Belarus (magazine #12 2014) by BELARUS Magazine

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No.12 (975), 2014

BELARUS

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Беларусь. Belarus

Politics, Economy, Culture

Holiday in the course of time

Events in Belarus and abroad

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Беларусь.Belarus Monthly magazine No. 12 (975), 2014 Published since 1930 State Registration Certificate of mass medium No.8 dated March 2nd, 2009, issued by the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus

Zone of responsibility doesn’t endure emptiness

Founders: The Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus “SB” newspaper editorial office Belvnesheconombank Editor: Viktor Kharkov Executive Secretary: Valentina Zhdanovich

Design and Layout by

Initiatives coincide with expectations Minsk visited by the Secretary General

of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong

Guarantees of good relations

Christmas tree, images and associations

Generous evening with bright carnival Village of Semezhevo cherish-

customs, crafts and songs brought by Belarusian emigree to Tyumen Region in the 19th century helped survival and preservation of identity on severe taiga

In the footsteps of valuable rarities

Princess on strings Every day, Gomel

50 THE Best time for festive greetings

Traditions live in Siberia Traditions,

resident Sergey Borisevich winds up his old gramophone. He listens to some classical music from the last century and waltzes. He is not alone, but with a nice girl. There would seem to be nothing strange in this, however there is a ‘but’ — his partner is a mechanical puppet

Trends in modernist style International Festival of Modern Choreography in Vitebsk (IFMC) is not only the oldest contemporary dance festival in the post-Soviet space. It also boasts of being among the greatest number of foreign participants

The New Year’s fir trees, love and jealousy The New Year is a time of

looking back on past months, helping us to understand our true nature and that which we hold most dear

беларусь.belarus 2014

Беларусь.Belarus is published in Belarusian, English, Spanish and Polish. Distributed in 50 countries of the world. Final responsibility for factual accuracy or interpretation rests with the authors of the publications. Should any article of Беларусь.Belarus be used, the reference to the magazine is obligatory. The magazine does not bear responsibility for the contents of advertisements.

Publisher: “SB” editorial office This magazine has been printed at State Entertainment “Publishers “Belarus Printing House”. 79 Nezavisimosti Ave., Minsk, Belarus, 220013 Order No. 3417 Total circulation — 1907 copies (including 728 in English).

Write us to the address: 11 Kiselyov Str., Minsk, Belarus, 220029. Tel.: +375 (17) 290-62-24, 290-66-45. Tel./Fax: +375 (17) 290-68-31.

www.belarus-magazine.by E-mail: mail@belarus-magazine.by

es the ancient New Year custom — as recognized by UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage

Vadim Kondrashov Nadezhda Ponkratova

Subscription index in Belpochta catalogue — 74977 For future foreign subscribers for ‘Belarus’ magazine, apply to ‘MK-Periodica’ agency. E-mail: info@periodicals.ru

Surprising Paris

Telephone in Minsk: +375 (17) 227-09-10.

editor's note

Bright

peculiarities

ctually, this refers not to particular events which became most important in the past year, since the sense lies in essence of these events. What do they bring with? What is their generalizing role? In this context, the recent opening of the Stadler Minsk Plant, manufacturing super-modern electric trains, in Fanipol, near Minsk, is a very landmark event. The factory in Fanipol has been constructed in a short period of time, with the first stone laid just two years ago. Now, the enterprise is ready to fulfil a major contract for Russian Aeroexpress. New orders are in hand, so the facility has been designed with expansion of its range and production output in mind. In total, the work of Stadler can be taken as an etalon of investment behaviour. The company has invested live money into the country’s economy and constructed a factory while also bringing the latest technologies. Moreover, it has open sales markets and consequently expands them. Such approach is appreciated, so the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, who took part in the solemn opening ceremony in Fanipol, assured that Belarus will consider the new facilitate as its own — rendering support as it would to a Belarusian company. Businessman from Switzerland, Peter Spuhler, called the opening moment of the new production a sign, testifying to the progression rather than recession and that many should think well

over this example. Stadler’s investments into the Belarusian economy are a wise response to modern economic challenges: in times of economic disturbance, solidarity is more useful than sanctions. Only joint efforts can help overcome objective global problems. Moreover, the event in Fanipol is also vital for us because it will obligatory receive its development in future. It isn’t difficult to suppose that the opening of the plant will inspire new life into Fanipol which, evidently, should become one of Minsk’s satellite towns. Meanwhile, successful work of the joint enterprise with very serious investments will serve as an example for attracting other foreign investors to Belarus. The country is ready to discuss any initiatives and proposals, enabling to reinforce the economy while creating new high-tech productions, infrastructure and highly-paid jobs. The support guarantees of such a kind of projects are promised at the top level and, undoubtedly, this are far-sighted decisions, when the state creates conditions and offers preferences to investors of the world level who create highly-competitive goods. Moreover, when such investors come with money and new technologies, as well as with their sales markets, knowing where to sell such produce. Zone of Responsibility Doesn’t Endure Emptiness material further on explores this topic, revealing the prospects of development of the Fanipol plant. ‘What are your plans for future?’ question can be often heard these days. As a rule, the beginning of the year turns us to measure one’s own actions with a new period of time. There is nothing unusual in making plans for the future. Many people do: they make plans for several days or a week and live by them. However, long-term planning is another thing entirely: for five or ten years. It is very difficult to make one’s life run according to a detailed program; after all, fate often interferes with the course of events. Nonetheless, there are advantages to living one’s life with goals in sight. In many countries this logic has led to policy planning and detailed strategy development for a lengthy period. The Russians, for example, have already made plans till 2025, Kazakhstan — until 2050. Soon a similar document will appear in our country. The Economy Ministry is beginning public consultation on the National Strategy for Sustainable Development until 2030 (NSSD-2030). Anyone interested can now view this document by clicking on the link provided on the department’s website. In brief, the strategy is based on three principles: those of people, economy and ecology. The document itself is rather lengthy, but worth reading in its entirety. Its one hundred and thirty pages describe how the country will follow a path of sustainable development and outline the risks it will face in the long-term. Our readers can learn about the forecast-strategy in details from our What Will It Be Like in 2030? publication. Good tendencies always inspire and the future becomes to be seen more attractive. Optimism to everyone! By Viktor Kharkov

2014 беларусь.belarus

Panorama  Have managed to outperform a lot of countries Belarus among leaders in Europe and Central Asia for gender equality

pecialists from the UN Department of Public Information in Belarus explain that the Gender Equality Index (GEI) evaluates across three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment, and labour market participation. Reproductive health is measured by the maternal mortality ratio and the adolescent pregnancy rate; empowerment is determined by the share of parliamentary seats held by women and by their attainment of secondary and higher education; the labour market dimension is measured by women’s participation in the workforce and the distribution of roles between men and women. Belarus’ Gender Inequality Index is 0.152: the 28th among 149 countries. Azerbaijan ranks the 62nd.

 Good export product Central banks of post-Soviet countries keen to create analogue of Single Settlement Information Space (ERIP), using Belarusian example

he Deputy Chairman of the National Bank’s Board, Sergey Dubkov, does not rule out the possibility that Belarusian experience may be shared with other post-Soviet countries. “Of course, we’re ready to help our colleagues integrate their systems with our own,” notes the official. He points out that solutions are based on Belarusian accomplishments: tech-

беларусь.belarus 2014

The Gender-Related Development Index (GDI) was included in the Human Development Report (HDR) for the first time in 2014. The latter measures three main dimensions: health (male and female life expectancy at birth); education attainment (time spent at school and the average number of years spent by adults aged 25 and over in education); and the management of economic resources (each gender’s contribution to GDP per capita). The GenderRelated Development Index currently covers 149 states. In 2013, the GDI reached 0.793 for Belarusian women, and 0.777 for men: as a result, Belarus’ GDI is 1.021. The HDR is an annual milestone published by the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) since 1990. The 2014 HDR Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience features two closely interrelated concepts vital to achieving progress in human development. nological, intellectual and legal ones. “In other words, we’ve created a good export product using Belarusian capabilities and Belarusian personnel,” stresses Mr. Dubkov. This year, the ERIP has undergone a number of serious changes. Within the ERIP, the National Bank has made a universal transaction mechanism for all Belarusian banks and, from 2015, the ERIP is expected to become a joint stock company. According to Mr. Dubkov, the shareholders will be the National Bank and the largest players on the market. “I hope that this unique innovative solution will continue developing. The ERIP has the potential and feasibility for growth.”

 Fully justified trust Minsk chosen as the capital of the European Youth Olympic Festival

he decision to hold the competition in 2019 was taken at the 43rd General Assembly of the European Olympic Committee, with Minsk’s application unanimously supported by the delegates of the forum. This is no surprise, since the bid committee from Belarus includes famous athletes Yulia Nesterenko and Dmitry Dovgalenok, the General Secretary of the National Olympic Committee Georgy Katulin, Belarus’ Sports and Tourism Minister Alexander Shamko, Aide to the President for Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism Development Maxim Ryzhenkov, as well as the First Deputy Chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee Vladimir Kukharev. According to the President of the European Olympic Committee, Patrick Hickey, Belarus’ image as a country that has proved its ability to organize the world level tournaments was a key factor. Mr. Hickey explained, “I was in Minsk in 2011 and know that you boast wonderful sports facilities of top quality as well as a beautiful and contemporary city which is keen and able to organize competitions. The officials and leadership in your country understand and support sport. My friend René Fasel, President of the International Ice Hockey Federation, said that the recent IIHF World Championship here was the best ever. I’m convinced that Minsk is the right choice!”

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VISIT

Initiatives coincide with expectations Minsk visited by the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong

n its president, parliament and government, Vietnam has the political structure in place for all the workings of the republic. The current Constitution dictates that the head of the Communist Party determines the leadership of the country; it’s the General Secretary that is considered to be the head of state. The President of Belarus met this important guest.

It has been easy for the two states to build a trustworthy relationship, facilitated by the historical legacy of the USSR. The Soviet Union supported Vietnam in its struggle for independence, and students from there studied in the Soviet Union, including Belarus. The Vietnamese remember this and appreciate the assistance they have had. It has led to their openness in developing a cooperative relationship and hopes

of future links between the two countries. The aims of both governments in collaborating are to stimulate the development of the two countries and to benefit each nation. Of course, economy comes to the forefront. Our views primarily coincide in the political dialogue and the assessment of the world processes. This is a good basis for active business interaction. Belarusian enterprises have an opportunity to considerably expand the supplies of various technique — necessary to Vietnam, particularly, agricultural machines, automobile machinery and heavy-duty dump trucks. The President drew the attention of his guest that Minsk is ready to stimulate trade with contemporary instruments: mechanisms of leasing, export loans and insurance. Nevertheless, closer industrial co-operation is a strategic vector. There are certain achievements in this area. Belarusian MAZ vehicles are assembled in Vietnam while Vietnamese coffee is processed in Belarus. The 2014 беларусь.belarus

COOPERATION sides are determined to continue developing such projects. Our partners are actively developing passenger transportations and the enterprise manufacturing Belarusian buses and probably other technique, could fit this programme rather harmoniously. Each side’s interest in mutual penetration of investments received attention, with the process viewed in a wider context then merely bilateral interaction. Work in Belarus opens up vast opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to enter the Eurasian Economic Union market, while we are keen to encourage Vietnam as a reliable base for promoting Belarusian economic interests in South East Asia. Moreover, we boast a high level of mutual understanding with neighbouring states politically and they are demonstrating clear business initiatives. Nguyen Phu Trong assured Mr. Lukashenko that Belarusian initiatives completely coincide with Vietnamese expectations. During the negotiations some definite areas of collaboration have been discussed. For example, it was decided to open a Belarusian trade centre in Hanoi and a Vietnamese trade centre in Minsk. Moreover, the preparation of the agreement on the zone of free trade will also be accelerated. Parliaments, governments and regional authorities will also join the work in their areas. Mr. Lukashenko proposed to determine 3-4 particular large-scale projects that will act as a locomotive for co-operation. These would be patronized directly by the heads of the two countries and would demonstrate the example of benefits which are generated by the partnership. The reached agreements were stipulated in the joint statement of the President and the Secretary General. Moreover, Mr. Lukashenko said that next year he is going to visit Vietnam and, by that time, all proposals, aiming to strengthen liaisons, will have been prepared in details. By Dmitry Kryat

беларусь.belarus 2014

Space of the Baltic fairway Many forms of co-operation are widely used in interrelations with Russian regions

ust within several days Presi- burg could be an example for other Rusdent of Belarus Alexander sian regions to follow. Lukashenko has met in Minsk Starting from 2010, the bilateral with the Governor of St. Pe- trade has been on the rise. It reached tersburg Georgy Poltavchenko almost $300m in 2013 and has now inand Governor of the Kalinin- creased by further 15 percent. During grad Region Nikolai Tsukanov. the meeting with the Governor of the On meeting with Mr. Poltavchenko, Kaliningrad Region, Nikolai Tsukanov, Mr. Lukashenko noted with satisfaction the President noted that it’s necessary that, in 2013, Belarus-Saint Petersburg to set a task to reach the pre-crisis level, trade totalled $1.9bln. This year, and the guest agreed. What points the figure is expected to reach of growth should primarily re$2bln. In January-September ceive attention? 2014, a 9 percent increase in Kaliningrad is among the comparison with 2013 was cities which are going to welregistered. “It’s a positive come the 2018 FIFA World trend. Let’s hope it will conCup. Belarus has covered a tinue,” said the Head of State. similar way when preparing “It’s a good thing that we’ve for the IIHF World ChampionNikolai Tsukanov made the transition from diship. The country has accumurect trade to the creation of joint lated huge experience both in the projects, primarily in the sphere of in- construction of sites — necessary for the dustrial co-operation. It is an important large-scale event — and in their exploitadirection and we’ll support it,” noted the tion and organization of work as a whole. President. The projects he referred The guests are extremely keen on to were those to create passenthis experience and Minsk is ger cars, road construction ready to share its best pracand municipal vehicles and tices. Moreover, the President to ship these vehicles from drew attention to the fact that Belarus to Saint Petersburg, the necessity will obligatory if necessary. The Head of State appear to renew the transport is particularly pleased with the infrastructure. A fleet of trams, success of collaboration in the agbuses and trolley buses needs to be Georgy ricultural industry. Food and raw Poltavchenko renewed. Belarus has all these and agricultural materials account for is ready to supply this machinery. about 40 percent of Belarusian exports to Additionally, Minsk sees great prospects St. Petersburg and constitute 10 percent in the development of business interacof Belarus’ total food export to Russia. tion with the focus made on industrial coMr. Lukashenko stressed that inter- operation, and this finds a corresponding action between Belarus and St. Peters- response from Kaliningrad.

