia", antr. E. Kabanov and K. Yakovlev; 1907—18, Nar. house; Mariinsky theater), Moscow, Kharkov (1905), Kyiv (1905—06). Lacking good vocal data, he had a bright acting talent, thanks to which he created a number of memorable character images, including Misailo ("Boris Godunov" by M. Mussorgsky), Apollo ("Orpheus in the Underworld" by J. Offenbach). Partners: P. Z. Andreev, M. V. Bocharov, A. M. Davydov, A. I. Dobrovolskaya, I. V. Ershov, M. K. Maksakov, M. Medvedev, L. V. Sobinov, F. I. Shalyapin, V. Shkafer. Sang under the direction of I. P. Arkadyev, M. Golinkin, E. A. Cooper, J. Pagani, D. I. Pokhitonov, I. A. Truffi, L. P. Steinberg, E. D. Esposito. After 1917, at the invitation of V. E. Meyerhold, he was a director, stage and choir inspector, stage teacher at the Leningrad GATOB. Collaborated with directors V. Lossky, V. E. Meyerhold. In 1929 he staged the opera "The Cavalier of the Rose" by R. Strauss. On the stage of the Leningrad State Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet named after Kirov, he staged the operas "Lakme" by L. Delibes (main stage, 1931), "Pagliacci" by R. Leoncavallo (in the theater's branch, 1939), "The Queen of Spades" by P. Tchaikovsky (jointly with N. Pechkovsky, 1940), revived "Rusalka" by A. Dargomyzhsky, "Eugene Onegin" by P. Tchaikovsky, "La Traviata" by G. Verdi (the last two operas — in besieged Leningrad). Under his leadership, V. A. Davydov prepared some parts.

literary figure, Zionist activist, and folklorist. In Israel, Alter Druyanov is known as the compiler of the collection of documents "Notes on the History of the Settlement of Palestine", volumes 1-3, 1919-32) and "Book of Anecdotes and Jokes", an expanded edition with historical and literary notes, volumes 1-3, 1935-38) — a collection of Eastern European Jewish folk humor based on sources in Yiddish. Druyanov's two-volume collection of journalism was published posthumously (1943-45). In Tel Aviv, there is a street named after Druyanov. In 2004, an article about Alter Druyanov and his family was published in the Vitebsk magazine "Mishpocha".

born Bernstein, pseudonym Levina Zina — Soviet party and state figure, journalist. Second wife of G. E. Zinoviev, sister of Ilya Ionov (1887-1942), head of the State Publishing House of the RSFSR, arrested in 1937 and died in Sevlage. Born on January 15, 1882, in the village of Druya, Vilna province (now in the Braslaŭ district of the Vitebsk region of Belarus). Member of the RSDLP since 1902, a Bolshevik. In 1908, she emigrated to Switzerland. Collaborated with Bolshevik newspapers "Zvezda", "Pravda", published in the magazine "Rabotnitsa". In 1914—1915, she was the secretary of the Bern group of the RSDLP. After the February Revolution of 1917, Zlata Lilina returned to Russia in a sealed carriage with her husband G. E. Zinoviev, her son Stefan, and Zinoviev's first wife, from whom he was divorced — Sarra Ravich. Before the October Revolution, she worked in the Petrograd Soviet, living in the "Benois House". Afterward, she became the head of the Department of Public Education of the Petrograd Executive Committee. Since 1925, she was a participant in the "Leningrad" and then the united left opposition in the VKP(b). In 1927, she was expelled from the party, and in 1928, she was reinstated.

