{"id":172591,"date":"2026-01-22T11:07:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T08:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/172591\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:05:06","slug":"vasil-bykaus-widow-dies-aged-99","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/172591\/","title":{"rendered":"Vasil Byka\u016d\u2019s widow dies aged 99"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n (Na\u0161a Niva)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

January 22, Pozirk.<\/em><\/strong> Iryna Byka\u016d, widow of prominent Belarusian writer Vasil Byka\u016d, died on January 21 aged 99, politician Siarhiej Navum\u010dyk said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last month, she was hospitalized in Minsk with a heart attack and a broken hip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opposition politician Paviel \u0141atu\u0161ka expressed his condolences on her passing on Telegram.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had the great honor of meeting her personally while serving as minister of culture,\u201d he said. \u201cI discussed with her the preservation of the archive and personal belongings of the Belarusian writer. With the support of the National Library of Belarus staff, we were at least able to catalogue all the materials. It was also important that we managed to open a small but state-run museum dedicated to Vasil Byka\u016d in \u017ddanovi\u010dy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writer Vasil Byka\u016d, WW2 veteran, critic of Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka’s regime and one of the founders of the Belarusian Popular Front in 1988, lived in exile from 1998. His funeral in Minsk in 2003 turned into a large opposition demonstration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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