THE REAL SECTOR

Zone of responsibility doesn’t endure emptiness The new Stadler Plant was solemnly opened in Fanipol, near Minsk

ome time ago, I came across a photo-report dedicated to new Moscow Aeroexpress trains, in a popular blog. I’d previously heard of these carriages but had to admit that the shots of super-modern and super-comfortable double-decker trains were truly impressive. However, seeing them before my very eyes was another thing altogether. The first three trains have been supplied to Moscow by Stadler Company, from its plant in Switzerland. Meanwhile, the next 25 will be manufactured in Fanipol, near Minsk, which recently hosted a solemn opening ceremony for the new Stadler Plant, attended by the President. The ceremony was held at the plant workshop which confirmed the production level and culture. Truly, the atmosphere was comfortable: a check-room, a stage, places for invited guests, stands with tea and coffee and national Swiss sweets wonderfully matched with the spacious and light room. Actually, there was an impression that everyone gathered at the reception hall rather than at the factory. No characteristic smell was in the air as well — although the newly painted carriages stood nearby and the assembly process did not stop.

All those present were impressed by the quietness of the new train, which Mr. Lukashenko boarded, alongside Stadler Head Peter Spuhler, to travel to the official ceremony venue, within the plant workshop. It was almost hard to believe that assembly continued nearby, as there were no unpleasant smells, despite the newly painted carriages being beside

The President sincerely thanked Mr. Spuhler for his hard work and exemplary partnership: qualities not to be taken for granted. Stadler’s work in Belarus has been a perfect investment example of injecting cold hard cash into the country: constructing a factory and sharing the latest technologies. In addition, it al-

Western sanctions will not affect the co-operation between the European Union, Belarus and the Eurasian Economic Union, noted Mr. Lukashenko when answering journalists’ questions during his visit to the Stadler Minsk Plant those gathered. The spacious room itself was comfortable, including a place to hang coats, a stage, seating, and stands serving tea and coffee, as well as national Swiss sweets. The Fanipol facility has been constructed in a short period of time, with the first stone laid just two years ago. Now, it’s ready to fulfil a major contract for Russian Aeroexpress. New orders are in hand, so the facility has been designed with expansion of its range in mind.

ready enjoys healthy sales markets and is gradually expanding them. Minsk advocates such an approach and, according to the President, will view the factory as its own — rendering support as it would to a Belarusian company. Mr. Spuhler is appreciative, seeing the factory as ‘a sign of progression rather than recession’. Stadler’s investments into the Belarusian economy are a wise response to modern economic challenges: in times 2014 беларусь.belarus

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THE REAL SECTOR

of economic disturbance, solidarity is more useful than sanctions. Only joint efforts can help overcome objective global problems. “I’m convinced that our production premises in Belarus will become the foundation for expansion of collaboration across the Eurasian Economic Union,” notes Mr. Shuhler, the Head of Stadler Rail Group AG. He assures us that the manufacture of contemporary double-decker electric trains in Belarus is very much like that elsewhere in Europe, ensuring the same quality. He praises his good and trusting relations with all those involved in setting up the new production in Fanipol. Mr. Shuhler is grateful to the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, for his personal support of this important project, saying, “I understand that this is more than a matter of course, so it’s very pleasant to me to have found an optimal solution to every issue.” беларусь.belarus 2014

Stadler Rail Group supplies individual railway transportation solutions, with factories located in Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Belarus, Algeria and the USA. In line with the plan, Stadler’s partner, Belkommunmash, is to undergo further development, including staff training, to ensure that modernization is embraced in every sphere. The President has tasked enterprise heads with having their scheme for future development ready by late 2014; this is a zone of responsibility. Western sanctions will not affect the co-operation between the European Union, Belarus and the Eurasian Economic Union, noted Mr. Lukashenko when answering journalists’ questions during his visit to the Stadler Minsk Plant. Speaking about sanctions, Mr. Lukashenko believes they are an anachronism. “You know that it was not Europe

who initiated it. Europe is suffering big losses because of these sanctions. But apparently Europe is too dependent on other centers of power for the time being,” the President noted. In his opinion, no matter how difficult it is now, the situation in Ukraine will calm down and these sanctions will be abandoned sooner or later. “Whatever the sanctions may be, people in the West and in the East are much smarter than those who impose sanctions; they will find avenues of cooperation in all areas. It is impossible to squeeze business and hard to isolate ‘one person’ today. Such gigantic regions as the Eurasian Union and the EU will never be isolated,” Mr. Lukashenko added, noting that ties remain close. “The time will come and we will forget about these sanctions. However, before we do so, we’ll overcome them, as will such businessmen as Peter Spuhler. No one will make them abandon the investments they’ve brought here. No politi-

THE REAL SECTOR cian will agree to this, otherwise they are not politicians. Business will not let them do it,” the President remarked. The Head of State underlined that its opening in the town is of special importance. “Firstly, it strengthens Belarus’ export potential and, secondly, the project will play a social role, inspiring new life into Fanipol. The town is projected to become a Minsk satellite-city — uniting suburban communities and a mechanical engineering centre, with good infrastructure and comfortable living and working conditions,” the President said. There’s confidence in expansion of economic co-operation with foreign partners. The Head of State is convinced that the successful operation of Stadler Rail Group in Belarus will inspire other companies. “We have many promising

The new Stadler Minsk Plant will contribute to Fanipol’s development investment projects, which we are eager to implement, with the assistance of foreign capital,” noted Mr. Lukashenko. “Therefore, we are always ready to discuss initiatives and proposals bolstering our economy, creating modern hightech enterprises, alongside infrastructure and new, highly-paid jobs.” Congratulating all those present at the launch of the Stadler Minsk Plant, the President stressed, “The quality and reputation of Belarusian electric trains

Level of the visible effect The role of business and innovations need to be enhanced

elarus’ Economy Minister attended the 4th International Entrepreneurship Forum, “Innovations are impossible without an enterprising spirit, the Government is focused on developing innovative entrepreneurship, encouraging innovations which can adapt to our changing global economy more quickly and effectively,” the Minister said. He admits that today’s level of per capita GDP has been reached at the expense of more traditional sectors of the economy. Unfortunately, in terms of the development of innovation, Belarus is not strongly placed. The participants of the forum have discussed the issues which require joint co-operation between the state and business sectors. The most significant

of these is the instability of legislation, the lack of qualified personnel and external financing. The Director General of the IPM Business School, Pavel Daneiko, is convinced that such issues are not only the concern of Belarusian entrepreneurs. These are problems faced by businesses everywhere. Another issue is that players in our market desperately need access to long-term finance at attractive terms. Representatives of the financial institutions are assured that the bank’s programmes aimed at supporting small and medium-sized businesses are operating effectively, with a good takeup rate. The vast majority of clients are involved in trade and services. There are currently very few manufacturers amongst this group of entrepreneurs.

should be top notch, inspiring pride. We are not planning or building any secondary-level companies nowadays, since we have no need for facilities producing unpopular products. Modern markets are strong and demonstrate serious competition.” As the President explained, Swiss Stadler Rail Group enjoys good conditions in Belarus, to set up production of modern electric trains. The company’s goods are well-known for their high quality and are definitely popular worldwide — including on demanding European markets. Stadler recently received a major order from Moscow. “The Swiss company has come here with money, new technologies and its own market: it knows where to sell its products,” noted the Head of State. By Vasily Kharitonov

On average, only 20 percent of medium-sized businesses and only 5 percent of small businesses receive loans. Three quarters of all loans are taken to update infrastructure and only 25 percent is injected into development. This gives the impression that we have a situation where businesses simply try to stay afloat rather than invest in new technology. As far as rates are concerned, although bankers believe 25 percent per annum is quite attractive, many businesses disagree. Small and medium-sized enterprises would like an opportunity to access finances at beneficial terms and for longer periods of time. According to Ms. Snopkov’s assessments, the Government and the Economy Ministry are creating efficient conditions for development. One significant step is the adoption of Decree #229, which has introduced new tools to stimulate innovation by individuals and small business entities with the introduction of innovation vouchers and grants. Only time will tell as to the effectiveness of all these measures.

2014 беларусь.belarus

STRATEGY

There is nothing unusual in making plans for the future. Many people do: they make plans for several days or a week and live according to them.

ong-term planning is entirely another thing: for five or ten years or even for life, planning to build a house, buy a cottage, have a baby or buy a new car perhaps. It is very difficult to make one’s life run according to a detailed programme; after all, fate often interferes with the course of events. Nonetheless, there are advantages to living one’s life with goals in sight. In many countries this logic has led to policy planning and detailed strategy development for a lengthy period. The Russians, for example, have already made plans till 2025, Kazakhstan — until 2050. Soon a similar document will appear in our country. The Ministry of the Economy is beginning public consultation on the National strategy on Belarus’ sustainable social and economic development until 2030 (NSSD-2030). беларусь.belarus 2014

 increase in expected life span to up to 77 years;  growth of GDP for 2016-2030;  GDP per capita by 2030 to $30-39 thousand of purchasing capacity (against $17.6 thousand in 2013);  increase in expenditure on scientific research and development to 2.5 percent of GDP in 2030;  growth in the share of the budget for the preservation of the environment to 2-3 percent of GDP in 2030;  reduction of volumes of emissions of greenhouse gases to 15 percent in comparison with 1990.

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What will it be like in 2030?

Prognosis-2030:

Anyone interested can now view this document by clicking on the link provided on the department’s website. In brief, the strategy is based on three principles: those of people, economy and ecology. In addition to the Ministry of the Economy, other authors of the project are: the Research Institute of Economy with the assistance of state administrators, regional executive committees, the National Academy of Sciences and representatives of the business community. Expert support was given by international organizations such as representatives of the UN\UNDP in Belarus, the Global Environment Facility, the World Bank and others. The authors of the NSSD divide the next 15 years of development into two stages. The first will last from 2016 until 2020. In this period the country will have to achieve qualitative balanced growth in the economy. At the second stage (from

2021 until 2030), it is expected that there will be a transition to strong sustainable development. The experts suggest there should be emphasis given to improvements in the hi-tech sector of the economy with V and VI technological setup, on the application of power effective and ecologically safe technologies. Among the priorities is the accelerated development of information and engineering services, transport infrastructure, improvement in the quality and expansion of export of educational and medical services. The criteria for these qualitative structural transformations will be to halve the gap in labour productivity compared to the average European level and to increase the share of the hi-tech and information technology sector in GDP (up to 8-10 percent in 2030), and a decrease in the power intensity of GDP for 2016-2030 to 35 percent. By Alexander Benko

SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

 Artesian wells for capital Minsk may satisfy its own water needs from underground sources by 2020

mitry Yanchik, the Head of the Department for Municipal Economy and Energy, of Minsk’s City Executive Committee, emphasizes, “I can’t tell you the exact date when Minsk will be completely able to satisfy its water usage from underground sources, as everything depends on planned works and financing. The program is focused on 2030 but we’ll strive to make it happen as soon as possible. By 2020, the whole Minsk may be using artesian wells.” Currently, Minsk has 344 wells and 16 underground water abstractions. Some wells will be redrilled, with the aim of increasing productivity. Meanwhile, some new wells will appear. According to Mr. Yanchik, from 2015-2016, the increased number of wells will offer Minsk 22,000 cubic metres of water from underground sources.

 Medicine from river

Gomel Medical University discovers therapeutic viruses in river water, which can destroy antibiotic-resistant bacteria

he rivers Pripyat, Sozh and Dnieper are donating new virus-bacteriophages: ‘devourers of bacteria’. A team from the Department of Microbiology, Virology and Immunology, at Gomel State Medical University, has made the discovery — led by Dmitry Tapalsky. He tells us, “Bacteriophages were discovered at the beginning of the last century. They are as dangerous to bacteria as AIDS is to humans. Fortunately, for people, they aren’t dangerous. Using these viruses, the team has begun creating medicines. With the discovery of antibiotics, in the USA and Europe, production of bacteriophages stopped. However, it continued in the USSR and they are actually produced in Russia and sold in pharmacies. Our discovery is unique, since new viruses have been discovered which can kill bacteria immune to antibiotics.” In particular, the new ‘virus-helpers’ are effective against such infections as Klebsiella, Salmonella and Pseudomonas Aureginosa. The department co-operates with the Microgen Russian State Scientific-Production Association and various new cultures of bacteriophage medicines have been created, being now put into production at a branch of Microgen, in Perm.

Staking a claim on biofield The National Strategy for Sustainable Development2030 (NSSD-2030), which has recently been published for public discussion, contains one point that stands apart. The authors of the document suggest putting an emphasis on the creation of a hi-tech sector of the economy with mainly V and VI technologies.

he task is quite ambitious. The fact of the matter is that it is very difficult to reach such high levels in the development of science. And without having proper centres, it is almost impossible. At the same time, our scientists state that during recent years the country has seen quite significant breakthroughs in terms of establishment and development of biotechnologies, which are the basis of many innovations of the new VI technological mode. The word ‘biotechnology’ sounds obscure to the majority of us and most likely reminds us of scenes from American horror films, when experts in white chemical protection suits grow dangerous things in top secret underground laboratories. This is not the case, the rapid progress, which has occurred in biology over the last few decades, has expanded the boundaries of the application of biological processes in manufacturing. Today they are used in practically all branches of the economy: agriculture, public health services, food, light, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Biotechnology is used to produce antibiotics, hormones, vaccines, diagnostic systems, bioplastics and for cell production. For the needs of agriculture, new species of plants and animals, forage additives, amino acids, ferments for the production of fodder and probiotic agents are produced. In the food industry, bacterial ferments, food ferments, yeast, spirit and products for functional and dietetic therapy are made. It is clear that the economy of Belarus depends on importing various kinds of biotechnological products. According to Belstat (the National Statistical Committee of Belarus), in 2014 беларусь.belarus

SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

The specialist’s point of view Igor VOLOTOVSKY, NAS academician of Belarus, Head of the Chair at the Institute of Biophysics and Cell Engineering, and scientific leader of the Innovation Biotechnologies state programme:

2011, the volume of imported forage mixes, lactic acid, biopreservatives, bacterial concentrates and ferments cost over $220 million. Some varieties of biotechnological production are manufactured here, but it will still be an enormous task to escalate biotechnological manufacturing to satisfy the needs of the republic, without mentioning any exports. The first attempt to resolve the issue was the state program for Innovative Biotechnologies for 2010-2012 and for the period until 2015. It is already possible to sum up the results. For the last three years, seven new factories were created and nearly 30 new products were developed using Belarusian innovations. The strategy was to replace imports for the huge common market of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan. The agricultural and pharmaceutical sectors are especially important, as they have the greatest potential for growth. The introduction of cell technologies has an important place in the plan, it covers treatments for burns, ulcers, sclerosis, leukaemia and joints etc. using stem cells. In December of this year, the Academy of Sciences will launch the centre of regenerative medicine, which will be engaged in the treatment of diseases with the use of various cells, and the first one to use stem cells at a moderate cost. Our technologies are already used for the production of modern generics and pharmaceuticals, including antiviral and antitumor medications. These are ‘clever’ medicines, preparations that are new not only for Belarus, but also for the post-Soviet countries. By 2015, 10 new manufacturers will be created following the norms of GMP, and this will allow the production of pharmaceuticals with more than 300 names, to increase the volume of its manufacturing at least three-fold.

