To the 120th anniversary of the birth of Alexander Vasilyevich Kurov, Director of the State Library and Bibliographic Institute of the BSSR named after V.I. Lenin
Alexander Kurov was born on November 17, 1902 in the family of a worker Savely Kurov in the town of Novozybkov, Chernigov province (now-Bryansk region).
After graduating from the Novozybkov city primary school in 1916, the fourteen-year-old Alexander began his career as a worker. He was an apprentice locksmith, then a locksmith-driver at the famous not only in the district, but throughout Russia match factory "Wave of Revolution". His parents had worked at this city-forming enterprise, a long-standing forge of the staff, before and after the October Revolution of 1917.
Alexander with his parents, 1907
Throughout his life, A.S. Kurov had passed the difficult tests of wartime more than once. Therefore, during the Civil War, a young Red Army soldier had served from 1920 to 1922 as an armored car driver on the Western Front.
Having discharged in July 1924, Alexander Savelievich moved to the city of Klintsy, Bryansk region, where he joined the V.P. Nogin Cloth Factory. In 1925, he joined the Bolshevist All-Union Communist Party (BACP).
The thirst for knowledge and the desire to participate in the construction of a new life opened up wide prospects and opportunities for him. A.S. Kurov finished the Soviet Party School in Klintsy in 1926 , and in 1930 from the technical department of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army Rabfak in Smolensk. In January 1934, Alexander Savelievich graduated successfully from the Road Faculty of the Leningrad Automobile Institute, and obtained the specialty of road construction engineer. From that moment on, the Belarusian period began in his live.
Alexander Savelievich with his mother and family, 1938
Alexander Savelievich Kurov – the third in a row of pre-war leaders (there were six of them in total) of the State Library and Bibliographic Institute of the BSSR named after V.I. Lenin (now the National Library Belarus). From January to November 1938, he headed the main book depository in the country. Long-term search work of the library’s employees allowed establishing this historical fact that was previously unknown to researchers. Unfortunately, there are no documents describing his short-term activity while being in this important post.
Years later, in his autobiography of April 8, 1955, Alexander Savelievich recalled this period of his life: "[in 1934, he was sent] to work in the BSSR as a deputy chairman of the Central Committee of the Avtodor BSSR, where he had worked until 1936. After its liquidation, he was approved by the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Byelorussia (CPB) for the position of director of the All-Union Chemical and Technological College (in Minsk, [author's note]). In February 1938, he was appointed director of the Bibliographic Institute and the State Library named after Lenin of the BSSR, and in November 1938 he was taken to the office of the Central Committee of the CPB as an instructor in the Propaganda and Agitation Department."
Probably, in the future, he planned to continue working in the library industry, since in 1940 he entered the 1st year part-time department of the Bibliography Faculty of the Moscow State Library Institute. However, having passed the first exam, in February of the following year, Alexander Savelievich interrupted his studies. In 1940, he finished the Advanced Training Courses for senior political staff at the Academy named after I.V. Stalin in Moscow.
Once again, the life of Alexander Savelievich Kurov was invaded by military events. In October 1941, by decision of the Central Committee of the CPB, he was sent to the Red Army, where he had served until April 1946. During the Great Patriotic War, he fulfilled a number of important tasks and assignments of the highest party leadership. Therefore, documents from his personal archive testify that in August 1941, on the territory of Belarus, which was occupied by the Nazi invaders, at the risk of death or being taken prisoner, A.S. Kurov was engaged in organizing the distribution of newspapers and leaflets in the Gomel region. In September of the same year, he was sent to Oryol city to establish a connection with the mobile printing house of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Byelorussia.
In 1942, Alexander Savelievich graduated from the Commissars' Course at the Military-Political School named after V.I. Lenin in Moscow, and served in Siberia. Since March 1944, the political officer Kurov fought on the Karelian Front, took part in the battles to liberate the cities of the Soviet Arctic – Petsamo and Nikel, was shell-shocked. Later, he headed the divisional party school. Reserve captain.
1945
In 1946, he returned to his native Belarus and in August was elected 2nd Secretary of the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Byelorussia of the Stalin’s district of Minsk (now Zavodskoi district), where he had supervised industrial issues.
The Kurov family. Minsk, 1949
From February 1948 to August 1953, Alexander Savelievich, having received another appointment, had worked in the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs as deputy head of the political department of the Minsk City Police Department, head of the State Automobile Inspection of the Baranovichi region. Awarded the rank of major of internal affairs, dismissed due to illness.
In July 1954, A.S. Kurov was appointed to the post of head of construction of the Honoles reservoir (named after the nearby village of Zhdanovichi Village Council). Today it is a well – known place of recreation for Minsk residents, the Minsk Sea. In July 1955, due to health problems, he went on a well-deserved rest.
Alexander Savelievich, knight of the Order of the Red Star (1944), awarded medals "For the Defense of the Soviet Arctic" (1945), "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" (1945), "For Military Merit" (1951), was repeatedly awarded with valuable gifts.
A.S. Kurov passed away on February 24, 1960, and was buried in the main necropolis of Belarus – the Eastern Cemetery of Minsk.
The life of Alexander Kurov is a vivid example of responsible service to the assigned task, full dedication for the benefit of people and the prosperity of his native country. In the memory of his family and friends, Alexander Savelyevich remained a loving and caring husband and father, as well as a reliable, honest, just and kind person.
We express our deep gratitude to his youngest son Alexander and granddaughter Irina for their responsiveness and cooperation. Carefully preserved valuable documents and unique photographic materials from the family archive were provided to the staff of the National Library of Belarus for copying.
The article is provided by Andrey Baranovsky, employee of the Bibliography Research Department, and Irina Kuketa, an employee of Library Science Department.
Read about veterans and employees of the National Library of Belarus in the section "Portraits: the history of the library in faces".
