Belarusians who live in Tbilisi will gather together to read the poetry of the Shot Poets on October 29th, at 7 pm in Rike Park.
The Night of the Shot Poets is a black date in the history of Belarus. Over one night, from October 29th to October 30th in 1937, in the inner prison of NKVD (a forerunner for the KGB), which is the building of KGB jail in Minsk today, 132 intellectuals and representatives of national elites were executed. Among them, there were 22 writers, including Anatol’ Vol’ny, Platon Halavach, Alies’ Dudar, Mikhas’ Zaretski, Vasil Koval’, Maisiei Kul’bak, Jurka Liavonny, Valer Marakou, Juli Taubin, Mikhas Charot and others.
Those days were the culmination of Stalin’s repressions.
“Today, 812 people have been officially recognized as political prisoners, 118 of them are kept in that same KGB jail now. Again, we witness violence and repressions against Belarusians, including renowned representatives of the Belarusian culture.
“It is critical for us to remember the horrible epoch of the 1930-s to ensure that we overcome it and it never happens again,” note the organizers.
Every year, Belarusians mark this night by getting together to read the poetry of those executed poets.