Between 2000 and 2010, our country considerably lagged behind developed western countries in terms of biotechnological research and developments, as well as industrial manufacture, although foundations were being laid to develop the biotechnological sector. The 1st Congress of Scientists of Belarus raised difficulties faced by the biotechnology industry, which inspired an instruction from the Head of State, and the ‘Innovation Biotechnologies’ state program was formed for 2010-2012, until 2015. This stimulated a new economic sector, meeting contemporary world standards and setting clear objectives. For the first time within the post-Soviet space, we were endeavouring to solve the problem comprehensively, within contemporary biotechnological science, with particular focus on agricultural biotechnology (plant growing and animal breeding), biotechnologies in the food and medical industries, and bioenergetics. The major aim is to fully satisfy domestic needs by 2015, regarding bacterial concentrates for the milk industry, blood plasma, and probiotic preparations and their adsorbents (previously imported). This should ensure import-substitution of up to 80 percent for the domestic market in biopesticides, up to 85 percent for veterinary preparations and 25 percent for bone marrow transplants. We’ve worked across these and some other areas from scratch, having previously imported all these. Plans are afoot to set up production of biodiesel fuel (accounting for 8 percent of the domestic market in diesel) and biopetrol (accounting for 12 percent of the market). By 2015, annual production of innovative biotechnological goods should exceed Br500bln, while import-substitution should reach around $150m. Meanwhile, exports should exceed $60m. To solve these tasks, the ‘Innovation Biotechnologies-2’ state programme for 2016-2025 is being drafted, taking into account the instructions of the President in March, given at a session of leading national scientists.  By 2020, the biotechnological sector of the economy should have reached the volume of production equivalent to $500 million, and export deliveries of biotechnological production up to $100 million. It is planned to continue the development of domestic biotechnologies and the creation of new enterprises using these technologies. Low-tonnage manufacture on the removal of human lactoferrin from genetically modified goat milk is one industry that will appear in the country.

By Vyacheslav Ivanov

беларусь.belarus 2014

FORUM

Guarantees of good relations Belarus is becoming an active subject of the international economic life — as seen from its recent participation in the 3rd Eurasian Innovations and International Integration Forum in Italian Verona

he Forum has been organized by the Associazione Conoscere Eurasia (Learning Eurasia Association), with support from some Italian banks. This already traditional meeting with an ‘eastern’ focus has gathered a record 800 businessmen, state agency heads and politicians this time, in addition to over 100 journalists from Italy, Russia, Belarus, China, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The former Italian PM — Romano Prodi, the State Secretary of the Belarus-Russia Union State — Grigory Rapota, a member of the Belaru-

sian Council of Ministers’ Presidium — Sergei Rumas, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Intesa Sanpaulo — Giovanni Bazoli, and ambassadors of some countries delivered speeches in front of wide public. Many pragmatic businessmen and politicians in Europe have no desire to lose the potential of trust accumulated in recent decades. In particular, much attention at the Forum was devoted to prospects of co-operation expansion which emerge on January 1st, 2015 — when the Eurasian Economic Union of Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan and Armenia begins its activity. Under these conditions, Belarus could become a bridge between the West and Eurasia — as the

Belarusian Ambassador to Italy, Yevgeny Shestakov, believes. He says, “Belarus is beginning to demonstrate greater results while working on the many-sided format; this refers equally to the Italian venue, the FAO and other international organizations. This generates new possibilities for realizing mutually beneficial projects. Owing to the unified Belarusian and Russian economic legislation, we are observing a steady tendency for the improvement of business doing conditions. Simultaneously, a single transport, energy and economic space is being established, enabling businessmen (for example, from Italy) who run a company in Belarus to enjoy similar conditions in Russia, Kazakhstan and Armenia.” These words are fully confirmed by results of the Belarusian-Italian trade-economic co-

2014 беларусь.belarus

FORUM

Sergei Rumas, the Chairman of the Development Bank (in the centre) and Grigory Rapota, the State Secretary of the Belarus-Russia Union State

operation. Despite stagnation in the Italian economy, our mutual turnover is balanced. In 2013, it rose by 25 percent to exceed $2bln. In turn, Belarusian exports rose by 30 percent and, from January-August 2014, it increased by another 25 percent. Overt a half of Italian investments come to the Belarusian economy. However, experts believe that these figures do not meet our two states’ potential, taking into consideration their international economic ties. Prospects seem even brighter: as soon as the Eurasian Economic Union begins its work, four stages of the economic freedom will turn into reality: shifting of capitals, workforce, products and services. As the Chairman of the Development Bank, Sergei Rumas, noted at the forum, we need to prepare well in advance. “Belarus is the largest exporter of agrarian products, also transiting products from Europe to China and backward,” he said. “In addition, we are now negotiating a direct railway communication between Belarus and Italy; the move will cut our logistical expenses and significantly enhance export possibilities of Belarusian companies — including metallurgical ones. Banking collaboration is also strengthening. Talks of our states’ deputy agriculture ministers have taken place and they agreed that our cooperation in the agrarian sphere should be intensified; this refers to the processing of agricultural products on the basis беларусь.belarus 2014

of the newest technologies — to gain a possibility of an active competition on the international market.” Several major projects in the agrarian sphere were discussed at the forum and Italy has demonstrated its interest to Belarus not only as a local market but as a base for joining the Eurasian Economic Union’s space. Among the most significant results for Belarus were talks with heads of Intesa Sanpaulo — one of Italy’s largest banks. In line with the achieved agreement, its Chairman of the Supervisory Board and President would visit Belarus to get acquainted with the local banking system. Experts believe this would help achieve concrete credit related co-operation. Professor Antonio Fallico, a major initiator and organizer of Eurasian forums in Verona, agrees with the results, explaining, “We are now observing how politics place obstacles to businesses. Geopolitical games negatively impact friendship, economic situation and cooperation. It seems to me we are witnessing attempts to contradistinguish the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union. However, the reality is different. The Eurasian Economic Union could play an important role in the establishment of a many-polar world. Two years ago, we registered true advantages of the Customs Union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan which took the form of an increased mutual turnover.

At the forum, Italian, Belarusian, Russian and Kazakh representatives discussed economic projects worth $18bln. Among them is the project of constructing a heat electro-station in Brest; the two-year talks seem yielding result at last. According to Prof. Fallico, Belarusian, Russian and Italian investors — ready to inject funds into this major innovative project — have been defined. Actually, this seems not accidental: in 2015, Italy plans to hold an Economic Forum in Belarus — as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Italy to Belarus, H.E. Mr. Stefano Bianchi, has informed. “Good prerequisites have met: on the one hand, we observe Italian businessmen’s interest and, on the other hand, the Belarusian Government is eager to represent your doing business possibilities to foreign investors,” he said. According to the diplomat, the forum is supposed to receive support from Rome and regional business organizations. Delegations from Italian Sardinia and Veneto are to come. Speaking of the autonomous region of Sardinia, the Ambassador noted that it’s an example of building co-operation with Belarus. Mr. Bianchi also stressed that Belarus and Italy are communicating on different levels, adding that our foreign ministers often contact. In 2013, Belarus’ Deputy Foreign Minister, Yelena Kupchina, visited Italy and the diplomat hopes a return visit is soon to come. A representative of the Italian Economic Development Ministry is to visit Minsk to take part in a session of the joint commission of tradeeconomic co-operation. Meanwhile, our two nations are connected not by economic benefit but the feeling of mutual amity as well. Thousands of Belarusian children from Chernobyl contaminated areas have been warmly accepted by Italian families. Mr. Fallico said that he found workers of the Minsk Tractor Works in Minsk; although many years have passed since their co-operation, the meeting was truly emotional and friendly. Such examples are typical and this is probably the key guarantee of the Belarusian-Italian co-operative results. By Vladimir Yakovlev

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Holiday in the course of time

The best time for festive greetings

t’s said that the level of indulgence and enjoyment organized at the turn of the New Year will herald a similar style for the rest of the coming year. For Belarusians, it’s customary to watch Eldar Ryazanov’s film, The Irony of Fate (or Enjoy Your Bath!) and we regale ourselves with Olivier salad. We give free scope to our imagination in decorating our festive New Year’s table and place gifts under the tree, to delight the family. Certainly, we wish each other good luck and health as the chimes ring out. At this special time, between the hours of the year past and the new one, during this window of expectation, we believe that nothing can harm us and all failure will be left in the past. We feel unity not only with our family, but with all citizens of Belarus, who share in our wish for national prosperity. We also rejoice in the achievements reported by our President, Alexander Lukashenko, in his traditional TV speech.

Who knows who first decided to celebrate the New Year. Certainly, they must have observed the rhythms of nature, seeing its beginning and end, and enduring spirit of renewal. We share this thirst: perhaps it’s within our very DNA. As Thomas Mann, the German writer, said, nature knows no divisions to specify its flow. The New Year is greeted not by thunder or lightning. There is no roar of pipes to inform us of its approach. Only humans establish landmarks. According to the writer, even when a new century begins, only we mortals ring bells and fire pistols. According to all-knowing Wikipedia, the tradition appeared in Mesopotamia, the well-known cradle of ancient civilization, 25 centuries ago. It appears that the New Year is the most ancient holiday, giving us a feeling of renewal, which we embrace with pleasure, continuing this ‘ageless’ tradition. At various times, it has been celebrated in different ways in our coun-

Belta

As is traditional, we again celebrate the New Year, making plans for the future and enjoying the festivities of Christmas and the New Year’s Eve, celebrated since ancient times in Belarus

try. Some traditions are very old, while some have appeared just recently. For example, Bolotnik (the marsh demon) recently came to ‘live’ in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve, having transformed from a malevolent force into a spirit of goodness. Our correspondent from Vitebsk writes about him in this edition, and the custom of Kolyady Tsars; nothing similar exists anywhere in the world. It goes back to the old times, marking the arrival of the New Year. The ancestors of modern Belarusians celebrated the New Year during the vernal equinox. At that time, volochebniks (participants of the ritual) were popular, visiting peasants’ houses to delight people with singing, in re2014 беларусь.belarus

turn for receiving small gifts of bread, eggs, cheese and sausage. Such pagan traditions gradually disappeared from the life of our ancestors, as the power of the Christian Church grew, and the New Year festivities were transferred to Christmas, carrying over into January. According to experts, the New Year fell at different times across various regions of Belarus. The territory known as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania celebrated on January 1st, in 1364. In eastern Belarus, from 1493 until 1700, the Byzantine Church tradition was marked in early autumn — on September 1st. In 1699, Peter I adopted a decree which assigned the beginning of the year to January 1st. Thus appeared the winter holiday of беларусь.belarus 2014

the New Year, when kolyadovshchiks (tireless actors who transformed into goats, bears and other animals, donning fancy dress) would visit each home to sing magnificent kolyada songs. Today, those from children’s amateur studios, and students of humanitarian colleges and institutions of higher education often take up the baton. I’ve seen this playful and stirring Kolyada custom performed at the Museum of Belarusian Literary History, by students of the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts. The ceremonial New Year’s table is considered especially solemn if there are 12 dishes. Our grandfathers and great-grandfathers believed that they would live during the rest of the year in

the manner in which they celebrated on that night. Accordingly, every effort was made to adorn the table with rich foods and to maintain a happy mood. In contrast, kutia supper was eaten on Christmas Eve (boiled rice with raisins and honey). Adam Bogdanovich, the father of Belarusian poet Maxim Bogdanovich, describes the Christmas menu in his book I Aspired All My Life to Light: ‘…Old woman Ruzalya always kept and fattened a pig for Christmas. It speaks for itself: by Christmas, all meat-eaters would have fragrant sausages, slightly salted and peppered, with caraway seeds and marjoram, as well as polendvitsa (dried meat) and karkavina (served in a thick gut). Meat eaters would also be treated to blutwurst sausages with egg flour or groats, flavoured with finely chopped suet. There would be cereal sausage with suet and, by Easter, shynka (ham) and shoulder well salted and strewn with nitre and spices, protected from rotting, and polendvitsa smoked over spruce or juniper branches. There would be a tub of 2-3 pods of salted suet, to be eaten with potatoes, cabbage, beetroot and other foods. Christmastide would begin with obligatory pancakes, served with an aromatic and tasty ‘veraschchaka’ sauce. For those who do not know, I must explain that this wonderful dish is made of slices of sausage, suet and pork or brisket — chopped and slightly peppered, with a sauce from wheat flour. People dip pancakes into veraschchaka, having rolled them into tubes: simply marvellous. After six weeks of pilipovsky fasting, eating poor menus of mushrooms and oil, the appearance on the table of hissing and seductively smelling veraschchaka near a pile of pancakes covered by a towel is a solemn event of exclusive importance: the whole loss in weight will soon be restored!’

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Holiday in the course of time

Of course, man cannot live by bread alone, as Adam Bogdanovich writes: ‘… during kolyada weeks (an ancient pre-Christian winter ritual), the evenings are sacred, with no work allowed: adults spend evenings in conversation, while young people play games and crack nuts and sunflower seeds. It is especially forbidden to sew or spin. During all these holiday-respites, simplified routine allows people complete rest and enough sleep, so that the exhausted body renews its energy, becoming strong enough to bear the hard labour of everyday life’. Interest ing ly, dur ing C hr istm a st i d e, p e opl e te l l f ai r y t a l e s and discuss matters of interest not only to children, but adults. Adam Bogdanovich remembers these from his own childhood: ‘In grandmother’s hut, we solemnly celebrated: first Christmas Eve. It remains in my memory not only because there was a lot of tasty and various kinds of food, the abundance of which induced us to eat less in order to try each dish (although no less than three spoons, as ritual required) but because there was a shared mood of inspiration. I doubt that anything else is capable of arousing such feelings and imagination, raising religious emotions, as these primordial festivals of national belief, developed over many centuries. They cannot help but influence children’s minds’. Fortune telling and other rituals accompanied the New Year’s holidays in Belarus, thought to ensure peace and prosperity for the coming year. One custom, widespread across some regions, was that of children joyfully running from home to home with a bag into which hosts placed gifts, in return for the children strewing the floor of the house with seeds of rye, barley and wheat. The ‘sowing’ ritual was thought to bring a good harvest.

I remember, in the mid-1960s, on the eve of the ‘old calendar’ New Year (January 13th-14th) in my Ukrainian childhood, in Kharkov Region, in the small town of Volchansk, there were cheerful kolyadovshchiks: our neighbours from Podgornaya Street. Two sisters who were dressmakers, Natasha and Marusya, painted their cheeks with bright red lipstick, as if reddened from frost (which usually reached minus 20 in the evening). Carpen-

and delight and the sensation of great happiness over those Christmastide days — is as bright as a picture, stored in my memory. Belarus had a ritual for strengthening friendship and mutual understanding in families. All members would sit at the festive table 20 minutes prior to the beginning of the New Year, placing a clay bowl of water in the middle of the table. Each person would stretch their left hand over

The fir tree of wishes

ter Fedya played Father Frost, with a red nose also painted in lipstick, and cotton wool stuck to his dense black eyebrows. They would strew us with grain, singing: ‘Let good be with you and with us, so that we are happy…’ It was a delight to take sweets and biscuits from a jar and place them in the enormous bags of the kolyadovshchiks, and then to run after our ridiculous visitors, to the entrance hall, to give them meat pies baked by grandmother, placing them directly in their hands. Those joyful moments of family life — my children’s amazement

the bowl for some time, passing all bad thoughts from the past year into the water. Afterwards, the water was poured into the snow, with all negative thoughts: a job conducted by the oldest member of the family. At midnight, the same bowl was filled with water, and the magic action was repeated with the right hand, while thinking only happy thoughts for health, good luck and prosperity. The bowl was passed round, clockwise, and everyone, including the children, took a sip, believing that all wishes would come true. 2014 беларусь.belarus

the cosmonauts congratulate each other 16 times: according to the number of time zones in America and Russia. These days, if you go shopping on January 1st in Minsk, you’re liable to receive a good discount, since this is thought to bring the seller luck and success in the coming year. I was favoured with such an honour, buying a gift for my son: a jacket. Change is inevitable and this is true of the New Year traditions, with

Belta

The desire for ‘renewal’ was accompanied by various rituals and prohibitions: repaying all debts (in order to enter the New Year without the burden of borrowing); saying goodbye to old things — as in Italy; cleaning the house; and buying new things. Belarusians are not alone in their desire for novelty and hopes for a better future: a quick Internet search brings forth many examples from around the world.

