Grigorijus Kanovičius
Grigory Kanovich (also Grigorijus Kanovičius; 18 June 1929 – 20 January 2023) was a Lithuanian Jewish writer and the winner of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts for 2014. Kanovich was born into a traditional Jewish family in the Lithuanian town of Jonava on 18 June 1929. At the age of twelve, with the outbreak of the Second World War on the Eastern Front, Kanovich became a refugee, fleeing with his parents through Latvia to Russia, where the family spent the rest of the war.
Grigorijus Kanovičius
- Born
- 1929. · Jonava.
- Died
- 2023. · Tel Aviv.
- Nationality
- Soviet Union and Israel.
- Occupation
- film director, politician, translator, journalist, writer, poet, screenwriter and playwright.
- Fields
- creative and professional writing, film screenwriting, drama and translations from Lithuanian language.
- Education
- Vilnius University.
- Honours
- Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas and honorary citizen of Jonava District.
- Languages
- Russian and Lithuanian.
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Grigory Kanovich (also Grigorijus Kanovičius; 18 June 1929 – 20 January 2023) was a Lithuanian Jewish writer and the winner of the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts for 2014. Kanovich was born into a traditional Jewish family in the Lithuanian town of Jonava on 18 June 1929. At the age of twelve, with the outbreak of the Second World War on the Eastern Front, Kanovich became a refugee, fleeing with his parents through Latvia to Russia, where the family spent the rest of the war.
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Grigorijus Kanovičius (1929–2023) was an Israeli and Soviet film director, journalist and playwright, among other activities. Born in Jonava, the film director died in Tel Aviv.
Grigorijus Kanovičius studied at Vilnius University. The film director worked in Vilnius. Grigorijus Kanovičius was active in creative and professional writing, drama and film screenwriting.
Languages used include Lithuanian and Russian. The film director received honorary citizen of Jonava District and Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 01 October 2026
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wikidata · Q3702128 · wikipedia · Grigorijus Kanovičius
In this article
Identity
Identity
Grigorijus Kanovičius is recorded with the occupation film director. Recorded as having received Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas and honorary citizen of Jonava District.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1929
Grigorijus Kanovičius was born on 9 June 1929.
2023
Grigorijus Kanovičius died on 20 January 2023.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Jonava.
Birth place
Tel Aviv.
Death place
Books
He returned to Lithuania after the war and settled in Vilnius, where he studied at Vilnius University. In 1955 Kanovich launched his literary career, publishing a volume of verse, 'Good Morning', followed in 1960 by 'Spring Thunder'. However, he soon turned his attention to prose and to writing for the stage and film. He wrote a number of successful screenplays, including working on 'Ava Vita' with Vytautas Žalakevičius. Kanovich wrote more than ten novels, among them, trilogy Candles in the Wind and novels Fools’ Tears and Prayers, Smile Upon Us, Lord, A Kid for Two Pennies, There is No Paradise for Slaves, Don’t Turn your Face from Death, The Jewish Park, The Rustle of Fallen Trees, The Devil’s Spell and Shtetl Love Song which won Book of the Year in Lithuania. Kanovich was the recipient of the Medal of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas and Grand Cross of Commander of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. He was declared a Citizen of Honor (2013) of his hometown Jonava. Between 1989 and 1993, Kanovich served as Chairman of the Jewish Community of Lithuania. He was a member of the PEN International club in both Israel and Russia. Kanovich was married and had two sons – Dmitry and Sergey. Most of his novels were edited by his wife Olga.
Grigorijus Kanovičius studied at Vilnius University. The recorded working language is Russian and Lithuanian. The field of work recorded is creative and professional writing, film screenwriting and drama. Places of work recorded in the authority are Vilnius. Distinctions recorded are Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas and honorary citizen of Jonava District.
• Shtetl Love Song • Devilspel • The Tears and Prayers of Fools
Primary material
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reference work
- “Grigorijus Kanovičius”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3702128: Grigorijus Kanovičius
General reference · Wikidata
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Mirė rašytojas Grigorijus Kanovičius
- 2.Teller, Neville. Book review: The destruction of the shtetl Grigory Kanovich's latest novel tells of the dramatic and heartbreaking fate of a Lithuanian town called Mishkine.(book review). Jerusalem Post. 17 May 2019.
- 3.McLinden, Orla. Historical fiction with a haunting touch (book review). Irish Times. 4 May 2019.
- 4.Becker, Alida. An Abundance of Old-Fashioned Yarns to Close Out the Year.(book review). New York Times. 3 Dec 2023.
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Studied at
1- Vilnius UniversityOrganisation
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Further particulars
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Further particulars
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Grigorijus Kanovičius worked in creative and professional writing, film screenwriting, drama, translations from Lithuanian language and translation into Russian. He worked at Vilnius. Kanovičius received Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas and honorary citizen of Jonava District.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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