1st Edition

Belarus in Autoethnographic Narratives The Art of Mercy Against Oblivion

By Victor Martinovich Copyright 2026
214 Pages 14 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

214 Pages 14 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book offers an autoethnographic exploration of the interplay of art, memory, and resilience in Eastern Europe, weaving together the personal and collective histories of Belarusians – those who survived two World Wars and their contemporaries, who are now looking for a way out of a political crisis in the region. Set against the history of Belarus, it recounts the story of the author’s... Read more

Introduction

Chapter 1. Weapon

Chapter 2. The Photograph

Chapter 3. A Batman, my Great-Grand father

Chapter 4. Occupation

Chapter 5. Terror

Chapter 6. Education of Amyalyan

Chapter 7. Denunciation

Chapter 8. Try not to Repeat the Denial of Peter

Chapter 9. Love of Amyalyan

Chapter 10. Happiness

Chapter 11. The Crown of Thorns

Chapter 12. Women’s Crusade

Chapter 13. Death

Chapter 14. Searching for the Language

Chapter 15. Bathing in Lethe River

Chapter 16. Rage

Epilogue: Clementia

Index

Biography

Victor Martinovich, PhD, is an art historian, fiction writer, and playwright from Belarus. He is an Associate Professor at European Humanities University (Vilnius, Lithuania) and was a grantee of the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program in 2024. Martinovich is the author of six fiction novels and seven theatrical plays, and plays based on his works have been staged in Hamburg, Munich, Vienna, Minsk, Innsbruck, and St. Petersburg. He specializes in Paris School artists from Belarus, the Vitebsk period of Marc Chagall, and the history of the Vitebsk Avant-Garde.