Pre-holiday trade in one of Polotsk supermarkets

One Russian site talks about the ritual of fortune telling: ‘In Belarus, fans of folklore adore feeding cockerels by hands on this holiday. Unmarried girls line up before a hungry crowing bird and the first girl to whom the cock approaches, to peck grain, will be the first to marry’. Even in space, astronauts observe a few New Year traditions, changing into the traditional costumes of Snow Maiden and Father Frost and amusing themselves with trying to catch Father Frost’s beard in zero-gravity. Although it’s impossible to raise a glass of champagne, беларусь.belarus 2014

some losing their ‘magic’ and becoming no more than amusing games. We also have new, fantastic characters: Snow Maiden, Zima (winter) and other heroes of Belarusian national fairy tales have begun to accompany Father Frost. The mythological ancestor of modern Belarusian Father Frost was Zyuzya, the pagan god of winter and severe cold, who was honoured until the 19th century. People would say: ‘When Zyuzya is outside, then kutia is on the table’. BelTA archives tell us that Belarusians imagined Zyuzya as a

grey-haired, fat old man, with a short, shaggy beard, barefooted, without a cap, and carrying an iron mace. They believed that Zyuzya spent most of the winter in the forest, but would sometimes visit villages, bringing severe frost. When angry, Zyuzya would beat his mace upon a tree stump, bringing severe cold. On Kolyada night (an ancient pre-Christian winter ritual) people left out some kutia porridge for him, to gain his favour, or would throw the first spoon of porridge outside the window, saying: ‘Frost, come and eat kutia’. Ancient Zyuzya settled in Belarusian Poozerie (a land of lakes) but now has his place of permanent residence in Postavy District, in Vitebsk Region. Zyuzya Poozersky is famous for his hospitality, greeting tourists from all over Belarus during the New Year festivities, bestowing them with hot herbal tea from a samovar, pancakes and spice-cakes baked to ancient recipes. However, as Sergey Golesnik tells us in his article this month, Zyuzya is currently ‘on leave’. It seems likely that Belarusian Father Frost, as well as his colleagues abroad, such as Santa Claus, is inspired by Archbishop Nicholas, who lived in the days of the Byzantine Empire and who was said to render help to all in need. After his death, he was beatified as a Christian saint. December 19th is the day of Nicholas the Wonderworker, celebrated by believers in our country. The 21st centur y has brought many innovations, such as a Christmas masked ball held annually at the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre (on the night of the ‘old calendar’ New year); tickets sell out in October, being popular not only among Minskers but among residents from other regions as well. Most guests wear fancy dress, giving the illusion of the simultaneous presence

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Holiday in the course of time

Alexander Shulgach

of different centuries. You are likely to meet Duke Vytautas and Duke Jogaila, characters from opera, and gallant officers in epaulettes waltzing with ladies in dresses from the time of Pushkin. Agro-estates encourage guests to commune with nature and to try dishes prepared for the New Year or Christmas by our grandmothers, including ‘garezy’ potato pies with mincemeat, mushrooms and caraway seeds, fried in a mix of animal fat and vegetable oil. This tasty dish has proven popular at culinary festivals. Dostatok (prosperity) Estate, in the small Belarusian town of Disna, will be serving them to guests this year.

Alexander Shulgach

We all love the sight of a decorated fir tree, illuminated with twinkling lights, adorning squares and public gardens. They are also found in offices, supermarkets and homes big and small, creating an atmosphere of anticipation

Increasingly often, residents from various regions take their children to visit Father Frost, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha national park. Meanwhile, over the last decade, it has become a tradition to put on charitable New Year shows for children — especially those without families of their own, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds, or with disabilities. The children’s response is magical to behold. Youngsters also love to gather around the country’s main fir tree, in Minsk, joined by the President of Belarus. We all love the sight of a decorated fir tree, illuminated with twinkling lights, adorning squares and public gardens. They are also found in offices, supermarkets, and homes big and

small, creating an atmosphere of anticipation. Minsk is beautiful during Christmas and the New Year, swathed in coloured lights, which are switched on for December 25th: the day on which Catholics celebrate Christmas. Orthodox believers wait for January 7th, observing six weeks of fasting. For those who prefer a natural fir tree, the markets offer a huge choice of forest beauties in various sizes. Minsk’s main tree is 33 metres in height, decorated in national style, and is already mounted on Oktyabrskaya Square. On the night of 31st December, when the clock approaches midnight, residents will gather to shout ‘hurrah!’ for the New Year. By Mikhalina Cherkashina

2014 беларусь.belarus

Earthlings — all the best! Belarus born Hero of Russia Anton Shkaplerov to celebrate the New Year in space, heading International Space Station expedition

nternet sites have been reporting the arrival of the new crew on the International Space Station, welcomed by the existing team of Alexander Samokutyayev, Yelena Serova and Barry Wilmore. Belarus born Shkaplerov and his colleagues will spend almost six months on their mission. Anton’s parents, Nikolay Ivanovich and Tamara Victorovna, hail from Bykhovshchina District, although they now live in coastal Balaklava, in Crimea. It was there that the future hero was born. His first space mission launched on November 14th, 2011, and ended on April 28th, 2012. The new crew of the ‘Soyuz-TMA 15 M’, comprising Anton Shkaplerov from Russia, Terry Virts from America and Samantha Cristoforetti from Italy, will spend 169 days in orbit. Samantha Cristoforetti has undergone flight training in America and Russia and this is her first space expedition. All three crew are pilots. And Terry Virts will venture outside the spacecraft three times during the mission, using his first two spacewalks to prepare a butt adapter for docking airships. The other will establish a communication system for docking airships. The cosбеларусь.belarus 2014

monauts will also be conducting repairs with a manipulator. Terry Virts notes that the objectives of the three spacewalks are vital to the future of the station, including Anton Shkaplerov’s testing of a spacesuit featuring radio equipment, allowing broadcasting from space. As is traditional, the crew will report on life in orbit via their social networks and Anton will load photos onto the ROSCOSMOS site. Meanwhile, Samantha will announce the results of her research and, following on from Barry Wilmore, Alexander Samokutyayev and Yelena Serova,

the team will be conducting about 100 experiments. For the first time, there will be two women working on board the space station ‘long-term’ — for a period of about four months. Samantha jokes that there won’t be any ‘kitchen disputes’ since the station boasts two! Anton notes, “Yelena and Samantha are both qualified professionals, like the rest of us, with their own tasks to fulfil. We aren’t nervous, as we know that we have a good team; we know each other well, having trained together,” Anton emphazises. The crew will celebrate birthdays and the New Year in space, toasting Earth at the turn of 2015 with a cup of espresso; Samantha, as a real Italian, can’t live without coffee, so has taken a coffee machine on board. Gifts have flown into space with the crew, on the condition that they only unwrap them on the correct day! Anton’s youngest daughter, Kira, has already presented her father with a gift: a little snowman, from the Cold Heart cartoon. The cosmonauts will celebrate the New Year according to GMT time: three hours earlier than in Moscow. In fact, they will celebrate 16 times, because the ISS will cross all time zones.

Samantha Cristoforetti, Anton Shkaplerov and Terry Virts

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Holiday in the course of time

‘Koniki’ led in David-Gorodok Anyone coming to Stolin District’s village of David-Gorodok of the eve of the New Year (according to the old calendar) would certainly enjoy taking part in its wonderful ‘Koniki’ (Horses) festivity. The tradition remains in this town in Brest Region alone and may soon be put forward for UNESCO’s List of Non-tangible Cultural Legacy.

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n late 2013, Belovezhskaya Pushcha became known for boasting the tallest New Year tree in Europe, aged 150 years old. This summer, its needles turned yellow and began to fall, so it was decided to cut it down. As National Park staff explain, last year was unlucky for the fir tree forest, which was beset by eight-toothed bark beetles. Pleasingly, a new fir tree is now ready for the winter holiday: an 11 metre tall ‘beauty’. T h e w i nte r season in Belovezhskaya Pushcha is the shortBoth grown-ups and children like est and the merry ancient ceremony warm-

est in Belarus, with the average temperature in severe January reaching minus 4 degrees Celsius. The National Park occupies a large territory, keeping its snow cover for two weeks longer than other south-western districts in Belarus. The snow sometimes remains even until May and, this year, the first snow arrived in the Pushcha on November 19th. With this in mind, unsurprisingly, Father Frost resides in this ancient forest. Not long ago, he returned from his trip to Velikiy Ustyug, having taken part 2014 беларусь.belarus

Alexander Shulgach

Amateur carolers of the ancient times in the streets of Brest

in celebrating his Russian colleague’s birthday. Belarusian Father Frost then welcomed guests at home on November 29th, in the company of Snow Maiden and Mother Winter (with her daughters: Snowstorm and Snow Blast). Father Frost’s ancestor — Zyuzya Poozersky — also came along, as did Bolotnik (the swamp spirit) from Berezina Reserve. The Fairy Glory Avenue was unveiled, with ten wooden sculptures of fairy tale characters: of course, Father Frost is on friendly terms with them. The statues include those of Russian Father Frost, Glinyshek, Zyuzya and other characters from legends and fairy tales. In December and January, Belovezhskaya Pushcha attracts many guests and Father Frost’s Residence hosts New Year theatrical performances, with games and joyful contests. Visitors can promenade through the Town of беларусь.belarus 2014

Masters, seeing works by local craftsmen, while children receive treats and presents from Father Frost. Up to 5,000 guests are welcomed daily.

David-Gorodok’s attraction The Head of the Brest Regional Public-Cultural Centre’s Traditional Culture Department, Larisa Bytsko, smiles while telling us about the local ‘Horses’ custom. Villagers organize it independently and, as she explains, ‘everything looks natural’: local residents lead ‘Horses’ and distribute presents. She likens it to a ‘Belarusian style Rio de Janeiro carnival’. ‘Horses’ used to be grey rather than white, with riders wearing a caracul hat. Each horse’s body is made from basket weave, while its head comprises a felt boot, its mane and tail are of hemp, and a ring sits about its neck. Modern ‘Horses’ all resemble each other, being

made identically. Senior citizens from the village of David-Gorodok admit that more people take part in modern festivities these days, making them more joyful. On my own visit, arriving by car, we were surrounded by those taking part in fun, each wearing a disguise and offering us jolly greetings such as: ‘Generous evening! Kind evening!’ Some groups held bright stars or played timbrels, drums and harmonicas. The atmosphere was bright indeed. I loved the way houses had been decorated, with sparkling garlands, and, late in the evening, a fancy-dress parade took to the streets, proceeding through the square, where the statue to Duke David (the town founder) is sited. Music, song and dance filled the night, leading to the improvised ‘Gorodok Hut’ stage, and a theatrical performance featured artistic troupes from Stolin, Pinsk and Ivanovo districts.

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Holiday in the course of time The best ‘dressed’ private courtyards, as well as those owned by companies and enterprises, will be awarded, and the night will end with a disco. Stolin District residents have already begun their application to have the ‘Horse’ custom included among Belarus’ List of Intangible HistoricalCultural Treasures: for its uniqueness and its preservation into our modern 21st century.

Holiday for all We are now witnessing the birth of new, bright and interesting New Year traditions, with the custom of giving gifts supplemented by others. In Brest Region (as in other Belarusian areas) there is the wonderful custom of organizing a charity New Year fir tree for children. In late 2014, Brest’s Regional Hospital and Brest’s Sanatorium Boarding School for Scoliosis Children both opened new wards, while

a therapeutic department for newborn and prematurely born children launched at Brest’s Regional Maternity House. This high-tech perinatal centre is also due to open a medicalgenetic laboratory and an operating room, in 2015. From January-November 2014, around 6,000 babies were born at Brest’s Regional Maternity House — almost 200 more than in 2013. In fact, the region now leads in terms of population growth through birth-rate. Since 2013, Brest Region has witnessed an upward trend, with 2014 and 2015 set to continue in the same vein. As we welcome the New Year, we should remember that it is the time for beginnings, putting failure and mistakes behind us. In this respect, our childhood dreams have their role to play. By Valentina Kozlovich

Alexander Shulgach

While ‘Horses’ symbolize strength, health and peace, the Gypsy, Grandfather, Grandmother, the Goat and Death (with a scythe) also go carol singing, joined by Father Frost, Snow Maiden, Little Red Riding Hood and other popular fairy tale characters. David-Gorodok residents love sewing costumes and have been having fun with the tradition since childhood; it deserves great appreciation. After visiting homes with congratulations, the ‘Horses’ go to the square to show off their costumes and have photos taken. Of course, those visited at home are always ready with treats and money to bestow for songs and performances. The festive programme — scheduled for January 13th-14th night — envisages welcoming guests near the David monument, visiting the DavidGorodok History Museum and an exhibition of local craftsmen. In addition, there will be a master class on mask and horse costume production. The solemn opening of the festival is to take place on the town’s central stage.

2014 беларусь.belarus

Christmas tree, images and associations The magic of the New Year is embodied by the festive table, with its Christmas crackers and streamers, spangles and confetti. The decorated tree (although often artificial and unpacked from a box) reigns over all. Of course, the way we choose to decorate our tree says much about us. ov Vadim Ko ndrash

back. He repeated the same words each time, slyly winking at my grandmother, telling me to do the same wherever I might one day live. At the end of the festivities, the decorations were

Happiness hanging upon a thread In my childhood, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, I would eagerly await Christmas, when all the toy decorations would be hung upon the tree. However, I often felt annoyed that my parents refused to allow me to play with them, беларусь.belarus 2014

saying that they were too fragile. Each year, they carefully hung them upon the tree: balls, stars, beads, and garlands, spaced evenly, interspersed with birds, Teddy bears, Snow Maidens, cosmonauts and various icicles, placed to the central front. For some reason, my father disliked the corn cobs of various colours and sizes, putting them to the

carefully removed and stored away, taken to the garage. I do the same now with my own family, asking my grandchildren to be careful and not play with the Christmas toy decorations, which remind me not only of my childhood but of the childhood of my parents. These small items encapsulate happiness.

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Holiday in the course of time vourite, obtained permission to build a little glass-studio on his estate of Alexandrovo, near Klin.” From then on, Russia produced glass toys.

