Yanka Maur (May 11, 1883 - August 3, 1971) was a famous Belarus

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 writer. Yanka Maur was actually his pseudonym, while his real name was Ivan Mikhailavich Fiodarau (Belarusian: Іва́н Міха́йлавіч Фёдараў). His son, Fiodar Fiodaraŭ

Fiodar Fiodarau

Fiodar Fiodaraŭ, , was a famous Belarusian physicist, whose scientific interests ranged from optics and spectroscopy to the theory of elementary particles.He was born in the village Turets in Karelichy Raion, Hrodna Voblast, Belarus...

, was a famous Belarusian physicist.

He was born in Liepāja

Liepaja

Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...

, Courland

Courland

Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...

 and grew up in the Belarusian village Lebianishki, which is now in Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

. He graduated from vocational school in Kouna, then entered a pedagogical school in 1899, but was thrown out for being a member of an underground revolutionary club. Nevertheless in 1903 he successfully passed all the exams as a non-resident student and became a high school teacher. In 1906 took part in the underground meeting of the Belarusian teachers, organized by the famous Belarusian writer Yakub Kolas

Yakub Kolas

Yakub Kolas , real name Kanstantsin Mitskievich was a Belarusian writer, People's Poet of the Byelorussian SSR , and member and vice-president of the Belarusian Academy of Sciences.In his works, Yakub Kolas was known for his sympathy towards the ordinary Belarusian peasantry...

. After that he was arrested and could not work as a teacher anymore. He could teach again only in 1911, becoming a geography and history teacher in a private school 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...

.

He was working in many different literary genres: satirical, historical, literature for kids. He is credited with starting the science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 tradition in the modern Belarus

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 literature.

His biggest novel is Amok, but his best-selling and perhaps most known book was Palesse Robinsons. Besides writing, he also translated stories into Belarusian

Belarusian language

The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...

 from many foreign authors, including Jules Verne

Jules Verne

Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...

, Victor Hugo

Victor Hugo

Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....

, Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...

, Mark Twain

Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...

, and others.

Books

• The man is coming (Чалавек ідзе) 1924
• In the country of the Paradise Bird (У краіне райскай птушкі) 1926
• The son of water (Сын вады) 1927
• Amok (Амок) 1928
• The Trip to Hell (Падарожжа ў пекла) 1928
• Palesse Robinsons (Палескія Рабінзоны) 1929
• The story of the future days (Аповесьць будучых дзён) 1932
• Around the world (Вакол свету) 1947
• TVT (ТВТ) 1934, 1949
• Away from the Darkness 1920, 1956-1958
• Fantamobil of professor Cyliakouski (Фантамабіль прафесара Цылякоўскага) 1955