Disna. The former building of the House of Assembly.

On the picturesque shore of the Western Dvina River, in the small town of Disna (Vitebsk region, Miory district), a building with an amazing destiny is modestly hidden. House No. 4 on Pervomaiskaya Street today does not shout about itself with bright signs, but its walls preserve the memory of an entire epoch. This former building of the House of Assembly is an architectural monument of the early 20th century, made in the elegant Art Nouveau style, which witnessed both charitable initiatives and the birth of the professional Belarusian theater.

A house with a history: from sobriety to culture.

At the beginning of the last century, this building served as the county office of the Guardianship of Sobriety. Paradoxically, the combination of "modern" and "fight against drunkenness" sounds today, it was here that the mainstay of the charity organization was located, which aimed to introduce people to healthy and meaningful leisure.

The first floor of the building was occupied by a buffet. But it wasn't just a place to drink, but rather a social dining room where you could have an inexpensive snack while spending time in a cultural setting. The real magic was on the second floor. There was an auditorium with a stage. It was this scene that became the spark that ignited the fire of national revival.

The scene where they applauded "father".

In 1910, silent Disna experienced a real cultural shock. The local newspaper "Nasha Niva" wrote: "Disna doesn't remember such a crowd. The local intelligentsia and ordinary people sincerely welcomed... the mighty idea of national revival warmed everyone with its hot rays."

The culprit of this commotion was Ignat Buinitsky, a man who is now called the "father of the Belarusian theater". His professional troupe, established in 1907, toured cities and towns, and Disna became one of the important stops along the way. In the building of the assembly house, Buinitsky and his actors gave performances that were sold out.

What did the audience see on this stage? Ignat Buinitsky was an orchestra man: he not only led the troupe, but also performed himself as a dramatic actor, dancer, singer (possessed a light bass-baritone) and reader. His repertoire was based on Belarusian folk culture - dances, songs, and scenes from peasant life, which he collected from villages while working as a surveyor.

The success was resounding. The troupe performed not only in small towns like Disna, but also in Vilno, Warsaw, and St. Petersburg. Everywhere they wrote about the "colossal success" that awakens a sense of national dignity in Belarusians.

Sunset and eternity.

Unfortunately, this success had a downside. The tsarist authorities became seriously concerned about Buinitsky's influence, and secret surveillance was established over him. Financial difficulties and external pressure led to the theater's closure in 1913. Plans to create a new one were destroyed by the First World War.

Ignat Buinitsky himself tragically died of typhus in 1917, but his work continued to live on. But the building at Disna remains. Today it is an apartment building or an administrative building, but its facade is still recognizable. The modest but noble lines of Art Nouveau on the facade are the best monument to the era when the provincial assembly house became the cradle of high culture.

Come here to touch the wall that remembers the ovation in honor of the first steps of the Belarusian theater.