Losing traditions

Not a ‘toy’ story “

How many coloured balls, pink gingerbreads, and golden cones are on the Christmas tree…” Everybody remembers this New Year song. What is so special about our decorations? Andrey Begun, the owner of an unusual collection of Christmas toys, has been visiting ‘flea markets’ and raiding the attics of his friends for years. He seems to know all the nuances of adorning a festive tree, telling us, “The custom of dressing the Christmas tree began in Europe in the 17th century. Until the mid-18th century, edible items, such as apples, wafer biscuits, sweets and nuts, were used in decoration. By the late 18th century, these had moved on, being replaced by flowers, painted paper cones and brass angel figurines.”

How about traditional glass toys, to which we are accustomed? “Some people connect the move to festive toys with the baubles made in 1848 in Germany: supposedly, a lack of apples led smart glassblowers from Lausha to create the first glass balls — to replace apples and thereby keep traditions,” Andrey Begun tells us. “In 1867, in Lausha, the new glass studio was established, with craftsmen-glassblowers making not only balls but birds, fish and bunches of

grapes. Similar workshops then began making Christmas toys in Poland, the Czech Republic, Japan, and the USA. By the end of the 19th century, there were more than 5,000 forms of Christmas decorative toys.”

Christmas tree decorations born in Klin The Minsk collector explains, “The custom of dressing the Christmas tree arrived in Russia in 1817, connected with the marriage of Tsar Nicolas I to Princess Charlotte of Prussia (who became Tsar Alexandra Fedorovna).” To mark the serene youth of the Princess, on Christmas Eve, in the Winter Palace of Petersburg, gifts for the Imperial couple were hung upon the Christmas tree. The production of Russian glass decorations coincided with the first baubles made in Germany. In 1848, Prince Alexander Menshikov, the great-grandson of the Petrovsky fa-

The tradition of dressing the Christmas tree didn’t last long in Russia, being banned in 1918: the celebration of the New Year was deemed a bourgeois relic and this festive day became a working day. Mr. Begun emphasizes, “The production of toys in Russia stopped, and did imports from Germany. Yet, in spite of all prohibitions, people needed this holiday and continued to have decorated Christmas trees.” My own grandmother remembered such times and her dislike for the revolution due to its anti-religious propaganda and the cancellation of New Year holidays. Hanging an angel on the Christmas tree, she said: “How could they think it up? How many toys disappeared then! And which toys! Now you can’t buy such beauty.” Her angels sat beside stars on the branches, m a d e by my grandmother from wire, cotton wool and gauze: all ‘homemade’.

Life immediately became funnier… Revolutionary extremes were set aside in 1935. Two days before the New Year, in Moscow, happy parents bought a year’s supply of walnuts to replace Christmas toys. From 1936, Christmas trees had been reassigned to celebrate the ‘New Year’, fitting the accepted concept of a ‘happy Soviet childhood’. 2014 беларусь.belarus

History and… Christmas toys From the end of the 1940s, Christmas-tree decorations began to be produced not only in Klin but in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Voronezh, Gorky and Yaroslavl as well. Their assortment was varied, colourful and closely connected with politics and history. “Every toy from that time is a living piece of history,” Andrey Begun tells us. The new generation of Christmastree decorations differed from the old one, with glass pioneers and red fivepointed stars replacing wax angels and ‘Stars of Bethlehem’. Figurines of people, animals, fruits and vegetables took the place of balls and, after flights into space, cosmonauts, rockets and airships appeared in the shops. When Eldar Ryazanov’s film the Carnival Night came out, each of us had a Christmas tree toy clock, always stating that it was five minutes to twelve. Even during the Great Patriotic War, in those hard times, people continued to celebrate, although the nature of toys changed: tankmen, parashutists and hospital nurses were made from old light bulbs, waste materials from steel plants and fragments of exploded shells. Masters became inventive in their methods, making the best of what was available. The tradition of celebrating the New Year with a Christmas tree caught on in Belarus, although it took time in the villages. For our grandmothers беларусь.belarus 2014

and grandfathers, Kolyady was the main winter holiday. Meanwhile, rural children didn’t understand why the tree was special when so many stood in nearby forests. My daughter-in-law’s grandmother, who taught in the early 1950s in an elementary school in a rural area, told me how incredulous her pupils were. Naturally, the attitude was different in towns. On t he e ve of 1937, Rabochiy Belarusian newspaper reported: “A large assortment of Christmas tree decorations have reached the shops of our city: glass balls, figurines of animals, birds, various fruits, vegetables, and many-coloured Christmas tree candles — more than 120 kinds of toys.” All shops and confectionaries in Minsk sold edi b l e

Mr. Begun adds, “The first and only studio making Christmas tree decorations opened Belarus in 1946, existing for more than half a century. Each toy was blown and painted individually, imitating those produced in other towns across the USSR, and then Russia. In 2005, the factory had to cl o s e for economic reasons. These days, New Year souvenirs are produced at ‘Neman’ Glass Works, including Christmas trees and snowmen designed for placement on the festive table. Sadly, no balls or icicles are made, as you need a glass tube, which isn’t produced in our country. It’s uneconomical to import such goods.” It’s a pity, certainly, as I’d love to dress my Christmas tree with characters from Belarusian folk legends rather than beautiful Chinese toys. Of course, the New Year is a time not only of wonders and happy holidays but of new beginnings. Perhaps, some enterpreneur will take up the baton… By Zinaida Gonchar

Christmas tree toys, often as a set comprising a chocolate fish, crayfish and Teddy bear.

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Holiday in the course of time

Generous evening with bright carnival

thnographers from arou nd t he worl d know this village well. On the eve of the Old New Year (following the ancient Julian calendar), residents celebrate Shchodry Vechar (Generous Evening) in Kopyl District’s Semezhevo. The village becomes an open-air theatre, with true mysteries

For the tourist’s record  Those wishing to visit Semezhevo should note that the ‘Tsars’ custom is celebrated once a year: on the night of January 13th-14th. At other times, a program can be prepared by the local Centre of Culture and Leisure. In addition, tourists can visit the Weaving Centre, trying their hand at interlacing weaving on an old loom (also included on the State List of HistoricalCultural Treasures).

performed, transporting villagers back in time, when bright carnivals and torchlit processions were common. The ‘Tsars’ custom is unlike any other. It begins with the proclamation of ‘The Tsars are coming!’: sure to surprise visitors. A matronly female villager then appears from behind a house, clearing the street of snow with a broom, and followed by a group of soldiers, marching proudly with fake sabres on their belts. These warriors are the ‘tsars’ although their clothing is only vaguely the 19th century Russian military in style, since they wear party hats rather than hussar caps for their promenade. It’s thought that the ‘Tsars’ Kolyady custom came to Semezhevo in the time of Belarus being part of the Russian Empire, brought by Imperial soldiers, among whom the drama was popular. However, nobody knows for sure. The participants wear linen shirts and trousers, traditionally embroidered belts, bearing geometric motifs, and high boots (inherited from their forefathers who lived in Soviet times or hired from modern Belarusian soldiers). Mean-

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Village of Semezhevo cherishes the ancient New Year custom — as recognized by UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage

while, their caps boast fluttering ribbons, like those worn by Ukrainian ladies. Such mixtures of style are common for a theatrical performance. The staging of the Tsar Maximilian drama is central to the Generous Evening in Semezhevo. In the past, it was performed in many Belarusian villages, as well as across Russia and Ukraine, with a plot inspired by the theme of steadfastness in the face of opposition. The story tells of ancient tyrant Tsar Maximilian, who commands his son to refute the Christian faith, much to the young man’s disgust. Drums are beaten at midnight, and every resident is to be found on the street, enjoying the festivities. Villagers visit each other and treat the ‘tsars’, giving them gifts after their performance. Tatiana Shaura, the Director of the Semezhevo Centre for Culture and 2014 беларусь.belarus

Kolyady celebrations differ in each Belarusian district

Leisure, tells us, “Each group walks through the village, comprising 12 people: seven ‘tsars’, in addition to a baker, a Mekhanosha, a musician, a grandfather and a grandmother. Unmarried men perform these characters, as is traditional, although single young men were kept at home usually on festive days, to prevent them from entering girls’ houses. All seven ‘tsars’ are placed according to height, with the tallest heading the group (standing for Tsar Maximilian), followed by Mamay and the others. Some groups have been performing in our village for several years, although the revival of the custom began with a single group. Many years ago, each Semezhevo street had its own ‘troupe’.” It’s hard to imagine that, in the late 1990s, the Kolyady ‘Tsars’ custom was close to dying out. However, in 1997, folklore experts from the National Acadбеларусь.belarus 2014

emy of Sciences came to the village to encourage local residents to revive the celebration. In fact, it is the only place worldwide to currently practice the tradition. These days, the Semezhevo Centre of Culture and Leisure oversees the event, with its own Tsars troupe, which has received the Belarusian President’s Special Award (recognizing figures of culture and art for their great work in the study, revival and protection of folk traditions). The ‘Tsars’ custom is an intangible historical-cultural treasure of Belarus and is on the country’s State List of Historical-Cultural Treasures — as well as being on UNESCO’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The custom has inspired Semezhevo villagers to feel pride and, importantly, has exalted our national culture globally.

 On the second day of Christ’s birthday (in line with the Christian tradition), the district Kalyady Fest is celebrated in the agro-town of Molotkovichi (Pinsk District). Residents of Molotkovichi, Sadovy and Domashitsy heartily welcome guests for the event.  The custom of ‘Tereshka’s Wedding’, in Lepel District, brings together young people for the purpose of courtship and is included on the State List of Historical-Cultural Treasures. It is widely celebrated across several villages: Selishchi, Stary Lepel and Bolshoi Polsvizh.  Several years ago, the village of Pogost (Zhitkovichi District) appeared on the CNN TV Channel’s list of top places to celebrate the New Year and Kolyady. Guests can try koliva and learn the local skill of straw spider and mask making.  A wonderful venue for hosting major Belarusian folk holidays is situated near Minsk, at Strochitsy’s Belarusian State Museum of Folk Architecture and Life (a skansen). Guests can tour rare wooden houses assembled from across the whole country and take part in folk games, enjoying the authentic atmosphere of a 19th century Belarusian village. Regardless of your religious faith or nationality, you cannot help but be intrigued by the unique houses, Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, and neighbouring fields and forests. People from all over the globe have already made the trip.

By Viktar Korbut

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Holiday in the course of time

Hero from retinue of Father Frost Last year, when Belarusian Father Frost celebrated his 10th anniversary, many fairy tale guests gathered at his residence in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, alongside Russian Father Frost, from Veliky Ustyug, and other ‘spirits of the cold’: Tatar Kysh Babay, Karelian Pakkaine, and, from the most northern part of Belarus, Vitebsk Region, Zyuzya Poozersky (the god of winter) and Bolotnik (the marsh demon). The latter has ‘lived’ in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve for the past four years, entertaining tourists and arranging excursions year round, while participating in the New Year performances. On the eve of 2015, Bolotnik will receive dozens of tourist groups from Belarus and abroad.

Artur Prupas

lotnik is known for his terrible pranks, rather like Leshy (the wood goblin). According to folk tales, he likes to lead unwary travellers astray, together with their horse, taking them into the marshes, where they might drown. Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve guide Victor Rovdo tells us that the character at the reserve is far more goodnatured. “I’m engaged in developing ecological tourism here, arranging cycle trips through the dense forest and kayaking along the River Berezina. For 100km, you can wander without seeing a village. I used to run an amateur theatre in the city of Vileika, working as a producer, which taught me that people (and children especially) find it hard to concentrate on monotonous lecturing. It’s far better to replace a traditional guide with a recognizable folklore character.” More than half of the territory is covered by marshland, so it’s logical that Bolotnik has come to live at Berezinsky Reserve. Victor assures us that he never practices malicious mischief in his role, only entertaining 2014 беларусь.belarus

guests and presenting gifts, while telling interesting stories about nature. If anyone throws litter, he may throw water over them or clap next to their ear to surprise them. Bolotnik lives in a timbered izba but also has a modern mobile phone, to ensure he stays in touch with all those who wish to come and visit. Around 50 groups from Belarus and Russia wish to visit this New Year, and all of them will see Bolotnik as they tour the Reserve. In winter, he often begins snowball fights, makes

Victor tells us, “Last year, we launched the Fairytale Verst, while 2014 sees us present sculptures of folk characters, including Zyuzya and Bolotnik.” Unsurprisingly, most people like to purchase a souvenir of the visit, especially children, and many offer their gifts to Bolotnik, or like to have their photo taken with him, for display on social networks. The management of the Reserve is determined to promote such folk characters and is considering adding a Fairy Tale Glade, with a maze, magic s c ulptures and var ious bridges.

snowmen, or skies and sleighs with guests.

Bolotnik has ‘lived’ in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve for the past four years, entertaining tourists and arranging excursions year round… The importance of such a fantastic guide, living in his log izba, telling how to care for nature, was also assessed by UNESCO experts Guests can also hire quadbikes fitted with skis and a caterpillar chain at the rear. Everyone admires the beautifully decorated fir tree and the dramatized performance of the abduction of Father Frost, in which friendly Bolotnik releases Father Frost from the wicked witch BabaYaga (from Russian folk tales) and Kikimora (a hobgoblin in female form). New Year performances are held in Berezinsky Reserve from December 15th, while Belovezhskaya Pushcha will host a whole range of festivities to delight visitors. беларусь.belarus 2014

UNESCO experts recently visiting the Reserve were impressed by the fantastic guide, who lives in his log izba and tells guests how to care for nature. Occupying 85,000 hectares, the park is utterly breathtaking, while its marshes are truly the ‘lungs of Europe’. The more people who see its beauty and learn about environmental problems, while breathing the pure air, the better. Regardless of the season, warm or cold, it is an unforgettable destination.

 Zyuzya is Belarusian Father Frost’s deputy: the lord of cold and god of winter is still called Zyuzya Poozersky, because he lives in Belarusian Poozerie (a place known for its lakes) in Postavy District. Long ago, he was imagined as an old man with a long beard, living in the forest, going barefoot and causing snowstorms and severe cold. When there is a strong frost, it’s said that he has been beating trees with his mace, making them crackle. From time to time, Zyuzya goes into villages to warn farmworkers of approaching cold weather, so that families remember to eat kutiya (boiled rice with raisins and honey). People say: ‘When Zyuzya is in the courtyard, then kutiya is on the table’ or ‘He has frozen, like Zyuzya!’  Experts at the Postavy Tourist Centre have revived this folklore character, at whose residence herbal tea and draniki are offered, alongside spiced cake in the shape of a snowman. You can make a penny whistle from clay or join in a cheerful New Year performance. Sadly, for the two last seasons, he has been without a home, as a new residence is sought.

By Sergey Golesnik

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Holiday in the course of time

The New Year’s fir trees, love and jealousy The New Year is the time of looking back on the past months, helping us to understand our true nature and that which we hold most dear

n the eve of the New Year, I wish to share with you a story told by the hostess of a cottage in which my friends and I stayed last summer, in Crimea, north of Sevastopol, near Uchkuevka beach. It’s a popular destination among Belarusians. One evening, sitting on the slope of a hill, we were admiring the tremendous beauty of the sea, when I saw Valentina. She was walking in a nearby pine grove, from whence the aromas of pine needles and various herbs wafted. She walked over to us, asking what had brought us to her locality and, little by little, we began chatting. That night, in southern Ukraine, we sat beneath the night’s huge stars, listening to the gentle rhythm of the waves. It inspired frankness, which continued at her veranda, over a cup of tea, and Valentina shared her thoughts openly.

