The issues of cooperation between the Writers' Union of Belarus and colleagues from Russia and other countries were discussed recently in Minsk at the expanded plenum of the Writers' Union of Belarus. Mikhail Pozdnyakov, Chairman of the Minsk City Branch of St. Petersburg, Honored Cultural Worker of Belarus, in his report on joint Belarusian-Russian literary and book publishing projects, in particular, noted fruitful relations with the Astrakhan regional branch of the Writers' Union of Russia.
"We have a long–standing creative friendship with our Astrakhan colleagues," he said.
Mikhail Pozdnyakov, a famous Belarusian poet, novelist, publicist and translator, participated in the first international literary festival for children and youth, held in Astrakhan in 2019. In May of this year, the presentation of a new collection for children "Take care of friendship!" took place at the fifth festival. The publication has been opened with new translations of Mikhail Pozdnyakov's poems from Belarusian into Russian.
"On the Day of the Unity of Russia and Belarus, we held a teleconference with Minsk and Brest, congratulated each other on the common holiday and the publication of the collective collection "Faithful to the Great Victory," which includes poems and prose by over 20 Astrakhan and Belarusian authors," said Yuri Shcherbakov, Chairman of the Astrakhan regional branch of the Writers' Union of Russia.
Last year, a teleconference "Boundless Poems" was also organized, dedicated to the work of the famous Soviet poet, Astrakhan Boris Shakhovsky and the outstanding Belarusian writer Vladimir Korotkevich. The meeting was attended by staff and readers of the Astrakhan Regional Library for Youth named after Boris Shakhovsky and the Brest Regional Library named after Maxim Gorky.
During the correspondence, Astrakhan composer Stanislav Malov performed a song based on Boris Shakhovsky's poems. A pleasant surprise for everyone was his author's song based on the poems of the Brest poet Vasily Borisyuk, who personally took part in the teleconference.
"My colleagues and I, Astrakhan writers, have a unanimous desire to continue fruitful creative contacts with Belarusian colleagues and friends in the coming 2026, to create new joint projects. Moreover, the Astrakhan Region and the regions of Belarus are linked by long–term partnerships," emphasized Yuri Shcherbakov. – Our unity lies in a common historical memory, in common labors and victories. And the role of writers in preserving and enhancing this great brotherhood cannot be overestimated."