Maksim Tank

Maksim Tank studied at Belarusian Gymnasium of Vilnia. The recorded working language is Belarusian, Polish and Russian. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are verse. Employment is recorded with Vilienskaja praŭda, Razdavim fashystskuyu hadzinu and Vozhyk. Positions recorded include deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and member of the Council of the Republic of Belarus. Distinctions recorded are Stalin Prize, 2nd degree, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Lenin and Hero of Socialist Labour.

• Name — Maksim Tank Jaŭhien Skurko • Native Name — Яўген Скурко • Pen Name — Maksim Tank, Aŭhien Bura, A. Granit • Birth Name — Jaŭhien Skurko Eugeniusz Skurko • Born — 17 September 1912 • Birthplace — Piĺkaŭščyna, Russian Empire • Died — 7 August 1995 • Place of death — Minsk, Belarus • Resting Place — Noviki, Miadziel Raion • Occupation — Writer, journalist, editor, statesman • Language — Belarusian • Citizenship — Poland Soviet Union Belarus • Period — Late 1920s – 1990s • Genre — Poetry • Subject — Belarusian national liberation, social issues • Spouse — Luboŭ Asajevič • Years Active — more than 60

• Office — Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Belarusian SSR • Term Start — 1963 • Term End — 1971 • Office2 — Member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR • Term Start2 — 1969 • Term End2 — 1989 • Party — Communist Party of the Soviet Union • Other Party — Communist Party of West Belarus • Awards — Lenin Prize Stalin Prize Hero of Socialist Labor Maksim Tank (real name Jaŭhien Skurko; 17 September 1912 – 7 August 1995) was a Belarusian Soviet poet, journalist and translator.

• Illustration — The birthplace and local museum of Maksim Tank Jaŭhien Skurko was born into a wealthy peasant family in a khutor about a kilometer away from the village Piĺkaŭščyna, now in Myadzyel District, Minsk Oblast, Belarus. In 1914, his family went to Moscow as refugees from the approaching First World War and lived there till 1922. Because of the hunger in Russia, the family returned to its home village, which by then became part of the Second Polish Republic. In 1928, Skurko joined an underground communist youth organization in his school in Radashkovichy. Despite good performance in the school, in 1929 he was expelled together with several other pupils for participating in a protest against closure of Belarusian schools by the Polish authorities. He was also expelled from his following school in Wilno for participation in student protests. In early 1930s, Jaŭhien Skurko participated in the Belarusian underground communist activism, writing for Belarusian and Polish underground publications. In 1932, he was arrested and placed in the Lukiškės Prison in Wilno. In late 1932, he illegally crossed the border with the Soviet Union and joined Belarusian underground group in Minsk. He was eventually arrested by the Soviet authorities, interrogated by the NKVD and deported to Poland. After his return, he was an activist of the illegal youth branch of the Communist Party of West Belarus in Wilno and Navahrudak. He was several times arrested and spent a total of two years in prison. In 1936, Skurko was admitted into the underground Communist Party of West Belarus.

After the annexation of West Belarus by the Soviet Union, Skurko worked as a culture journalist and as an education administrator in Vilejka. After the beginning of the war, Skurko was evacuated to Saratov and then returned to the Bryansk Front to work as a reporter for several Soviet publications. In 1945 – 1948, Skurko worked as editor at the satirical magazine Vozhyk. From 1948 to 1966, he was editor in chief of the major Belarusian literature magazine Polymia. Since the late 1940s, Skurko held various senior positions in the Belarusian Soviet legislative system. In 1947–1971 he was member of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus; of which he was chairman in 1963–1971. In 1969 – 1989 he was member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. After Belarus regained independence, Maksim Tank admitted being supporter of the Belarusian White, Red and White flag and opposed the controversial referendum to change the national symbols of Belarus organized by president Alexander Lukashenko. Maksim Tank died in Minsk in August 1995.

Collections of verses: • On Stages (1936) • The Cranberry Colour (1937) • Under the Mast (1938) • Sharpen the Arms, Through the Fiery Horizon (both 1945) • In Order to Know (1948) • On the Stone, Iron and Gold (1951) • On the Road (1954) • The Lightning Track (1957) • My Daily Bread (1962) • The Gulp of Water (1964) • Listen, the Spring is Coming (1990) • My Arch (1994) Poems: • Narach (1937) • Yanuk Sialiba (1942)

• Illustration — Monument to Maksim Tank in Miadziel The Maksim Tank Belarusian State Pedagogical University in Minsk was renamed after Maksim Tank in 1995. There is a monument to Maksim Tank in Miadziel and a street named after him in Minsk.

He was employed by Vilienskaja praŭda, Razdavim fashystskuyu hadzinu, Vozhyk and Polymia. Recorded positions include deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and member of the Council of the Republic of Belarus. He belonged to USSR Union of Writers and Union of Belarusian Writers.