Pavel Ivanovich Prudnikau (July 14, 1911 – March 16, 2000) was a Belarusian writer. He was a cousin of another Belarusian writer, Ales Prudnikau.
Early years and the first steps of activity in literature
Pavel Prudnikau was born into a large peasant family. Hard events took place at the time of his childhood: World War I (1914–1918), an establishing of new communist system, the Russian Civil War and the Soviet-Polish War. Due to the geographical position of the village Stary Dedin, the battlefields didn't touch it but in 1918–1920 the village was situated near the front-line area. Because of it all the neighbouring schools were closed and Pavel had to wait for the appearance of the permanent place for studying. Only in 1930 he graduated from the seven-years school in the village Miloslavicy.
In 1924 he felt an aspiration for the literary work and created his first verse "A trip" (). The time of his studying coincided with the process of belarusization in BSSR, so it determined that he began creating his verses in Belarusian. Two years later he and his cousin Ales' Prudnikau became local school poets. At the same time he tried himself as the correspondent of different republican newspapers. For example, after a treasure of ancient coins had been found in the village Stary Dzedzin, he has written a report to the newspaper "Belarusian village" () together with Ales. (For more information, look an article Stary Dzedzin).
Life and creative work in the 1930s
At the beginning of the 1930s he often had to change the places of work. After graduating from the school he went to Donbas but soon returned. Then he worked in Mogilev on the building of the silk fabric. Then he lived in Minsk with Ales Prudnikov but worked as the loader on the railway station "Minsk-Tovarnaya". Several times he tried himself as the actor but gave up each time. Also was a correspondent of different republican newspapers, worked at the Belarusian radio.
In summer of 1930 Pavel's verse "Na vakacyi" was published in the republican newspaper "Pioneer of Belarus". This event was considered by him as the beginning of his professional literary career. In 1930 a column of his verses was published in the newspaper "Chyrvonaya zmena" that later became a foundation of his future first book "Songs of loaders" () (1932, co-authorship with Y. Subach). His first poem "Picket after picket" () was written in 1931. In the 1930s he used a pen-name Paulyuk Buravey () to escape confusion with Ales Prudnikov. At the time of working in Minsk he became acquainted with many famous Belarusian writers and poets such as Yanka Kupala, Yakub Kolas, Mihas Charot, Platon Halavach and others. The memoirs about them formed the foundation of the book "Distant, but not forgotten" (, 1988) and other works.
In 1932 Pavel was accepted into the creative department of the Minsk Pedagogical Institute but soon gave it up. In 1932 he came to Leningrad where he entered the Leningrad Institute of foreign languages, and the following year became the student of the Leningrad Pedagogical Institute after Pokrovsky (Bubnov). He established contacts with Belarusian section of Leningrad department of the USSR Union of Writers. After the offer of professor Pushkarevich in 1937 was sent to post-graduate studying of the Slavic languages, but didn't begin studying because he was arrested at 11 August 1937.
In GULAG and first decades after discharge
Pavel Prudnikov was kept in Kresty Prison for several months. Officially he was accused in Kirov's assassination of 1934. He stood the interrogation and was sentenced to eight years in prison. At first he was sent to the Buryat ASSR. In 1938 he attempted suicide by drowning in the Selenge River but was dissuaded by his friend, also prisoner, Mikola Kaneusky. In Gulag worked on building of railway lines in Buryat ASSR and Omsk Oblast, on building of tyre plant in Omsk and mining and smelting plant in Norilsk, as loader in port of Yeniseysk (Krasnoyarsk Krai).
After the end of imprisonment term he had to work as turner in railway depot in Norilsk, then as the chief of library of technical secondary school. After returning to native land (1946) worked as a teacher in the Smolensk oblast of the RSFSR. There he met his future wife Ann. But he couldn't stay there for long because of the danger of arrest. Pavel and his family had to move from one place to another looking for the most safe one. At this time two daughters were born: Olga and Nina.