Writer And Historian Leanid Marakou Died

In the morning of December 17, writer and researcher of Stalin's repressions Leanid Marakou died.

Activist Natallia Samatyja reported that on Facebook.

Leanid Marakou was 58 years old.

The writer had a brain tumor, as writer’s son Dzmitry informed Radio Svaboda.

According to Dzmitry Marakou, the tumor caused a stroke early in the year.

Leanid Marakou was born in 1958. He was a radio-electronics engineer by profession. In the 1990s, he started to study the biography of his uncle, poet Valery Marakou, who was shot on October 29, 1937. The work became a large-scale study of Stalin's repressions in Belarus –encyclopedic guide titled "Repressed Writers, Scientists, Educators, Public And Cultural Figures. 1794-1991", containing information about 20 thousand victims, was made and partially published.

Marakou also published the documentary study "Victims And Executioners" with biographies of the victims and those who had been involved in the repressions in Belarus. Separately he published a book, which contains information about the repressed Belarusian Orthodox priests.

Leanid Marakou is also known for his literary works, he is an author of several books. In 2014 he published his monograph "The Main Street Of Minsk. 1880-1940."

The writer was also one of the authors of the charter97.org website.

The charter97.org editorial staff grieves over Leanid Marakou’s death and brings condolences to the writer’s relatives and friends.