The forgotten writer of Polesia. Maria Rodzevich's history from the village of Grushevo

"There are two forces which should give everything, without demanding for it anything - it is Fatherland and God". These lines – the motto of life of the Polesia writer Maria Rodzevich from the village of Grushevo that in Kobrin district. And history of life and Rodzevich's creativity such is.

After tragic events of 1794 when for the third time the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the village of Grushevo was divided that in 15 km from Kobrin, endured destiny of many local manors. It was presented by Catherine II to A.B. To Suvorov directing occupation of VKL-Belarus and Poland, "for special merits before the fatherland". 18 years later Suvorov's son Arkady will sell the village of Kobrin to horunzhy Anthony Rodzevich, the great-grandfather of future writer.

But after events of 1863 the part of a manor was confiscated and leased under the contract. The reason – Maria Heinrich's parents and Amelia for participation in the Belarusian-Polish revolt of 1863 were sentenced to a Siberian exile (Amelia killed the Cossack from group which was pursued by Romualda Traugutta. Heinrich – served in insurgent group of R. Traugutt).

The sentence was executed in 30-day time after the birth of 30.01.1864 of the daughter – future writer who will be named Maria. The monthly child with other children was transported to the house of relatives under Ivanovo. And only 15 years later after long wanderings on others yards Maria comes back to Grushevo. M. Rodzevich was the last owner of a manor on the area of 1533 hectares. The estate in 1825 was put by the great-grandfather Anthony Rodzevich. However with special contents it was filled by Maria. By this time she got an education in board, knew several foreign languages. The aunt – Carolina Skirmunt was the first spiritual teacher of Maria. In the long evenings she told an edge story, history VKL and Corona, spoke about heroes (among them there was also Romuald Traugutt, the head of the Belarusian revolt against the Russian tsarism in 1863-1864; revolt broke out on our Kobrin lands).
And though it was dangerous, but in the small room Skirmuntov, near an icon of the Mother of God, there was a portrait of the rebellious general Traugutt.

Impressionable Maria not just listened with delight, and since childhood realized the price of this history, fight for freedom, constantly thinking of the most expensive to it people – the parents banished to Siberia. From local population Maria learned to love the nature and fauna. In the evenings she liked to sit in an arbor under lindens and to listen to singing of birds. Panenka from the yard went also to country huts. Often christened country children... But most of all she loved loneliness.

The village of Grushevo became for Maria an earthly paradise. In communication with the nature the talent of future writer was born. Even Maria refused to go to difficult years of World War I when peasants, becoming refugees, went to depth of Russia, flatly. Most likely, she not a mogda to leave what loved above all. She remained faithful to the earth which brought it happiness which accepted on eternal rest of her ancestors.

In literary activity M. Rodzevich tests in 18 years. She loves wise sayings. Itself composes precepts. Spoke, in the hall of their house, the text of the precepts composed by Maria in a visible place hung. For guests. But popularity brings it the story "Devaytis". "Devaytis" is Grushevsky the oak poeticized in the story of the same name. (Devos – in Latin – God.) Maria received 500 rubles of an award for this story. It was 1889. And it was big money. On them she went to Italy, France, paid treatment of the sister, filled up the library and partially paid debts for a manor. All this inspired her.

Then there are new stories and novels: "The terrible old man", "Grivda", "From a solitude", "Belozor's Nest", "The fires and the ashes", "Black bread", etc. In 1910 M. Rodzevich gets a literary award of Heloise Ozheshko for the novel "Belozor's Nest". From the beginning of World War I, having refused to leave, Grushevskaya the writer on the money organizes in Warsaw hospital for wounded. Sends 30 strangers of homeless children to the manor.

In 1921 when independence of Poland was declared and the kobrinshchina began to be called the Western Belarus, M. Rodzevich awarded with an officer Cross. And the Pope handed it the Gold Cross for merits in strengthening of Catholicism. Maria writes and is printed, does charity work. The wood which so protected and loved – gives to military fire victims. Finances construction of the second floor of the Kobrin gymnasium. Nowadays this school No. 1 that down the street Soviet. Before war the gymnasium bore a name of the writer, during war it was occupied by the German commandant's office, and at the end of war there was a military hospital.

When I came into a teacher's room of school No. 1 not so long ago and by the way asked whether they know that once this school bore a name of the writer Maria Rodzevich – looked at me with the surprised eyes... In 1933 Poland celebrated the 50 anniversary of literary activity M. Rodzevich. She accepted the invitation from Warsaw and in own way there celebrated the anniversary. Here noted in a different way: for the money bought a bell for Gorodetsky of a church (the neighboring town). And grateful parishioners named it "Maria".

By the way, its history is interesting. In the 1950th the bell was dumped from a church, somewhere to the cellar of local school, so it there and provalyalsya to the 1970th until according to the oral order it was taken away by the supply manager of Kobrin RONO. (I found this supply manager in Kobrin. Still live and in senses. In the beginning he recognized that he took away a bell, but then began to deny everything.)

