Template:Did you know nominations/Pyotr Masherov

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The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: rejected by Narutolovehinata5 (talk) 16:07, 12 February 2023 (UTC)

Pyotr Masherov

  • ... that Pyotr Masherov pursued a rapid modernisation of Minsk that resulted in the destruction of much of the original town that survived WW2? Source: Ioffe, Emmanuel (2008). From Myasnikov to Malofeyev: the Rulers of the BSSR. Minsk. p. 138.
    • ALT1: ... that under Pyotr Masherov the Belarusian agricultural industry expanded their grain harvest from 2.3 million to 7.3 million, over the 3x the original amount? Source: Dzyemyantsyey, Mikalay. Respect for Business. p. 116. , Vecherko, G. N. He Did Not Show Himself, and Did Not Utter Incantations. p. 240.
    • Reviewed: Template:Did you know nominations/Iowa Cow War

Improved to Good Article status by Mupper-san (talk). Nominated by Onegreatjoke (talk) at 20:24, 1 December 2022 (UTC).

  • I made a very minor edit to directly source the sentence from which your first hook derives; I learned that was a requirement just a couple weeks ago. Otherwise, the article is an outstanding little work of biography and I was happy to see the GA review process was similarly painless. All requirements done (I have AGF on offline source) and both hooks are sufficiently interesting, though I think Masherov's regret would be an enhancing addition to the first hook. Great job to both nominator and improver! Hope to see more from both. ~ Pbritti (talk) 18:00, 5 December 2022 (UTC)
    • @Onegreatjoke and Pbritti: I'm happy to assume good faith on a book source i can't access – I'm less happy to assume good faith on a book I can't prove... exists? Searches for the title of Respect for Business, in both English and Google Translated-Belarussian, turn up nothing, and the book citations don't come with dates or links. Also, Mikalay Dzyemyantsyey wasn't a scholar, he was the chairman of the Belarusian Supreme Soviet. Is his word reliable? And who was Vecherko? theleekycauldron (talkcontribs) (she/her) 11:33, 15 December 2022 (UTC)
pinging @Mupper-san: since he knows the sources better than I do. Onegreatjoke (talk) 18:31, 15 December 2022 (UTC)
@Theleekycauldron:: You (unfortunately) won't find it in Belarusian - it's part of a collection of texts titled Pyotr Masherov: Epoch and Fate. On the 100th Anniversary of his Birth, a Collection of Articles and Texts (Russian: Петр Машеров. Эпоха и судьба. К 100-летию со дня рождения. Сборник статей и воспоминаний.), and to my knowledge hasn't been published on its own. Additionally, I would call Dzyemyantsyey reliable given he was a witness to events occurring under Masherov's rule. Lastly, Vecherko is (I believe) Valentin Vechyorko [ru], a Belarusian historian and opposition politician. Mupper-san (talk) 19:00, 15 December 2022 (UTC)
@Mupper-san: I see – not sure why it would be G. N., then. Who published Dzyemyantsyey's book? theleekycauldron (talkcontribs) (she/her) 23:58, 16 December 2022 (UTC)
@Theleekycauldron:: There is also the possibility (which is more likely now, looking at it) that it was Valentin Vechyorko's father, Grigory Nikolayevich Vechyorko (Russian: Григорий Николаевич Вечёрко) - himself an advisor to Masherov, deputy head of Gosplan in Belarus, and a member of the KGB. Dzyemyantsyey's text (Which is actually in a separate collection, a mistake on my part as the two are similarly anthologies of first-hand accounts and historical analysis) was published by the League for the Assistance to Enterprises Association (Russian: Ассоциация "Лига содействия оборонным предприятиям) The collection which Dzyemyantsyey's memoirs are actually part of is Pyotr Masherov, Son of the Belarusian Nation: Memoirs and Articles on his 95th Birth Anniversary (Russian: Сын белорусского народа Петр Машеров. К 95-летию со дня рождения. воспоминания и статьи. Mupper-san (talk) 00:26, 17 December 2022 (UTC)
@Mupper-san: Aha, gotcha. Is the publisher reputable for historical content? theleekycauldron (talkcontribs) (she/her) 00:28, 17 December 2022 (UTC)
@Theleekycauldron: I can't really testify as to any knowledge of the publisher, but I can say that many of the authors included in it were people who had some experience with his leadership, among them various social, academic, and cultural figures during the period. Additionally is the fact that sizeable portions of content (for example, Masherov being referred to as a "genuine communist" or similarly described as being a genuine adherent of communism compared to his equivalents during the Era of Stagnation). As an addendum, Dzyemyantsyey would likely have expertise in regards to agriculture as he was head of the agricultural department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Byelorussia from 1977 (see here). And my sincerest apologies for not replying earlier - it must have completely slipped my mind! Mupper-san (talk) 07:24, 7 January 2023 (UTC)
Hmm. I know that public officials have a lot of first hand experience, but that doesn't make them reliable for the content they produce – public officials still have agendas and alliances, even after leaving office. If the publisher doesn't have a reputation for historical content, I'm not entirely convinced that we're dealing with a reliable source for the figures. No worries on the response time :) I'm rather swamped and bonked myself. theleekycauldron (talkcontribs) (she/her) 00:16, 11 January 2023 (UTC)
Mupper-san, this nomination, while you didn't make it, is now over two months old, and it's been over a month since your previous reply here. I don't see that any work has been done on the article despite a significant number of edits from you recently. Although theleekycauldron said there weren't any worries on the response time, that was four weeks ago; I think this nomination either needs to make good progress very soon or to be closed. Can you let us know your plans regarding this nomination? Thank you very much. BlueMoonset (talk) 00:05, 9 February 2023 (UTC)
BlueMoonset I really don't have any strong opinion on whether or not the DYK nomination is closed. As you mentioned yourself, it wasn't started by me, and I'd be completely fine with closing it as unsuccessful. Mupper-san (talk) 03:25, 9 February 2023 (UTC)
  • Marking for closure; issues haven't been solved in over two months, and nominator hasn't been back. BlueMoonset (talk) 17:00, 11 February 2023 (UTC)