I asked if she often walked among the pines for her health, and if it might not be better to swim or walk along the coast. She replied that she had a special story connected with the pines and asked if I wished her to share it, which she did. Returning to childhood can help us to understand our problems and inner thoughts: material and spiritual ones. I’m an educational psychologist and can vouch for problems connected with the real world being the easiest to solve. I realised this long ago, and so deeply that, apparently, I grew up with this understanding. When my son was 3 years old, he showed me how easily he could cope with everyday challenges. I’ll never forget looking at the faded paint and cracks between the floorboards of my parents’ home, saying what an ugly floor it was and that it needed

repair. My little son, who was nearby, looking at pictures, suddenly jumped up, took a box of plasticine and, with concentration, as if it was the most important thing in the world, began to select pieces to match the colour of the ‘problem’, cheerfully covering all the defects in the floor. The uneven floor had more than once caused him to fall and bump his head, making him question who had made the floor in this way. I realized then how close children are to the truth. From my youth, I had 2014 беларусь.belarus

Alexander Korshakevich

been amazed at how willingly and joyfully some would begin an undertaking — washing up, sweeping the floor, laundering clothes, or weeding. They were even upset by adults deciding to join in. I remember my husband giving our grandson a whip with which to chase out our neighbour’s hens from the garden. However, he then decided to help, much to our grandson’s frustration, who cried and shouted, since he wanted to undertake the task independently. беларусь.belarus 2014

My motto is to speak less and to do more. I’m ashamed to say that our parents painted the floor themselves, saving us from the smell of paint in our holidays. Since then, I’ve endeavoured not to moan about the little things. When I’m tempted, I suppress the inclination. Of course, it’s hard to say that we ever really ‘know’ ourselves: the secret and mysterious nature of our soul, which cannot be touched or measured. What is the human soul?

I once wrote an essay on the subject but, here, I’ll tell a story connected to a fir tree from my childhood. At first, I did not like this frozen pine, which my parents, for some reason, called a fir tree. It did not resemble the dark slim trees with thin branches, which I’d seen at my friend Sashka’s house. And how old was I at that time — 3 or 4? I asked why it looked different to that of our neighbours and my mother told me that theirs had been purchased, while ours was directly from the forest. However, her eyes became sad and it seemed to me that the tree, in its bucket of sand, yet to be decorated, also looked mournful. I felt sorry for the tree but then came to admire it. Its transparent icicles began to melt, sending sparkling drops dripping onto the floor, like tears. It was magical. I simply sat and watched it warming. I touched the trunk and the resin seeping from where it had been cut, so that my fingers stuck to each other; I was delighted. I still remember the sensation. I even tried to chew the long firm needles, which tasted astringent and sour. I liked it and the smell even more. My final reconciliation came on my mother decorating it; I at last forgave the light green tree for not resembling a real fir tree. We hung many large pieces of cotton wool on its branches, for want of toys and silver strands (as Sashka had). It was the first fir tree of my childhood; the others, I cannot recall. I also cannot remember my father, who must have smiled at me in that distant childhood. I do recall feeing confused and anxious, worrying that my parents didn’t love me, or that I lacked their approval. Such uncertainty is, apparently, common among young children, as psychologists say. Such fears can mark a child for the rest of their life.

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Holiday in the course of time

could throw it away, I felt only relief, able to push aside my disturbed feelings until the next New Year… Then, a revelation came from the depths of my soul and I finally stopped being plagued by those dreams. When my father died, my husband and I brought my mother into our home and she lived with us for almost 12 years. On her 90th birthday, we celebrated by inviting a military orchestra, who played directly under the windows of

”

dining hall in which she, with other girls, worked as a cleaner. My mother recalls, “He was very kind to me, pretending not to notice when we took away left over bread and even butter.” The food fed not only my brother, aged 4, but her mother-in-law, and my father’s sister, and her two small children. In this way, they withstood hard times, until the Germans left our village of Volchansk. My father received early retirement on medical grounds,

After many years, I’ve been able to gain better understanding of my feelings towards my parents’ relationship. I appreciate the anatomy of our fears and realize that they rubbed along together as best as they could and they were excellent parents. Thank God that we managed to surround them with care and attention, and had time to give pleasure, so that they could be proud of us. Like that frozen pine, my mother was able to warm her soul in the bosom of her family, at the New Year, receiving gifts and the sincere love of children, grand-sons and great-grandsons our apartment; they even played some of her favourite songs, which my father-musician had played at dancing parties. My mother laughed happily at the amusement of it and was always interested in the world around her, and our work. She wanted to move with us to Crimea. However, the festive period around New Year always seemed to quiet her, reminding her of those difficult times within her marriage. My father’s mother had told him that, while he was away fighting in the war, his wife had conducted an affair with a German who organized provisions for the

”

Even years later, when I had married a Belarusian and moved to Minsk, I continued to dream of that pine thawing, always grieving. In my dreams, each year, the toys placed on the branches fall and break, and the needles drop off, as does the cotton wool. I wonder why I torment myself in this way. I become angry with my mother, wondering why she didn’t do a better job with the decorating, tearing the cotton wool into smaller pieces, to resemble the ‘snow’ on Sashka’s tree. I take a broom to sweep up the needles but they are everywhere, dry and prickly; I can’t collect them all, and they stick painfully to my finger. In the dream, I’m annoyed by the lacy paper napkins, pasted on the small windows of our Ukrainian wattle cottage with nasty glue. I come from Kharkov Region. I’ve told the dream to friends, as well as to my husband and son, and I’ve read books on psychology, looking at Freud and Nostradamus, to see their dream interpretations. However, nothing has yet rung true to me. My family is alive and well, so I have nothing to grieve for. I am free to organize elaborate celebrations at holiday time, as my beautiful niece has pointed out to me, and I enjoy delighting my family in this way. Once, before New Year, I bought a pine similar to that first one, as I wanted to show my son the fir tree of my childhood. I asked myself why I wanted to do so. I wanted to comprehend what was tormenting me: I loved that tree yet was simultaneously ashamed of its poor decorations. I was also anxious about why my mother was sad and why there were no smiles or other signs of pleasure in the lead up to the holiday. Sadly, I continued to feel tormented and was reluctant to go to the market to purchase a tree, knowing that it would irritate me. As ever, I hung shabby Old Man Khottabych among the other decorations and, at last, when the festive season ended and I

then the war ended: he had been seriously injured near Kaliningrad, and spent six months in hospital, before returning home to wife and son. “At first, everything was fine and, for several years, we lived happily, although we were poor. I have no idea why my mother-in-law decided to make a wrongful accusation against me — or why he believed her, rather than me,” my mother revealed. When I was 3 years old, my father fell in love with another woman: the manageress of the kindergarten where he worked as a supply manager. My mother was beautiful, but so was she. They were 2014 беларусь.belarus

Alexander Korshakevich

even alike in appearance. At the New Year’s Eve party, where kindergarten workers attended with spouses, my mother realized the relationship. Of course, she was pained, but was obliged to accept the situation, for the sake of her children. She was worried by what people might say if she left: that she was depriving her children of their father. My brother, then aged 16, agreed. She reconciled herself by saying that such things often happen in life. However, my father’s detachment continued until his unmarried beloved found a bachelor for herself. He became upset for a while, but eventually беларусь.belarus 2014

regained some cheer and he and my mother resumed good terms, living in peace and friendship as far as possible. They came to my school-leaving party and we celebrated their Golden wedding anniversary. When I became a mother myself, I felt sorry for my father and began to recollect small gestures fondly: him brushing my hair before the mirror. He noticed my steadfast sullen look and simply told me that I’d understand when I was older. Of course, I do. I had seen him chatting with his lover, having eavesdropped by the door of her office, and planned to

relate all to my mother, saying that they had simply had an innocent conversation. I wanted to ease her mind. However, part of me knew that there was more to it. After many years, I’ve been able to gain better understanding of my feelings towards my parents’ relationship. I appreciate the anatomy of our fears and realize that they rubbed along together as best as they could and they were excellent parents. Thank God that we managed to surround them with care and attention, and had time to give pleasure, so that they could be proud of us. Like that frozen pine, my mother was able to warm her soul in the bosom of her family, at the New Year, receiving gifts and the sincere love of children, grandsons and great-grandsons. She was able to set aside her mourning and I hope that, in those last years, she was able to rise above memories of that ‘terrible’ New Year. Perhaps she no longer had the energy to think about the past: who knows? What is remarkable is that I’ve ceased to feel anxiety at this time of year, and no longer dream about that first New Year fir tree. Rather, I have another ritual now: every autumn, I want to plant a pine tree. Have you noticed that there are two pines and two fir trees under the windows of our house? Each New Year I decorate them. We’ve done the same at our rural home in my husband’s homeland of Belarus, in Lyakhovshchina. They are quite tall now. When the season ends in Crimea, we’ll visit them when we see my husband’s family. I like to walk among the pines, as it awakens tenderness in my soul, so that I can rejoice in the life I’m living. Life isn’t easy, but it is blessed. By Agrafena Volchanskaya

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Holiday in the course of time

Symbol of the festive evening Just as children cannot imagine the New Year without gifts from Father Frost, so adults cannot imagine a table of tasty food without champagne. Undoubtedly, it is the most festive beverage! How would we celebrate New Year without the moment of anticipation before the cork pops, the clink of glasses and the first sips as bells chime, accompanied by wishes of happiness, smiles and laughter? At such a moment, we cannot doubt that the New Year holds wonderful times to come.

2014 беларусь.belarus

ost Belarusian families traditionally greet the New Ye a r w i t h the chink of glasses, the sparkling bubbles fizzing to the surface as the clock hands point to midnight. It is a custom which can never ‘grow old’. No other beverage encapsulates festivity in such a way as champagne: like a firework of emotions and delight, it seems to have ‘magical’ properties. However, it was not always so, being once viewed as no more than a ‘by-product’ of wine production. Much time passed before it became an elite drink for those of taste.

Next regular fortuity Many, if not all, gastronomic delights emerged as a result of someone’s mistake or a casual coincidence of circumstances. Such is the case with champagne, a suspicious bottle having been found by the pupil of the monastery of St. Van, Dom Pierre Pérignon. On visiting the wine cellar, he saw that a bottle ‘had begun to sparkle’: then, the cork popped out noisily. So the production of French sparkling wine was launched; as the Benedictine monk was

Sergey Zhuravel, People’s Artiste of Belarus, and the leading stage master at the Yanka Kupala National Academic Theatre:  It’s been a long time since I’ve drunk alcohol, so champagne reminds me of my youth — and all its fun and pleasure. More than strong liquor, it is associated with major celebrations, such as weddings and New Year’s parties.

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skilled and well educated, he was keen to understand what had happened and set about finding the best ‘recipe’ to reproduce the innovation. Pérignon discovered a method of blending, which is popular now: mixing grape varieties. For some time, the monks believed bubbles were formed under the influence of moonlight and took a mystical attitude to champagne. Of course, a stronger bottle was needed, since it had the power to shatter fragile vessels, and a special cork for the effervescent liquid. Some corks popped out all the time while others dried out in the neck and made the

Veronika Plyashkevich, a leading actress with the Maxim Gorky National Academic Drama Theatre:  Champagne is a vital component in any holiday of hope. I remember that when I was a child my sister, brother and I were curious about this drink, observing our parents with a glass. One morning, we managed to try a forbidden drink left on the table. We did not understand it, but felt proud of ‘becoming adults’.

wine ‘sluggish’. The shape eventually settled upon actually enriches the taste and aroma of the drink: each cork was ‘pacified’ with a special bridle, called a muselet. Voilà! Meanwhile, the name was obvious, since it had been created in the French province of Champagne.

Alchemy Champagne arrived in Russia one century later, meeting with instant approval. Naturally, they were keen to learn the secret recipe and much attempted replication ensued. To maintain their exclusive reputation, French

Alexey Dudarev, a playwright, and Chairman of the Belarusian Union of Theatrical Workers:  Champagne is like Mozart: it speaks for itself — as talented director Valery Maslyuk once said. Many other things have been said of this noisy drink, but I won’t repeat them.

winemakers forbade the use of the ‘label’ champagne unless the drink had been created in Champagne itself, using their unique (and secret) technology. However, a national triumph occurred on the Crimean estate of Lev Golitsyn at the end of the 19th century; famous for his winemaking, the prince ‘conjured’ a recipe for champagne, selecting the best grape varieties, to create a truly great Russian sparkling wine. The result was even met with approval from Tsar Alexander III. Named ‘New Light’, Golitsyn’s wine was recognized in France, receiving the Grand Prix during a ‘blind’ sampling contest. The arrival of the First World War, and then the Second World War, brought prohibition (the legal act of prohibiting the manufacture, storage, transportation and sale of alcohol, including alcoholic beverages). Sparkling wines might have easily ‘disappeared’ but then Iosif Stalin promoted their popularization, insisting that prices should be made affordable (with inexpensive production costs and fast manufacture). Chess player and chemist Anton Mikhailovich Frolov-Bagreev took on the task, nurturing ‘Soviet champagne’, so integral to our childhood memories. Appropriate varieties of grape were grown and, although the USSR collapsed, the plants remained.

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Holiday in the course of time

I asked others about their ‘champagne associations’

Champagne not from Champagne Only three varieties of grape are used in French Champagne, and local vineyards cannot hope to provide enough fruit to meet global demand. Accordingly, many countries use their own recipe to replicate the taste of the iconic drink. Of course, grape quality varies from year to year, depending on the weather, changing the taste of the finished product. As a result, for example, some ‘years’ of Belarusian champagne are better than others. Belarus buys its grapes from countries with a climate similar to that of France and uses international level technologies, as is recognized by numerous awards. For example, Minsk Grape Wines Factory has more than 120 awards from international competitions and tastings. Recently, exports began to the USA and other markets are opening up. The secret of our success may be the cold bottling method, which allows wine to keep its natural properties. Of course, we also have a unique recipe.

Wine list People in our country prefer ‘Soviet champagne’, inspiring Minsk plants to produce variations: Soviet sparkling wines ‘Golden’ and ‘Crystal’, alongside ‘Minsk’, ‘Grand de Luxe’, and ‘Radzivill’. Of course, there is also simply ‘Soviet champagne’. The difference lies not only in the design of bottle and label but the blending of each, to create a distinctive taste and aroma.

Sparkling — not sparking! The t r ue dif ference b et we en French Champagne and other sparkling wines lies in the strictly determined varieties of grape and the method of manufacture. The pumping of carbon dioxide into ordinary white wine is the most simple method but such effervescence does not last long in the glass — making it ‘sparking’ rather than sparkling. The best sparkling wines, including Champagne, use secondary fermentation, with the addition of special wine yeast.

