Portrait of a small homeland. New book by Alexander Radkov tells about cities and people

Alexander Radkov, engaged in journalism, having created a dozen different books (and some of them withstood reprints), by and large remains a scientist, a mathematician by his main profession and, perhaps, by his main purpose. This is obvious when reading his new book “Cities of Belarus”. A personal experience that just saw the light of day.

Collected together essays about Mozyr, Zhlobin, Rogachev, Grodno, Novogrudok, Lida, Slonim, Smorgon, Volkovysk, Molodechno, Borisov, Slutsk, Soligorsk, Myadel, Cherikov, Shklov and some other cities of Grodno, Minsk and Mogilev region. Some time ago, the reader got acquainted with the book “Cities”. Personal impressions”. But we are talking about other places in our country and near abroad. In the new edition - new author's travels.

Today, when on the shelves of bookstores and libraries a lot of country studies, regional studies literature, guidebooks of various kinds, books like “Cities...” open with some fear and even strong prejudice: “And should you bite into the proposed story?” After all, everything or almost everything is, if not in books, then certainly in the digital space, without which we can no longer live. But opening with Alexander Radkov his favorite cities, you understand that it is impossible not to open the cover, which is not at all fluent, but carefully read each of the essays-portraits! In "Cities..." in fact, a lot of personal vision in the assessment of the reality and historical development of a settlement. Invisibly gnawing into the topic at different addresses, the author as a true research scientist chooses the main thing that characterizes the city with which he introduces the reader. It seems that the writer not only reread many sources, not only saw with his own eyes, considered various sights, monuments, not only asked our contemporaries about their attitude to the events of past centuries, but also acts as an analyst of urban history, an analyst who considers and determines the most important features of cities. Alexander Radkov also has a good journalistic reception: quite often the author resorts to the help of his interlocutors - people whom fate has connected with the cities rising from the pages of the book.

About Mozyr the author helps to tell Anatoly Aleksandrovich Malofeev, who at one time worked in the city on Sozha the first secretary of the city committee of the party. In Zhlobin, Professor Vladimir Isaakovich Timoshpolsky, a very colorful personality, an interesting, non-standard person, immersed ... in the problems of the work of this industrial giant. To discover Lida, to discover the character of this ancient city of Grodno region largely helped acquaintance with Valery Vaclavovich Mitskevich. In Slonim and its environs for the author the main guide is an authoritative Orthodox hierarch – Vladyka Guriy

And in general, the story of cities by Alexander Radkov is associated with a story about people. The author of the book knows well who, from where, at what time he came into a big life – in the management of the state or regions, big science, big journalism. And when you meet the governor of two regions - Mogilev and Grodno Boris Vasilyevich Batura in the story about Volkovysk, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and Minister of Education Mikhail Anatolyevich Zhuravkov in the story about Soligorsk, the academician-machine builder Mikhail Stepanovich Vysotsky in an essay about Kopyl, the famous statesman, diplomat Vladimir Nesterovich Drazhin in an essay about Nesvizh, you unwittingly understand that Belarus is being built, created, is aspiring and even the most independent people in Belarus, they aspire to become wealthy in their own place.

This kind of personification makes the style of presentation easy, understandable, not burdened with excessive citation. And in every essay, portrait of each city there is love, the author’s attachment to places, in a virtual journey through which Alexander Mikhailovich involves us, readers. Often, completing the narrative, the writer emphasizes that the meetings he described are not the last, that he, along with his family, relatives and friends, returns to different addresses. Obviously, there is a strong attraction of species, the beauty of certain places, their spiritual power, against which you cannot resist. Ales Karlyukevich, Chairman of the Union of Writers of Belarus.