1913
During her studies, Veras took part in various plays as an actress.
Gallery of Zośka Veras
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Gallery of Zośka Veras
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Gallery of Zośka Veras
Veras with Belarusian poet, translator, musician Gal'jash Leuchyk and bibliographer, publisher Romuald Zemkievich.
Gallery of Zośka Veras
Many famous artists, writers, poets, and other public figures visited her house in Vilnius.
Gallery of Zośka Veras
Zośka Veras had a unique garden with many rare plants, including cork tree.
Gallery of Zośka Veras
Zośka Veras and her creative work was “discovered” only in 1961 by Arseniy Lis, who gathered materials for his thesis in Vilnius archives. After that, she was visited by writers, scholars, journalists, and students.
Gallery of Zośka Veras
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Gallery of Zośka Veras
Together with her second husband Anton Ivanovich Voitik, she built a spacious house from tree branches covered with clay as it was done in Ukraine called “Liasnaya hatka” (forest house).
Gallery of Zośka Veras
By the end of 1980, Veras united the Belarusian intelligentsia in Vilnius.
Zośka Veras and her creative work was “discovered” only in 1961 by Arseniy Lis, who gathered materials for his thesis in Vilnius archives. After that, she was visited by writers, scholars, journalists, and students.
Together with her second husband Anton Ivanovich Voitik, she built a spacious house from tree branches covered with clay as it was done in Ukraine called “Liasnaya hatka” (forest house).
Zośka Veras was a famous Belarusian poetess, writer, translator, and public figure. She helped to develop Belarusian culture and language, created the first Belarusian botanical dictionary (Belarusian-Polish-Russian-Latin), founded Association of Belarusian culture in Lithuania.
Background
Ludwika Sivitskaya was born on September 30, 1892 in Medzhybizh village, Letychiv county, Podolia Governorate, Russian Empire (today’s Medzhybizh, Khmel'nyts'ka oblast, Ukraine) into a family of a military man Anton Sivitsky and his wife Emilia Sadovskaya. They both came from the Grodno region. As in most noble families in Belarus, they spoke Polish at home. Her parents held to the traditions of their noble ancestors, admired Polish and Belarusian literature, classical music, spoke several foreign languages. Ludwika's father Anton Sivitsky graduated from the Grodno gymnasium for males and called himself a Lithuanian. He read a lot, loved poetry. Ludwika's grandfather was a well-known beekeeper and gardener who studied apiculture in Warsaw at K.Levitsky. He knew the Belarusian language well and used it when communicating with peasants.
Education
Ludwika received good home education, including musical, from her parents. In 1904, she was admitted to a private trade school of L.Valadkievich in Kiev. Since 1905, she lived in Lutsk and after her father’s death in 1908 she moved to her family estate Alhovniki. In 1912, she graduated from Catherine Barkovskaya private female gymnasium in Grodno.
During her studies at the Grodno gymnasium, Ludwika was actively involved in social and cultural life. She joined Grodno circle of Belarusian youth aimed at studying history, culture and traditions of their native country. As a Head of the library, she collected books, came into contact with Belarusian bookstore in Vilnius, "Nasha Niva" newspaper editorial office. In addition, she took part in the plays of the circle as an actress, translated short plays from Polish into Belarusian, participated in publications of a famous almanac “An ear of Belarusian field”, wrote first poems under the pen name “Mirko” published by "Nasha Niva" newspaper.
In 1914, Ludwika completed 10-month courses in gardening and beekeeping and 6-month military courses for nurses in Warsaw.
Career
In 1915, Zośka Veras (Ludwika Sivitskaya) moved to Minsk, where she worked as a secretary at the local department of the Belarusian Association of Assistance to the Victims of the War, Belarusian National Committee, Central council of Belarusian organizations (1917), Belarusian Socialist Community. While working at the Belarusian Association of Assistance to the Victims of the War, she met Maksim Bogdanovich, who also worked for the Association. Later, Zośka Veras wrote about their joint work in memoirs “Five months in Minsk. About Maksim Bogdanovich’s life”. In Minsk she met Fabian Shantyr, who was 5 years older than her. They had a romance. Fabian lived in Bobruisk, but often visited Minsk. He was a member of the club "Belarusian House" in 1916-1917 and has been actively involved in public life. Zośka also visited him in Bobruisk, even after the arrest of Fabian, which took place in 1918. Shantyr stayed in Bobruisk fortress prison.
Due to her mother’s illness, Veras leaved Minsk and returned to her grandfather’s estate in Alhovniki by the end of 1918. In 1919, Veras gave birth to son Anton. His father Fabian Shantyr was shot in 1920. In Alhovniki Zośka Veras wrote poems mostly dedicated to her son, short stories and prepared botanical dictionary and encyclopedic guide to honey plants. Her grandfather died in 1922 and they had to sell the estate.
