Stoily. Museum-estate "Uspaminy Batskaushchyny".

Nikolai Vasilyevich Tarasyuk was one of the most outstanding craftsmen and original craftsmen of the Brest region. He spent almost all his life in the village of Stoily. He became famous for his unique peasant philosophy, which allowed him to create over 30 thousand wooden sculptures. The master said that he not only creates his own wooden characters, but also conducts conversations with them.

His works reflected episodes from the life of Belarusian peasants in the middle of the 20th century, as well as raised important social issues concerning good and evil, joy and sorrow.

Many of the master's wooden creations are now represented in museum collections in Belarus and Poland. An excellent exhibition is located in the Museum-estate "Pruzhansky palatsik" in Pruzhany.

For his sculptures, the master built a special house in his native village of Stoily, calling it "Uspaminy Batskaushchyny". Today it can be visited with a guided tour.

For the first time, Nikolai Vasilyevich's works were included in the State List of Elements of the Intangible Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Belarus in the Brest region.

The illustrated collection "Syalyanskaya Encyclapedia" (The peasant encyclopedia), published in Minsk in 2008, is dedicated to the works of Nikolai Vasilyevich Tarasyuk and his "wooden people".

The master's collections have taken their rightful place in the National Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Belarus.

A documentary film was made about the life and work of Nikolai Vasilyevich, which was awarded the Grand Prix at an international festival in France.

In 2002, he was awarded the special prize of the President of the Republic of Belarus "For Spiritual Rebirth".

On January 14, 2015, Nikolai Tarasyuk passed away. His family makes every effort to preserve the creative legacy of the master and his unique "wooden people".