Svetlana Alexievich
Encyclopedia
Svetlana Alexievich is a Belarus
ian investigative journalist and prose writer.
town of Stanislav
(since 1962 Ivano-Frankivsk) to a Belarusian father and a Ukrainian mother, she grew up in Belarus. After finishing school, she worked as a reporter in several local newspapers, and then as a correspondent for the literary magazine Neman in Minsk
.
She went on to a career in journalism and writing narratives from interviews with witnesses to the most dramatic events in the country, such as World War II
, Soviet-Afghan war, fall of the Soviet Union, and Chernobyl disaster
. Her relations with the new Alexander Lukashenko
government of Belarus are not good due to her independence and criticisms, and the regime's crack down on independent journalists. She belongs to the opposition which also includes other representatives of the country's intellectuals. According to her profile at the Lannan Foundation website, she was accused of working for the CIA, had her telephone bugged, and was forbidden from making public appearances. She lived in Italy for a while in the early 2000s financed in part by an European Union
scholarship. She now resides in Paris
.
and post-Soviet person. Her most notable works in English translation are about first-hand accounts from the war in Afghanistan
(The Boys of Zinc) and a highly-praised oral history of the Chernobyl disaster
(Voices from Chernobyl). She describes the theme of her works this way:
Her first book The Unwomanly Face of the War came out in 1985. It was repeatedly reprinted and sold out in more than two million copies. This novel is made up of monologues of women in the war speaking about the aspects of the World War II
that had never been related before. Another book, The Last Witnesses: the Book of Unchildlike Stories describes personal memories of children during war time. The war seen through women's and children's eyes revealed a whole new world of feelings. In 1993, she published Enchanted with Death, a book about attempted suicides as a result of the downfall of the Soviet Union
. Many people felt inseparable from the Communist ideology and unable to accept the new order and the newly interpreted history.
Alexievich's books have been published in many countries including US, Germany, UK, Japan, Sweden, France, China, Vietnam, Bulgaria, and India with a total of 19 countries in all. She has to her name 21 scripts for documentary films and three plays, which were staged in France, Germany, and Bulgaria.
Alexievich has been awarded many international awards, including the Kurt Tucholsky Prize for the "Courage and Dignity in Writing" (the Swedish PEN
) http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/665, the Andrei Sinyavsky Prize "For the Nobility in Literature", the independent Russian prize "Triumph", the Leipzig Prize "For the European Mutual Understanding- 1998", the German prizes "For the Best Political Book" and the Herder Prize
. Voices from Chernobyl won the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award
. She is a member of the advisory committee of the Lettre Ulysses Award
.
Russian
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian investigative journalist and prose writer.
Life
Born in the UkrainianUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
town of Stanislav
Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk is a historic city located in the western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast, municipality....
(since 1962 Ivano-Frankivsk) to a Belarusian father and a Ukrainian mother, she grew up in Belarus. After finishing school, she worked as a reporter in several local newspapers, and then as a correspondent for the literary magazine Neman in Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
.
She went on to a career in journalism and writing narratives from interviews with witnesses to the most dramatic events in the country, such as World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Soviet-Afghan war, fall of the Soviet Union, and Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
. Her relations with the new Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Lukashenko
Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been serving as the President of Belarus since 20 July 1994. Before his career as a politician, Lukashenko worked as director of a state-owned agricultural farm. Under Lukashenko's rule, Belarus has come to be viewed as a state whose conduct is out of line...
government of Belarus are not good due to her independence and criticisms, and the regime's crack down on independent journalists. She belongs to the opposition which also includes other representatives of the country's intellectuals. According to her profile at the Lannan Foundation website, she was accused of working for the CIA, had her telephone bugged, and was forbidden from making public appearances. She lived in Italy for a while in the early 2000s financed in part by an European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
scholarship. She now resides in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Her work
Her books are described as a literary chronicle of the emotional history of the SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and post-Soviet person. Her most notable works in English translation are about first-hand accounts from the war in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
(The Boys of Zinc) and a highly-praised oral history of the Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
(Voices from Chernobyl). She describes the theme of her works this way:
Her first book The Unwomanly Face of the War came out in 1985. It was repeatedly reprinted and sold out in more than two million copies. This novel is made up of monologues of women in the war speaking about the aspects of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
that had never been related before. Another book, The Last Witnesses: the Book of Unchildlike Stories describes personal memories of children during war time. The war seen through women's and children's eyes revealed a whole new world of feelings. In 1993, she published Enchanted with Death, a book about attempted suicides as a result of the downfall of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. Many people felt inseparable from the Communist ideology and unable to accept the new order and the newly interpreted history.
Alexievich's books have been published in many countries including US, Germany, UK, Japan, Sweden, France, China, Vietnam, Bulgaria, and India with a total of 19 countries in all. She has to her name 21 scripts for documentary films and three plays, which were staged in France, Germany, and Bulgaria.
Alexievich has been awarded many international awards, including the Kurt Tucholsky Prize for the "Courage and Dignity in Writing" (the Swedish PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
) http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/665, the Andrei Sinyavsky Prize "For the Nobility in Literature", the independent Russian prize "Triumph", the Leipzig Prize "For the European Mutual Understanding- 1998", the German prizes "For the Best Political Book" and the Herder Prize
Herder Prize
The Herder Prize, established in 1963 and named for Johann Gottfried von Herder, was a prestigious international prize dedicated to the promotion of scientific, art and literature relations, and presented to scholars and artists from Central and Southeastern Europe whose life and work have improved...
. Voices from Chernobyl won the 2005 National Book Critics Circle Award
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle to promote the finest books and reviews published in English....
. She is a member of the advisory committee of the Lettre Ulysses Award
Lettre Ulysses Award
The Lettre Ulysses Award for the Art of Reportage has been given annually since 2003 for the best texts in the genre of literary reportage, which must have been first published during the previous two years...
.
Her books
English translations- The Unwomanly Face of War, (extracts), from Always a Woman: Stories by Soviet Women Writers, Raduga Publishers, 1987.
- War’s Unwomanly Face, Moscow : Progress Publishers, 1988, ISBN 5-010-00494-1
- Voices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear DisasterVoices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear DisasterVoices from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster is a 2005 book by Svetlana Alexievich. Alexievich was a journalist living in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, at the time of the Chernobyl disaster...
(Dalkey Archive Press 2005; ISBN 1-56478-401-0) - Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War (W W Norton & Co Inc 1992; ISBN 0-393-03415-1) Another edition: Zinky boys: Soviet voices from a forgotten war (The ones who came home in zinc boxes), translated by Julia and Robin Whitby. London : Chatto & Windus, 1992, ISBN 0-701-13838-6.
Russian
- Zacharovannye smertiu (Enchanted with Death), Moscow: "Slovo", 1994. ISBN 5-850-50357-9
- Poslednie svideteli : sto nedetskikh kolybelnykh (The Last Witnesses: the Book of Unchildlike Stories.), Moscow, Palmira, 2004, ISBN 5-949-57040-5.
External links
- Svetlana Alexievich, author website.
- Her biography
- Svetlana Alexievich, fan website.
- "A Conversation with Svetlana Alexievich", from The Center for Book Culture.
- 'Voices of Chernobyl': Survivors' Stories, from National Public Radio, 21 April 2006.
- A conspiracy of ignorance and obedience, an article about her in Telegraph Magazine