На хвалях часу

Vasil Sokal’s memoirs are a chronicle of the village of Zubelyavichy. The book is the work of life by the man who dedicated his services to the native village. Born in 1921, Vasil Sokal diligently recorded developments and changes that affected his native village for 75 years. The Belarusian village, which stuck to its traditions throughout long years of Russification and Polonization, was subjected to severe Sovietization after World War II. On returning from the war, Vasil Sokal worked as a teacher and later took over as school headmaster in his native village he held do dear. The reader discovers truth about how village traditional way of life changed and about resistance to this process. The author examines controversial subjects in Belarusian history. He recounts how various partisan groups operated in the area during World War II, brining the country to the verge of civil war. The memoirs saw the light after the author’s death as he had requested. (Z.K.)