Dentist Sergey Kulik, Head Doctor at the 14th Dental Clinic:  About 20 years ago, a comical event happened at Minsk Sparkling Wines Factory, when I visited it as a part of a delegation, with German friends. We were invited to learn about the technological processes of manufacturing sparkling wine. Germany is famous for brewing, so it was interesting for them to compare methods. At the end of our excursion, we were invited for some friendly wine sampling and were treated to a show: a bottle of pink ‘Lev Golitsyn’ champagne was tossed, twisted and juggled before being uncorked, erupting like a fountain over all of us. The beautiful white shirts embroidered with Belarusian motifs, which our German friends had worn especially, were dappled. You can imagine the sea of emotions and laughter. Once home, the Germans were delighted to relate how the Belarusians had poured champagne over them.

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Technology… of drinking I won’t bore you with the processes of vinification and champagnisation, including remuage, dеgorgeage and other concepts. Instead, we’ll look at the more familiar process of drinking sparkling wine, which should be poured into a narrow, long-stemmed

flute, to remain cool in the hand and to preserve the bubbles. Wider glasses are only used to create fancy pyramids. According to psychologists, the glass influences both the taste and our mood. Clear glass is associated with cleanliness, openness and lightness, promoting an atmosphere of reconciliation and trust. Sensitive people dis-

In order not to mix up sparkling wines with French Champagne (the latter is just a sort of sparkling wines) it is necessary to read its composition on the bottle collar. Strictly determined varieties of grapes are used for French Champagne. The method of manufacture matters as well

like coloured glasses, while those with an extravagant sense of humour often select glasses bearing a design. Sparkling wine, filled with carbon dioxide bubbles, increases the surface area of the alcohol, allowing faster absorption, making us tipsy more quickly. However, the effects don’t last long. Champagne is often called a ladies’ drink, and there is a share of truth, since many female names promoted the distribution of this unique drink. For me, champagne turns an ordinary day into a holiday. I love the game of tipping the New Year candle flames into wine glasses and recall a flying cork once hitting our chandelier directly above the table. By a miracle, nothing broke; it was only later, while we waved off our guests at the window, that the entire chandelier dropped with a roar. Its timing saved any of us from being injured: the New Year’s Eve miracle. By Alisa Krasovska

Alexander Kostyuchenko, Art Director of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre: Natalia Lisavenko, cosmetologist: Victor Alshevsky, member of the Belarusian Union of Artists:  I cannot imagine the New Year without champagne. It is possible to celebrate other holidays without it, but this — impossible! It’s certainly a tradition for us. The popping of the cork symbolizes so much. How could we do without such a ritual?

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 I’ve never really liked drinking alcohol but take a glass of champagne once a year, when the bells chime, to greet the New Year. This drink always creates a good mood, while making your head swim, eyes sparkle and skin flush. Women of any age become more feminine when they hold champagne (and drink in moderation). My elder daughter loves champagne and views it as a part of any celebration. When I look at her, I rejoice.

 Champagne raises the spirits and puts us in a festive mood. Especially brut, cooled in snow: such an aura of freshness! I recommend cooling wine this way. I remember how, in Germany in the late 1990s, I came to understand the culture of drinking champagne. I was working as a restorer and my boss was an expert on expensive wines, so he taught me to clink glasses correctly, holding the thin stem by two fingers, to gain the special ringing sound. I recollect this ritual and the pure sound of glass every time conversation turns to champagne.

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Traditions live in Siberia

іIvan Zhdan o

vich

Siberian Belarusian Nadezhda Vychuzhanina at the Yermaki Local Historical Museum in Yermaki village

Traditions, customs, crafts and songs brought by Belarusian emigree to Tyumen Region in the19th century helped survival and preservation of identity in severe taiga

ast autumn, we went on a business trip to Tyumen Region, where we met emigree Belarusians living in rural areas. Each made efforts to preserve our ancient traditions, as we reported in Belarus magazine and Golas Radzimy (Motherland’s Voice) newspaper. We analyzed the Christian folk-custom of ‘Candles’ in the Viku-

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Link of times lovo District’s Osinovka village. Here, we look at the importance of preserving our Belarusian ancestors’ cultural traditions. While we hear that ancient cultural traditions are valuable, many of us also admit that customs are ‘out of time’ with modern day living: inconvenient and impractical. Some believe that bast shoes and embroidered shirts with belts must remain in the past but we hope that such thoughts only come to those with superficial knowledge of our ancestors’ culture. Those with more learning will know that cultural idiosyncrasies help preserve our national identity. In this fashion, they provide more than entertainment. They are like an invisible fortress, protecting our very ‘soul’. Our native language, melodies, beliefs, legends, traditions, customs and folk costumes are embodiments of our history, each telling its own story and bringing a sense of community harmony and shared identity, regardless of ‘education’. No doubt, our future relies on the promotion of culture, as we often hear: our customs are a talisman against corrupting forces of avarice and selfish behaviour. In celebrating Kupalle, Kolyady, Dziady and other festivals of such a kind, our grandparents were doing more than amusing themselves. They believed in supreme forces, which could protect their family against evil spirits: like a spiritual vaccination. These days, we believe that the Internet can tell us everything, giving us access to scientific papers. We can also read hypotheses on mystical matters (the natural laws we are yet to fully understand). If our dead forefathers do transform into gods, we’d certainly better live in peace with them, to avoid rousing their anger! Of course, Belarusian traditions have strong roots, hailing from IndoAryan Vedic culture, while Christianity emerged later. Many Belarusian villages — especially those in Polesie — still adhere to pagan beliefs, upholding ancient folk customs and traditions more than беларусь.belarus 2014

other Slavonic nations. Unsurprisingly, these cultural codes have drawn a lot of attention, being appreciated as treasures. Think of poetess Marina Tsvetaeva, who said: ‘My poems’ turn will come, like noble wines…’ Vladimir Mulyavin, the famous singer, and composer and the genius behind Pesnyary band, was a subtle connoisseur of folk songs and melodies. Born in Yekaterinburg and Russian by nationality, he was sent for military service in Belarus and set up a musical group, inspired by folklore history. As soon he plunged into Belarusian song heritage, he realized its wealth.

Osinovka, Yalovka and Yermaki Anyone visiting our countrymen in Siberia will be convinced that the Belarusian language won’t disappear in the globalized future and that Belarusian songs and traditions can survive under the toughest of conditions. We visited Vikulovo District, 500km from Tyumen, which seems like the end of the Earth: a backwater district on the taiga. Long ago, Belarusian villages of Yermaki, Osinovka, Yalovka, Berezovka and others were established there; many Belarusians moved to Vikulovo and Tyumen over the course of time. Yermaki-b orn Nadezhda Vychuzhanina knows how Belarusians arranged their life in such places, showing us around the Yermaki Local History Museum, which keeps primarily Belarus-related exhibits. “The museum was established by Yermaki schoolteacher Vera Velenkova, who also headed it, in her school,” explains Vikulovo journalist Valentina Khakimova, whose roots are in Belarus. “Museum exhibits were collected from different areas and, as many Belarusians live here, we enjoy a rich Belarusian department as a result. Later, the museum moved to the House of Culture (now directed by Nadezhda Vychuzhanina, who also leads Rossiyanochki (Russian Ladies) folk band).” In 2001, the folk group received the title of ‘People’s’.

Ms. Vychuzhanina explains, “Our migrating ancestors — who came to these places in the late 19th century — probably did not imagine that their native language would survive in Siberian taiga. In the past, there was an impassable forest on the site of today’s Yermaki. Old timers recall that you could hardly see sunlight through the tall trees around the Tenis River. Our ancestors chose this place to settle in 1884-1886. Among the first were pilgrims from Mogilev District — Yevdokim Melnikov and Prokop Krupnikov. They built the first houses and, the following year, another 20 families came. They reached Petropavlovsk (on Kazakh territory) by train and then continued on foot or by dawk. After settling, Belarusians began uprooting trees, to turn forested areas into fields: each meter of the land was cultivated with great effort, as no machinery was available. Branches were cut from living trees, then left to dry for 2-3 years. Meanwhile, land lots were allocated in long lines of 1km x 8m.” She continues, “The harsh environment pushed our ancestors to be strong and united, in order to survive. Naturally, they protected and promoted their traditions, working as a group, since this made it easier and quicker to fulfil difficult tasks. Local areas were rich in mushrooms, berries, nuts and medicinal herbs, while neighbouring lakes and rivers were full of fish, but it wasn’t easy to catch fish or animals. Domestic cattle were also bred in Yermaki, kept in woven barns, and villagers made bast shoes, as well as weaving baskets and boxes. In short, all the best features of Belarusian life were encapsulated in those tough times and our national roots and cultural traditions proved strong. Listening to the stories of our senior citizens from Belarusian villages and looking at their lifestyle and daily routine, I’m truly impressed at how much they’ve preserved, despite being so far from their homeland. They even have a unique manner of speech, which has been close to my heart and soul since childhood.”

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This rushnik (napkin) was embroided in Siberia by Marina Stolyarova-Morozova

Taiga life accompanied by song

Ms. Vychuzhanina tells of those who have preserved Belarusians customs, holidays and songs in Siberia, with much respect and warmth in her voice. They pass these treasures from one generation to another, as she recollects, “As far as I remember, songs were sung on any occasion and at any time: during round dances, at evening parties and weddings and, even, while working in the fields. Moreover, the manner of singing is wonderful, catching audiences’ attention. As we used to say, singers are guided by their songs, which can cure physical and mental illnesses. A song has its own magic, inspiring us to feel compassion and to understand others. It can evoke love and never condemns others. It’s better to sing rather than to simply listen. We, Belarusians, used to sing together, as still happens at village weddings. Sadly, we’re celebrating fewer weddings these days.” Migrating Belarusians brought many different songs to Siberia: soft, tender

and warm. Ms. Vychuzhanina explains, “Our songs narrate our routine problems with reserve. There is a saying that songs warm souls and we feel this in our choir. Songs cheer you and bring a release from anxieties. Talented and wise women kept and performed old Belarusian songs and customs — women such as Т. Greshchenko, Z. Alkova, P. Vorobieva, L. Chekanova and Y. Chernyakova. They experienced much grief and worked hard but never lost their love of life. As I remember, their singing took our breath away. Their manner was unusual, mixing Belarusian and Russian words.” Happily, those songs have not fallen into neglect, being now performed by Rossiyanochka, at the Yermaki House of Culture. The choir unites 12 amateur artistes and, although singing was always common in the village, the group only made a name for itself in 1994. On the New Year’s Eve, the choir celebrates its jubilee and deserves to be congratulated for its efforts in preserving our culture. Last summer, I heard Rossiyanochka sing at Tyumen’s Stroitel

House of Culture and, this autumn, the ensemble performed at the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society as part of the 2nd Arts Festival of the Belarusians of the World. Its Over the River song is a true calling card, and we hope it will one day become available online, so all can enjoy it. Its lyrics read: ‘Over the river, over the river, a new house was found./ A widow lived there with her wonderful daughter.../’

Candle continues burning After our tour to the museum in Yermaki, we took a mud-locked road to the neighbouring village of Osinovka, where Ms. Vychuzhanina pointed to a site on the left after the local House of Culture, where the first settlers lived. The house was demolished not long ago, so the site is now just ruins and grass. Then we headed to an elderly couple’s house: Manya and Nikolay Uchuzhaniny. Last year, they hosted a local relic: the Resurrection of Christ icon, which is often called ‘alive’. The villagers (mostly 2014 беларусь.belarus

Link of times children of settlers from Gomel and Mogilev regions) take the icon to new hosts early on the morning on January 7th every year, with a new house chosen each time. Hosts must be willing to welcome anyone wishing to pray and address God. The custom is described online and, in early 2014, Golas Radzimy newspaper devoted an article to it. It attracts people from remote areas, including those from Belarusian communities in Tyumen Region. The tradition is ever gaining new features and Rossiyanochka has taken on the role of singing during the custom (since local grannies lack the physical strength to do so). The choir has even prepared a stage version to perform at folk holidays. There is much talk online that an Orthodox church might open in Yermaki, due to the ‘Candle’ custom, which promotes religious ideas. It could be located in a local village but the issue would arise as to what to do with the famous icon, since the tradition would be lost if it is returned to the Church. We hope nothing of the kind will happen. Of course, a copy could be made: the important aspect is for believers to offer their houses.

Place we visited and where we helped ourselves... This autumn, Ms. Vychuzhanina told us that Yermaki received guests from Minsk’s University of Culture and Arts, eager to learn about local customs and songs. They were accompanied by Tyumen’s Belarusian Lilia Demina, the Director of the Institute of Music, Theatre and Choreography — from Tyumen’s Academy of Culture, Art and Social Technologies. She also heads Rostan folk choir and collects folk treasures, having recorded dozens of old songs and having published a collection of books (including of Belarusian songs). It isn’t difficult to find Internet photos of Ms. Demina’s recent expedition: her ‘guest route’ resembled ours, беларусь.belarus 2014

including a trip to see hospitable Lena: a retired accountant and the daughter of Domna Lashkova. At Domna’s house, we took photographs of her, Lena and Lena’s husband: all holding rushniks (napkins), embroidered with Belarusian motifs. “These were embroidered by my mother,” explained granny Domna, fingering the fabric. “My grandparents, father and mother came to Siberia from Belarus, arriving from the village of Usushki, in Mogilev Region’s Chausy District. This flowerornamented, embroidered apron was worn by my mother when she went to church. I also

cherishes another wonderful Belarusian tradition: baking pies, and cakes from rye and wheat flour, as well as cooking meat in jelly and mushroom dishes. Lena can even brew beer! Her welcome was more heartfelt than we could have anticipated, and we greatly appreciated everything she prepared for us. “Your table is full of dishes — as if we were celebrating the Easter,” we joked, but Ms. Vychuzhanina backed her friend, saying, “It’s natural for Lena.” Granny Domna also praised her daughter, saying, “Nobody else can brew beer like Lena, although it was me who taught her. She learned to bake while staying in Yalutorovsk.” Domna Artsemovna with her daughter Lena and Lena's husband Ivan

“These were embroidered by my mother,” explained granny Domna, fingering the fabric. “My grandparents, father and mother came to Siberia from Belarus, arriving from the village of Usushki in Mogilev Region’s Chausy District.” remember my grandmother Anna Stolyarova and my mother Marina Morozova (bearing her husband’s family name).” Lena explained that, previously, they lived in the Belarusian village of Zhiguli, 17km from Yermaki. “I came here to work after receiving a degree in accounting. Later, I married Ivan and brought my parents to the village,” she told us. Lena does not sing with Rossiyanochka but

Domna has never visited Belarus but speaks almost perfect Belarusian, telling us the recipe for rye-flour beer — as brought to Siberia from Belarusian lands. We hope to publish it one day; meanwhile, those wishing to learn can contact Lena. She cherishes all Belarusrelated matters, while her husband, Ivan, adores her potato pancakes and appreciates his wife’s many skills. By Ivan and Valentina Zhdanovich

