Frantsishak Alyakhnovich

Frantsishak Alyakhnovich (March 9, 1883 in Vilnius – March 3, 1944 in Vilnius, Belarusian: Франці́шак Ка́ралевіч Аляхно́віч, romanized: Francišak Karalevič Alachnovič, Russian: Франтишек Ка́рлович Олехно́вич (also Аляхнoвичъ,[1] Франц Олехнович[2])) was a Belarusian writer, journalist descended from the Ruthenian nobility.

He was editor of the newspaper Беларускі звон (Biełaruski zvon) published in Vilnius.

He spent seven years in the Gulag and only in 1933 was he exchanged for Branislaw Tarashkyevich, a West Belarusian politician and linguist held in a Polish prison.

Alyakhnovich's Gulag experience became a basis for his 1934 book of memoirs У капцюрох ГПУ (U kapciuroch HPU, In the claws of the GPU), that was later translated into several languages.

During the Second World War, Alyakhnovich collaborated with Nazi Germany and was editor of the newspaper Беларускі голас (Biełaruski hołas, Belarusian voice) published in Vilnius.