Vieras Zośka (Верас Зоська), scholar, writer, political leader. Zośka Vieras is a pen name; her maiden name was Ludvika Sivickaja; her married name is Vojcik. She was born in Ukraine on September 30, 1892. However, she was brought to Belarus when still a very little girl and she grew up in the city of Horadnia. She is still alive (1988) and resides in Vilna. Ludvika Sivickaja graduated from a private school for girls in the city of Horadnia, then from an agricultural college-level school in Warsaw. She became associated with the Belarusian revival movement while still in school in Horadnia and later on she contributed to the newspaper Naša Niva. Sivickaja, together with other youngsters, was a pioneer in organizing a circle of Belarusian Youth in Horadnia. This circle was one of the most active groups in the country, even venturing into the field of publishing. During the 1910s she was active in various Belarusian groups and became an active leader in the Belarusian Socialist Hramada. Sivickaja took an active part in the Hramada conference in Miensk, October 1917. She also worked in Belarusian charitable groups and took part in organizing Belarusian meetings and conferences. During the revolutionary period, Sivickaja married an outstanding Belarusian leader, Fabijan Šantyr, who was one of the first Belarusians executed by the Soviets in 1920. After the revolution Sivickaja settled in Vilna where she was active in numerous Belarusian endeavors. She was also a prolific political and scholarly writer and authored the first Belarusian-Polish-Russian-Latin botanical dictionary, Vilna, 1924. Writing under the pseudonym Zośka Vieras, Sivickaja contributed extensively to many Belarusian journals.
References: Biełarus, New York, nos. 306-307, 1982; Belarusian Institute of Arts and Sciences, New York, Archives; Litaratura i Mastactva, Minsk, no. 39, Oct. 1, 1982.