Russian poet and journalist. Evgeny Lvovich Shklyar was born in the town of Druya, near Zarasai. Since 1921, he collaborated with A. Bukhov's newspaper "Echo" and the magazine "Mirror". From 1923 to 1938 (with interruptions), he edited the international "Baltic Almanac". The magazine, promoting cultural exchange among the Baltic states, published works by Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Finnish, Polish, and Russian writers, articles and notes about the culture of the Baltic countries. In 1924-1925, he worked for the Riga newspaper "People's Thought". Later, the Riga "Today" published his poems and translations of Lithuanian and Latvian poets. Impressions of life in Paris (1926-1927) were reflected in his poems and essays. Publisher and editor of the newspapers "Our Echo" (1929-1931), "Lithuanian Courier" (1932-1933), "Lithuanian Herald" (1935-1939) and other periodicals, he participated in the Lithuanian press. The main translator of Lithuanian poetry in the interwar years, he translated poets of different generations and creative orientations. He wrote poems since 1911, and from 1922 to 1935, he published 8 books of poetry in Kaunas, Berlin, Paris, and Riga. The collection "Lithuania Golden Name" published in Paris is the first poetic book in Russian poetry dedicated to Lithuania. In Lithuanian, it was published in translations by L. Gyra, P. Laurinaitis, P. Vaiciunas (Kaunas, 1931).

Soviet theater historian, circus historian. We are not slaves, slaves are not us — a phrase from the first Soviet alphabet "Down with Illiteracy: Primer for Adults" (1919). Editions of the "Primer" were published anonymously in 1919—1920 in various cities; the 1st edition was released by the Political Department of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Southern Front. The author of the "Primer" is usually identified as Dora Yuryevna Elkin (1890—1963), referring to her memoirs (Elkina D. Yu. On the Cultural Front. – Moscow, 1959). However, the primers she compiled earlier have nothing in common with the "Primer for Adults", which was created under the obvious influence of futurism in literature. In 1987, the author of the "Primer" was named Alexander Yakovlevich Shneer, who later became a researcher of the history of Soviet theater, circus, and variety. The phrase represents a verbal palindrome, meaning it can be read both left to right and, word by word, right to left. Additionally, the phrase can be written in two ways: "We are not slaves, slaves are not us" and "We are not slaves, slaves are mute" — meaning we are not slaves because we are not mute. The phrase is a symbol of the era when illiteracy among adults was being eradicated en masse in Soviet Russia.

Belarusian and Lithuanian painter and graphic artist. Honored Artist of the Lithuanian SSR (1965). Born on July 10, 1900, in the village of Stavrovo, Braslaŭ district, Vitebsk region. Participant in art exhibitions since the second half of the 1920s. The artistic completeness and deep psychological insight of Sergievich's painted portraits are notable, with a significant place in his work occupied by the Kupala theme, the image of the poet. His canvases are also dedicated to the life of working people, the theme of the Great Patriotic War, and the beauty of native nature. Sergievich also worked in easel and book graphics, painted icons, and is the author of frescoes in several churches (in Soly, Zhodishki, Smorgon). In the 1940s, he participated in the transfer of valuables from the Vilnius Belarusian Museum from Vilnius to Minsk.

born in the town of Vidzy, Braslaŭ district — Polish military and political figure. In the Kościuszko Uprising, he became a general (October 16, 1794). After the battle of Maciejowice, where Kościuszko was severely wounded and taken prisoner, Vavzhetski was elected commander-in-chief of the uprising. In 1796, he agreed to take an oath of allegiance to Emperor Paul I. For this, he was released along with 12,000 captured Poles. From 1813, he was a member of the temporary council governing the Duchy of Warsaw. In 1815, Alexander I appreciated the loyalty of the former general of the insurgents T. Vavzhetski and appointed him Minister of Justice of the Kingdom of Poland, also awarding him a lifetime title of voivode. In 1786, he became a knight of the Order of Saint Stanislaus. In 1791, he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle. In 1994, a postage stamp of Belarus dedicated to Vavzhetski was issued. Vavzhetski's grave is located in the town of Vidzy, Vitebsk region, Braslaŭ district. On the slab next to the family coat of arms is the inscription: "Friend and colleague of T. Kościuszko, participant and leader of the uprising of 1794".