It is with great pleasure that I share with you the feelings I experienced when I read the biography of my compatriot Vladimir Grigorievich Schastny. As fate would have it, my little hometown is forty kilometres from the town of Smorgon, where Vladimir Schastny was born in 1948. In my youth I often visited Zalesje, I remember a few poles, the remains of the foundations, an old elm tree, a long-lived tree from the time of Mikhail Kleofas Oginsky. But this place was both desolate, crumbling, and filled with an inexplicable, magical silence. It was like a magnet that kept calling to itself. The hero of my essay, Vladimir Grigorievich, also loved it, because Zalesye, which at the time of Oginsky’s stay was a cultural centre where the best artists, poets, writers, diplomats and officials came, is only ten or twelve kilometres from his birthplace.

Now Oginsky’s estate has received a second breath, it has become a spiritual centre again, thanks to the museum staff who are in love with their homeland, with Michael Cleophas and his art. The godfather of this revival was our venerable Vladimir Schastny. In 2003 he initiated the international conference ‘Historic Mansions. State and Perspectives’. From 2001 to 2013. Vladimir Grigorievich was the Chairman of the National Commission of the Republic of Belarus for UNESCO. He had the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary Plenipotentiary. It was thanks to him that copies of the composer’s archive were obtained from the State Archive of Ancient Documents in Moscow.

When I talk to the director of the museum of the Oginsky estate, Lyudmila Vladimirovna Groditskaya, I notice that she often refers to Mikhail Kleofas as Chastny and vice versa, or she just hesitates to whom the words she is saying refer. And suddenly, with a sigh, she interrupts my thoughts and says: ‘How similar their destinies were: both were in the diplomatic service, creativity was a hobby for both, both loved their country, their people, saw in each person a personality, appreciated their merits. That’s probably why he loved Oginsky and Zalesye so much.

Vladimir Grigorievich was a man of many faces. Getting to know him through the memories of people close to him, I was not mistaken, all those who came into contact with him in the course of their work became his relatives, I remembered the words my mother used to repeat: “It’s not the place that colours a person, it’s the place”. Speaking to me, Lyudmila Vladimirovna could hardly hold back her tears as she spoke of her father, of the beauty of his soul, of the things he had done to enrich the spiritual world. He was a frequent guest at the estate’s balls, loved to sing and dance, loved life, loved his region, appreciated the roots of his native people and helped to revive them. Although he held high positions: diplomat, member of the Collegium of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Charge d’Affaires of the Republic of Belarus in Lithuania, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to Great Britain and Ireland, Chairman of the National Commission of the Republic of Belarus for UNESCO, he remained a man with a capital letter who loved this world.
Talking to his nephew Dmitry, it was impossible not to notice the warmth of his feelings for a close and dear person, there was no pomposity, no pathos in his words, only memory and love. Reading his biography, one can only wonder: how many hours did Vladimir Schastny have in a day? How did he manage to combine public service with his work as a translator, screenwriter, patron of the arts, publicist and writer? He translated some works of E. Poe, E. S. Gardner, in his translation the book “Ballad of the Sad Café” by K. McAleers was published, he is the compiler and translator of the collection “American Detective Narrative”. His dramatic works have been produced by the National Drama Theatre. The Kolas National Drama Theatre has staged plays based on his dramatic works. The Minsk Regional Drama Theatre performed his play “Fantasy in A Minor” (“Polonaise for Farewell”) about M.K. Oginsky.

While working in the diplomatic service abroad, Vladimir Schastny, as a patriot of his people, became interested in who was the most famous Belarusian artist in the world. It turned out to be Chagall. Thus began his work to bring the works of Belarusian artists back to their homeland. Soon the names of not only Marc Chagall and Chaim Sutin, but also their fellow emigrants Osip Tsadkin, Mikhail Kikoin, Pinchus Kremin, Shragi Tsarfin, Eugen Zak and other outstanding writers were returned to the context of Belarusian culture. The result of Vladimir Grigorievich’s many years of research was the publication of the book “Artists of the Paris School from Belarus”. It was presented at one of the meetings of the Eurasian Creative Guild.

Vladimir Grigorievich was a member of our great international family. With the mindset of an international figure, he understood the great power of creativity in uniting goodness and friendship. It can create miracles. The Eurasian Creative Guild was the platform that helped him to introduce the world to the spirituality of Belarus, to bright creative names and vice versa: to introduce the Belarusian reader to the world creativity. All his life he carried the torch of love and friendship. It is a pity that his destiny was cut short in 2020, but he left his warmth in noble deeds. Thank him for his creativity, for his wisdom. He will live in our memory.

by Maria Muchinskaya