Zekameron

«Zekameron» was written in a pre-trial detention cell. Lawyer Maxim Znack represented the interests of presidential candidates Viktor Babariko and Svetlana Tikhanovskaya during the 2020 election campaign in Belarus. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges, among... other things, of «conspiracy to seize power by unconstitutional means». Dostoevsky wrote: «In the life of a convict, there is one torment, perhaps stronger than all others. This is: forced communal living... In the prison, there come such people that not everyone would want to live with them». Maxim Znack spoke about his «communal living» with his fellow inmates. All of them are interesting to him, he listens to everyone and helps everyone as much as he can. He has a happy character and a sharp eye: even in the most dramatic situations, he notices glimpses of humor, hope, and optimism. «Zekameron» is Maxim's first experience with prose. Will there be a continuation? Mayakovsky, after a year in Butyrka, writes: «The most important time for me... I rushed into belles-lettres». But he writes this already in freedom - let us wish the same for Maxim Znack.