On the eve of the 70th anniversary of revolt of 1863-64 M. Rodzevich becomes the active initiator and a fundator of installation of a monument to R. Traugutt and the dead in revolt. The oak cross on a concrete pedestal was solemnly open in 1933 in the center of the town of Gorodets. This monument on which Maria so strove staid only six years. In 1939 local Voight sold a wooden cross to some Jew, and the pedestal was destroyed later and on this place put a monument to the dead in the Second World War. In 1938 construction of a church in the neighboring town of Antopol was finished. The part of money for its construction gave M. Rodzevich. Interesting the fact that the management of an award of Jesuits transferred from Pinsk imperishable remains of the missionary Andrey Baboli who is brutally tortured by Cossacks in 1657 after canonized and canonized there. (Until recently the building of the temple was used by a fire brigade.) Living in a consent good luck, doing good only, M. Rodzevich lived in Grushevo 57 years. She did not marry, she had no children. And for children of peasants she wrote and printed textbooks and on the money contained school. Today several pupils of this school, as well as several goddaughters of the famous writer are still living.

Maria Rodzevich left to descendants a big literary heritage. It was printed and printed on Polish, English, German and other languages. But only not in Russian and on Belarusian. And what a pity … However we will return to the estate M. Rodzevich.

The two-storeyed house stood on the entrance avenue. Before it the orchestra seats and Bramah settled down. Also today old residents remember the table walled in a house wall with an inscription: "My God, bless inhabitants. This house is built in 1825 by Anthony and Eleonora Rodzevichami". The situation in the house was simple. There were tiled furnaces and fireplaces. Oak furniture. Family portraits on walls, meeting of the Polish and foreign porcelain, library and archive. More expensive ancient furniture arranged salon in which portraits of ancestors hung.

Behind the house the park garden was located. There was a reservoir, a greenhouse in an environment of a rosary and a sea of flowers. In a garden there was a big apiary. And as old residents remember, beehives of an apiary bore names of the Polish kings and queens. The sculpture from a tree of the apostle Pyotr stood on the island of a reservoir. The 500th summer oak was pride of park. Maria named it "Dewajtis" which became the hero of the story of the same name and brought it a world fame.

The tree transferred all adversities, vividly and today. Its height of about 25-30 m, diameter is 2 meters. Also the arbor from two old oaks remained; maple and ash-tree. The estate remained, but most of all lost lines of that special farmstead Polesia environment created M. Rodzevich. The farmstead house "lost" the second floor. The pond grassed the most rare breeds of trees ran wild. Grew with an avenue bush. Roses dried out. On the estate Grushevsky remzavod, school, shop, a first-aid post, mail manages now.

Oak Devaytis

Memorable sign under an oak Devaytis

Is not present in Gorodtsa of that church in which, having kneeled down, so long there was Maria Rodzevich. In the 1950th nationalized its local collective farm under a warehouse of mineral fertilizers, then a grain warehouse (and can and vice versa). And in the 1970th the room of a church was connected to boarding school. Now there and detsadik, in the church of the most Saint Virgin Mary of that time constructed in 1633 on money of the Polish king Vladyslav which is selected in 1866 under orthodox church and in 1918 returned to Catholics. And at one rest of the former church nowadays school museum (where any word about M. Rodzevich).

However we will return in 1939. Pyotr Rybchuk and Vasily Cherchuk remember (to both in 80 years). There was at M. Rodzevich at that time somebody Alexey Poprotsky, whether the attorney, whether the helper. Having learned that on September 1 the 1939th Germany attacked Poland, Maria Rodzevich makes the decision all the savings to give for needs of the Polish army, to send the attorney with cash (gold, silver) to Kobrin. But it did not execute its assignment – having appropriated. Maria about it dogadyvayetsy. There is a quarrel and hostility.

And here and Red army in Kobrin (on September 22). And here in this anarchy the become impudent lackey, having covered with trends of the new power, 75-year-old Maria and her housekeeper Yadvigu violently gets on the cart and without money and documents brings to Kobrin where nobody waited for them. And only in Brest hungry and peeled them the priest of Bukrab who helped to reach Warsaw, to the relative Konstantin Skirmunt sheltered. There are no special data of its stay in the occupied Warsaw. But it is for certain known that died M. Rodzevich in November, 1944 at the age of 80 years in poverty and uncertainty. And only then its ashes will be reburied on Zasluzhennykh Avenue, in Warsaw though it wished to be based in Grushevskaya to the earth, near parents and the sister.

And what then, in September of the 39th, occurred in Grushevo?
Maria vkobrin as the manor began to be plundered did not manage to arrive., local, those that were near. Already and five Red Army men arrived to Grushevo. Began to burn down books, and they at Maria were about five thousand. Like, as superfluous pansky good. Burned down in the yard several days. The two-storeyed mansion was plundered: took away a tile of furnaces and fireplaces, razokrat kitchen utensils and table services. Povynimali of a window and doors, even second floor...

... Violently abandoning Grushevo in the 1939th, Maria Rodzevich did not know that a grave of her parents whom it buried near a church in Gorodtsa (hoping for eternal rest), will level the bulldozer in the 1970th and will make an extension for a locker room of pupils of a boarding school there.

And the underground family crypt on a cemetery in Grushevo will be dug up by vandals and will drag the embalmed sister Tselina's corpse in a white wedding dress on the ground. It happens in the 1980th.

However, in 1994 enthusiasts from Warsaw about an oak "Devaytis" in Grushevo established a memorable boulder with words of gratitude: "In memory of the remarkable Polesia writer Maria Rodzevich..." Notice, the reader: not to the Polish, but the Polesia writer. These were told a lot of things.

Sekretnye Issledovaniya newspaper, 2007 No. 10

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