Veras moved to Vilnius in 1923. Together with the journalist, editor and translator Anton Ivanovich Voitik, they built a spacious house from tree branches covered with clay as it was done in Ukraine. In 1926 they got married and in 1927 their daughter Galina was born. At that time, Vilnius was the largest social and cultural center of Belarus. Veras joined Belarusian cultural and democratic life there. She worked for the newspaper of the Belarusian Union of peasants and workers (1924-1929), was engaged in publishing. Thanks to her, the first Belarusian tear-off calendar for 1926 was published in 1925. She visited political prisoners in Lukishki prison and managed to publish the poems of a poet Mikhas Mashara in 1928 on her own expense. In 1927-1931, she was the editor of the children's magazine ”Zaranka”, wrote stories for it, and from 1934 edited magazines “Praleski” (for children). In 1928-1939, she organized and headed beekeeping society “Bee”, and in 1934-1938 she was the editor of the beekeeping magazine “Belaruskaya Borc’” (Belarusian apiculture) (Vilnius). In Vilnius, she wrote many poems, essays, articles on agricultural and educational issues, translated plays for children’s theater from Ukrainian and Polish languages.
In 1946, her son Anton Shantyr was arrested and convicted. Nobody knew what happened to him. In 1944, Belarusian Gymnasium in Vilnius was closed, and in 1945 Belarusian Museum of I. Lutskevich was destroyed. In 1948, her husband died suddenly. All these events marked a very dark and difficult period of her. She called it "lethargy". In 1956, her son Anton suddenly returned home from Stalin's camps. He was very ill. He was forbidden to correspond with his mother for 10 years.
Many famous artists, writers, poets, and other public figures visited her house called “Liasnaya hatka” (forest house). She corresponded with many well-known Belarusians, such as Vital Skalaban, Yanka Salamevich, Danuta Bichel-Zagnetova, Larysa Hienijuš and other. She was highly respected among painters and very often invited them to her garden to make sketches during different periods of growing season, advised to create hall of traditional medicine at the Gudzevichi museum in Belarus and prepared the exhibit items for it.
Zośka Veras and her creative work was “discovered” only in 1961 by Arseniy Lis, who gathered materials for his thesis in Vilnius archives. After that, she was visited by writers, scholars, journalists, and students. By the end of 1980, Veras united the Belarusian intelligentsia in Vilnius. Since 1982 she was a member of the Belarusian Writers' Union.
In 1988, together with her son-in-law Lyavon and Anton Lutskevich’s sonm, she founded at first club “Siabryna” and later in 1989, an Association of Belarusian culture in Lithuania.
The matter of the days gone by: to the 60th Anniversary of the Galubok’s troupe. Theater
1980
Politics
She criticized authorities for doing nothing and opposed the creation of Belarusian SSR, due to the fact that it was the initiative of Russians.
Views
Veras didn’t like when people addressed each other using “Russian” variant with patronymic names, criticized Belarusian language dictionaries for “Russianisms” (borrowings from Russian language), and regretted a lot that Belarusian writers do not speak Belarusian language in their everyday lives. She considered her public work more important than her work as a poet and even criticized her poems.
Quotations:
She said ”My work within the Belarusian Association of Assistance to the Victims of the War, and afterwards work in Vilnius and organization of the beekeeping society “Bee”, were more important than all my creative work as a poet… Why do you call me a poetess? I wrote few poems, and published only poems for children… in the magazine “Zaranka”. Am I a poetess?
Personality
She always refused any financial aid offered, even when she was 80. She had a unique garden with many rare plants, including cork tree. She was highly respected among painters and very often invited them to her garden to make sketches during different periods of growing season, advised to create hall of traditional medicine at the Gudzevichi museum in Belarus and prepared the exhibit items for it herself. Veras didn’t like when young people wore mustaches and beards.
Physical Characteristics:
Veras was cloth-eared since her youth and worried about this fact a lot.
Quotes from others about the person
Uladzimir Karatkievich called her “Our dear botanical god”.
Interests
Botany, medicinal herbs
Writers
Janka Bryl
Connections
In Minsk, Zośka Veras met Fabian Shantyr, who was 5 years older than her. They had a romance. Fabian lived in Bobruisk, but often visited Minsk. He was a member of the club "Belarusian House" in 1916-1917 and has been actively involved in public life. Zośka also visited him in Bobruisk, even after the arrest of Fabian, which took place in 1918. Shantyr stayed in Bobruisk fortress prison. In 1919, in her family estate Alhovniki Veras gave birth to their son Anton. Fabian Shantyr was shot in 1920.
In 1923, together with the journalist, editor and translator Anton Ivanovich Voitik, she built a spacious house from tree branches covered with clay as it was done in Ukraine. In 1926 they got married and in 1927 their daughter Galina was born.