History of Brest, Belarus, book by V.Sarychev

Brest, Belarus

Streets and Squares

I used information from the following book

"In the Search of the By-Gone Time"

(Book One)

by Vasiliy Sarychev

was published in Brest in 2006. This is a book of 308 pages, profusely illustrated with historical photos.

Main themes:
• Medieval Brest,
• Russian Brest-Litovsk
• Polish Brest-on-the-Bug (Brześć nad Bugiem)
• Jewish Brisk

This book is based on documents and eyewitness accounts from interviewees. It attempts to reconstruct the genuine past of Brest, starting with the pleasant old town that sprang up on the delta of the Mukhavets River -- later to become the site for the famous fortress of Brest. The history also includes the Polish period of 1919-1939.
In preparation for this book, the author interviewed hundreds of Brest inhabitants, seeking multidimensional, broad, and diverse views, as well as a variety of historical factoids – nuggets of real history from real people.

This documentary uses the stories of ordinary Brest citizens, the real makers of history. The author deliberately avoided telling the story through prominent figures, heroes and celebrities, to avoid the self-serving slants that too often characterize their stories. Instead, he focuses on real people, who have lived in Brest, absorbed its air – and its charm – people who have performed no outstanding deeds, but have left their marks of good on the lives of others.

The book deserves attention not only due to its historic value, but also to the unusual way of presentation, as the starting point and philosophical background for each chapter are unique pictures from old family albums.