Kuzma CHORNY (real name Mikalai Ramanouski), prose writer, playwright and publicist, was born into a peasant family in the Minsk region on June 11(24), 1900. In 1916 he entered Niasvizh Teachers' Seminary. Unfortunately he was not able to finish his study there because the seminary was closed down by Polish authorities in 1919. In 1923 he entered Belarusian State University (pedagogical faculty, literary department) and joined the literary association Maladniak. In 1926-31 Chorny presided over the literary association Uzvyshsha and in 1932-37 he was a literary supervisor consultant for young authors at the Belarusian Writers Union. In October 1938 he was arrested under false pretence and had to spend 8 months in prison, six of them in a solitary cell. Since their were no grounds on which the charges were made, Chorny was set free in June 1939. In 1941 - 44 he was evacuated and lived mostly in Moscow, after which he returned to Minsk. He died in Minsk, shortly after his return, due to diseases brought on by the tortures he suffered in prison and the malnutrition he suffered during the evacuation.

His first article and poems were published in 1920 and first two books appeared in 1925. Chorny's early stories are written as novellas and show the spiritual revival of a person who comes from the lower strata of society. His style undergoes significant changes in the mid 1920s acquiring deeper psychological character. Maturity of style and philosophical approach are vividly observed in his long novels Sister, Land, Motherland, etc. Chorny was the first in Belarusian literature to equate Fascism with Stalinism - a theme later developed by V. Bykau.

Chorny translated into Belarusian the famous works of Russian classics such as Pushkin, Gogol, Ostrovsky, Gorky and others.

His works were translated into many languages and some of them were adapted into films.

A street in Minsk, in Babruisk, in Niasvizh and in Slutsk were all named after him.

Ivan CHYHRYNAU, a prose writer and playwright, was born into a peasant family in the village of Veliki Bor, the Mahilou region, in December 21, 1934. He graduated from the journalist department of the Belarusian State University in 1957. He spent many years working for the publishing house attached to the Belarusian Academy of Sciences, within their publishing and journalism sections. He also worked for the journal Polymia, and for various other journals. His work as an editor was a good writing school for him and gave him the idea of writing historical prose. In 1975 he was chosen as a Deputy to the Head of the Writers' Union Board. In 1978 Chyhrynau took part in the 33rd Session of the UN General Assembly. In 1987 he worked for Belarusian Culture Fund and Spadchyna magazine. He was also elected as a deputy to the Supreme Council of Belarus where he was dealing with ethnic issues and international affairs.

Chyhrynau's first short story was published in 1961. Among his most popular novels are The Quail's Cry and The Justification of Blood as well as many short stories and novellas included in the collections Birds Fly to Freedom, The Happiest Person and A Man Went to War.

He was a Fadeyev Literary Prize winner (1979) and 'Honorary Citizen of Kastsiukovichi' (1992).