EN
A leading position in the 17th century Belarusian literature is occupied by Afanasij Filipovich, a writer and publicist, a political and Orthodox Church activist. His “Diariuš”, an autobiographical work is one of the most distinctive examples of polemic publicity devoted to the fight against the Brest Union in 1596 and its tragic consequences. Meanwhile, a special place in the 17th century Russian literature is occupied by protopop Avvakum’s “Žitie” – a remarkable first apostle and a symbol of the Old Believers movement whose life experience served as the first autobiography in Russian literature. Afanasij Filipovich’s “Diariuš” and protopop Avvakum’s “Žitie” present sufficient grounds for considering various typological similarities and parallels in authors’ fate and the pathos of their works. New principles of the selfawareness of an individual and the ways of expressing them are present in the works of Belarusian and Russian writers.