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In the footsteps of valuable rarities Rare historical artefacts, connected to Slutsk and Mogilev, kept in Warsaw and Augsburg

any artistic and cultural treasures related to our country can be found beyond Belarus, with some unknown ones until recently. However, researchers studying these artefacts now have much to share with us, including Ewa Orlinska-Mianowska, who has a collection of fabrics at the National Museum of Poland. She tells us of these Slutsk sashes, while a collector from Augsburg, Oleg David Lisovsky, focuses on rare photos kept in Germany, which are for sale to anyone interested. The largest collection of the18th century Slutsk sashes (woven at the Radziwills’ Slutsk workshop) is to be found in the National Museum in Warsaw. However, Minsk’s National Art Museum is showcasing six at the moment. Overall, the Polish collection comprizes 59 sashes which are thought to have been made in Slutsk, with another 226 imitating Slutsk designs and patterns but originating from other Belarusian and Polish regions. The Slutsk sash is a national Belarusian symbol, as our children learn at school. Maxim Bogdanovich’s Slutsk Weavers poem tells us:

Alexander Ruzhechka

Born in Slutsk

Here is the evidence of the fact that this sash is from Slutsk

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VIKTAR KORBUT

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Warsaw citizen Ewa Orlinska-Mianowska in MInsk

Sashes were worn exclusively by noblemen; being made from expensive silk and golden threads, few could afford them. As a result, museum collections keep different sashes: some truly luxurious and others more modest A pine wood skirt is growing darker… While hands are weaving in oblivion The native land’s flower Instead of Persian ornaments. Poland views these sashes as a part of its national heritage, shared with Belarus; of course, the artefacts were produced during the time of the Rzecz Pospolita common state for the 18th century Belarusians and Poles. Ewa Orlinska-Mianowska keeps a collection of fabrics at the National Museum in Poland and is a true expert on the famous sashes. She tells us eagerly, “Interestingly, Slutsk sashes and similar copies had no unique name in Poland, Belarus or in other Rzecz Pospolita regions. Only now they are беларусь.belarus 2014

called ‘kuntush’ (as they belted men’s kuntush and zhupan clothing). Sashes were produced not only in Slutsk and actually originated in India, Turkey and Persia (Iran). Belarusian poets mention ‘Persian ornaments’ and sash production was popular even in Italian Venice and French Lyon. Grodno’s manufactures focused on Western European ornamentation.” Where do you find your numerous exhibits? My collection started with sashes presented by Leopold Meyeton (upon which the National Museum was later established). Many were lost during WWII: only 28 remained out of 124. After the war, the museum obtained sashes from the Potockis’ collection: earlier kept at Krzeszowice Palace, near Krakow. Sashes were worn exclusively

by noblemen; being made from expensive silk and golden threads, few could afford them. As a result, museum collections keep different sashes: some truly luxurious and others more modest. The National Museum owns many wedding sashes, woven for solemn ceremonies. Other 18th century Belarusian and Polish workshops became known for ‘persiarnya’ Slutsk sash manufacture, as Ms. Orlinska-Mianowska explains, “Persiarnya sashes remained popular longer than others, so that the ‘Slutsk’ name became synonymous with kuntush sashes produced in other areas. Some exhibits at the Polish museum date from 1807! Slutsk’s manufacture of sashes began around 1767, initiated by Jan Madjarski, at the behest of Karol Stanislaw Radziwill Panie Kochanku. Interestingly, Madjarski is mentioned in earlier documents as ‘a master of a Nesvizh-based Persian factory’. In 1776, he rented the workshop and, from 1780-1807, his son Lean took over the business. Falling popularity led to the factory falling into ruin by 1812, and it had completely been closed by 1842. From employing 24 local weavers in 1792, the number had fallen to 12 by 1795 (30 people in all). In the first decade of his management, Madjarski’s workshop produced 758 sashes. Most 4m belts took five days to weave and each bore 11 trademarks, including: Sluck; Me Fecie Sluciae; Johannes Madzarski (in the time of Jan Madjarski); Leo Madzarski; and In Slutsk City (in the time of Leo Madjarski). The two last sashes, produced in 1846, bore the name of Stefania Radziwill’s husband — ‘Ludwig Wittigenstein’.” Warsaw’s Slutsk-made sashes have already been exhibited in Lyon and Venice and six are now on show at Minsk’s National Art Museum.

Collector with a hunter’s instinct I met Oleg David Lisovsky online, having found his site devoted to Mogilev rarities; it’s filled with old photos, maps and stamps. He has even created a 3D reconstruction of the fa-

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Interestingly, the collector lives not in Mogilev, which is his native city, but German Augsburg, having moved there for employment a few years ago. However, his soul remains in his homeland. The enthusiast has a rich mini-archive of Mogilev in his German flat mous cold ‘school’ (synagogue) decorated by Chaim Segal (Marc Chagall’s legendary forefather). The synagogue was demolished in 1938 but, owing to Mr. Lisovsky’s efforts, it still ‘exists’. Truly, modern computer graphics perform miracles, restoring architectural monuments. Interestingly, the collector lives not in Mogilev, which is his native city, but German Augsburg, having moved there for employment a few years ago. However, his soul remains in his homeland. The enthusiast has a rich mini-archive of Mogilev history in his German flat. Mr. Lisovsky explains, “I began collecting digital copies of the city’s old photos when I lived in Mogilev and, on coming to Germany, continued collecting, as well as uploading them to my site. This is how my work on Mogilev’s photo history commenced.” Recently, the researcher has begun collecting written sources on the history of his native city and Belarus, discovering rare Western European books and newspapers via Internet-auctions. Some are unknown to Belarusian researchers, despite containing much valuable information. They would cost hundreds of Euros at Minsk’s second-hand bookshops but are sold for just 1-10 Euros in Germany; of course, truly rare editions cost up to several hundred or even thousands of Euros.

Mr. Lisovsky has already assisted Mogilev’s History Museum in buying several exhibits — among them engravings and the 16th century maps. However, the collector’s major aim is to study the history of his homeland. Reading German language books helps greatly, as he explains, “Belarus is often mentioned in the 16th-20th century German editions. Sadly, I lack time to read them all, so primarily focus on Mogilev. Many editions deal with wars from the past. I have 1812 newspapers devoted to the Napoleonic war in my collection, in addition to two pages of an early 20th century American news-

paper which describes Russian Tsar Nikolay II’s stay in Mogilev.” Mr. Lisovsky adds that a copy of Deutsche Blätter newspaper (dated August 23rd, 1814) is among his major treasures, containing a long article on Belarus-born Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who led the 1794 rebellion in the Rzecz Pospolita. The text reads: ‘Kosciuszko is among the greatest men of our modern times. Being a talented military commander, he is brave, loves his homeland, is extremely fair-minded and truly generous. Such features place him above his contemporaries in the eyes of his heirs’. The newspaper also describes some facts from Kosciuszko’s life, saying: ‘His fate has been guided by an unhappy love affair. His affection for a daughter of Lithuania’s Grand Marshall Sosnowski pushed him to leave Poland. Studies of history and mathematics and his bright intellect have prepared Kosciuszko for the school of war, freedom and life wisdom’. Not long ago, Mr. Lisovsky completed his translation of a 1785 German book into Belarusian: Wonderful Facts on Belarusian Jesuits. It is now being prepared for printing at Mogilev’s History Museum. He is hugely proud of the edition, saying, “I discovered this

One of Mogilev streets a hundred years ago and today in one photo. Photocollage by Oleg David Lisovsky

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COLLECTIONS book on the life of Mogilev Jesuits at auction. At that time, the Jesuit Order was prohibited in Western Europe but the Society of Jesus acted in Russia (Mogilev included). The book tells of how Jesuits managed to gain a foothold in Belarus, which was a challenge. A diplomatic war broke out between the Pope and Russian Empress Yekaterina II, over those ‘Belarusian’ Jesuits. Mogilev’s Archbishop Sestrentsevich managed to reconcile Rome and St. Petersburg, achieving the recognition of ‘Belarusian’ Jesuits and the further revival of the order all over the world. As a result, Mogilev became a centre of the global policy.” Mr. Lisovsky notes that, for the first time in German literature, Belarus appears as an independent countr y, despite the fact that, at those times, no such state existed on the global map: Belarus was named Weissrussen in German and Russia was called Russland. Clearly, our country was already well-known and interesting to Europeans. Mr. Lisovsky is a true hunter of historical facts, being unsatisfied with others’ work. He is eager to learn Belarusian history from original sources, including using online information.

Mogilev. Storks in the interior of the cold “school” synagogue decorated by Chaim Segal

An extract from artist El Lissitzky’s article (1923) about Mogilev’s cold ‘school’ (synagogue), discovered by Oleg David Lisovsky: Around 1916, legends were spread about Mogilev’s synagogue. After coming to the city, we discovered it in just a couple of hours. The synagogue is situated near the Dnieper River and is completely hidden, which is strange: synagogues are usually located to dominate their surroundings. The synagogue has its doors closed during the day. Its walls are made of white oak and produce a boom when being knocked upon. Its ceiling resembles a tabernacle and is divided into several sections. Only a few simple colours are used but they create a whole world, which fills the small room with light. Everything is painted inside the synagogue, including the benches and the dome. It is an indication of sublime culture. Segal created all this beauty. On finishing everything, it’s said that he fell from the scaffolding and died. We “Wonderful Facts on Belarusian Jesuits” book, issued in Frankfurt and Leipzig in 1785

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cannot know for sure whether this really happened but the story perfectly characterizes his mastery: his work is so wonderful that Segal’s further life would have merely detracted from his greatness. His work was complete, so his soul had nothing more that it needed to achieve within his body… The ceiling is the focus of the synagogue. Over the entrance (from the western side), huge lions and peacocks are decorated. The lions hold two banners with inscriptions; the lower is devoted to the master’s memory. In addition, a frieze is painted on three northern and three southern panels of the dome, showing predators and prey. Water is painted beneath, with land above and the sky higher, while stars scatter the sky, and flowers bloom. Fish are in the water, with birds catching them. On the land, a fox carries a bird in its mouth, while a bear climbs a tree for honey. Birds keep snakes in their beaks. All — with their wings and legs — represent people. These four-pawed creatures and birds have human eyes, as is common in Jewish artistry. By Viktar Korbut

TALENTS

You can’t be a marginal participant Kristina Nevdakh, graduate of Luninets lyceum and the first-year student of Belarusian State Medical University, has already managed to scale several heights

oday, she has three golden medals from international ecological Olympiads in Azerbaijan, Indonesia and Georgia. What is a secret of her success? The sphere of interests of this charming girl is researches in the field of radio-ecology and biology. In Belarusian Branch of the Russian-Belarusian Information Centre on the Problems of the Consequences of the Catastrophe at Chernobyl NPP, they say, “Khristina is able to tell about the most difficult scientific processes simply and clearly. No matter, in Russian or English. And add to that a love of science, profound knowledge in the sphere and enviable purposefulness.” Kristina made her first steps towards science in the school centre of practical radiological culture, under the direction of her father, Gennady Pavlovich (by the way, her mother Irina Anatolievna is a teacher too). Interest in such a difficult theme did not arise from scratch. Her native Luninets District also suffered from the catastrophe at the Chernobyl nuclear power station. It is not necessary to be a statistician, the girl says, in order to see the consequences of that accident even after 30 years, “With ever increasing frequency, friends, acquaintances and acquaintances of acquaintances have a diagnosis of cancer. Having read a lot of literature,

I have understood that the development of cancer is also caused by a way of life and food. For example, when summer comes, all our population actively goes into the woods for mushrooms, but the dose of caesium-137 in them at times exceeds the norm by seven to tenfold! Then I wondered if was possible to help people somehow. I set before myself a real aim — to find a way to reduce the concentration of caesium in mushrooms, and to carry out active educational work among the local population. My first research was devoted to it, and the work was carried out, not only in the centre of practical radiological culture at the school, but also at the Faculty of Biology of BSU, under the direction of my teacher, Olesya Alexandrovna Sheveleva.” Kristina received her first ‘gold’ for this research, but she was more pleased with the fact that people had started talking about this problem. The results of the work of the young researcher were discussed at schools, at enterprises and in the local newspapers. And the girl is sure that her victory is some kind of recognition of the whole country, “Do you know, how pleasant it is to hear ‘Kali laska’ (‘You are welcome’ in Belarusian) from Mexican delegations?” Moreover, you have another bonus — acquaintance during the international events with foreign cultures, traditions and cuisine. Kristina was especially impressed with Georgia. “There, I felt a special spirit of Christianity, an atmosphere of love and a deep respect of people to each other. In Indonesia, they have very interesting customs. Can you imagine: during an excursion across Jakarta, at a certain time the bus stopped in order that all the relevant people could pray. While Baku won me over by its architecture. Now a tree grows there, which I planted in honour of Belarus...” By the way, the interests of the girl include not only science. She reads, reads a lot and especially likes the poetry of Akhmatova and Orthodox literature. One more secret passions of hers is dancing, in one of her video-clips on social networks, she dances waltz. For Kristina, BSMU will become the next stage of her experiments. After university Kristina is going to return to her native Luninets to work as a doctor. There, in a small city, she wants to help people. At school, the girl was lucky to attend training courses in the Canadian hospital, to see how cardiological operations were performed. And she will never forget the sensation of the mighty force of medicine, when you see how doctors stop and restart the heart. By Olga Pasiyak

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TALENTS

Cut herbs odour Vlad Rekunov studied the art of perfumery from the world’s most titled perfumer, Sophia Grojsman

lad meets me in his studio, surrounded by flasks of ingredients; a hundred scents fill the air. He studied under the world’s most titled perfumer, Sophia Grojsman, ten years ago, in France, and tells us that Sophia is Belarusian by birth. Speaking of his teacher with great respect, he notes, “She created Lancôme’s best seller Trésor, which matches sales of Chanel No.5. In the USA, Sophia has four honours among 25, on the Avenue of Perfume Glory. Vlad boasts two higher education degrees — in engineering and medicine — and creates perfumes with a scientific approach. At first defines the olfactory preferences of a client, discovering their perfumery class on a computer database: scents are divided into about 40 families. Thousands of small ampoules are to be found on the shelves of his studio, ordered in groups. There are tree aromas, vanillas, fruits, mint aromas and those of fresh herbs. There are even scents replicating cream and boiled rice. The most potent are those based on animal aromas: pungent and heavy. Vlad explains, “These animal aphrodisiacs are ‘fixatives’ making perfumes last. They add sensuality and body.” Once he’s established a client’s preferences, he draws together a base number of components: no more than 50. He then uses his computer to create a unique recipe, before bottling the fragrance. It’s a truly scientific process of measuring and mixing, using special scales fenced by glass, so that no беларусь.belarus 2014

draught of air can influence their indications. The scales are accurate to within a thousandth of a gram. In his flasks there are powders, liquids and solids; some dissolve with simple stirring, while others take more time. He also has a special table-mixer, able to vibrate solutions for 24 hours and to warm them. Once the perfume has ‘ripened’ — standing for nearly five days — it’s ready for the client’s perusal. Vlad keeps refining until the client is fully satisfied. Each perfume formula costs 350 Euros, and takes at least two months to create. Remote orders take more time, since each sample needs to be sent abroad and then returned. Vlad spent about three months on his last commission: a perfume for a bride and groom from Canada, sealed in a unique bottle in the shape of a bee, cast from crystal, with the insect’s eyes clearly defined on each side. The cost amounted to several thousand Dollars. Naturally, the longer lasting perfumes use higher-quality ingredients, which Vlad buys from abroad. A single bottle may contain components from all over the world: Ethiopian civet, tuberose and ylang-ylang from Asia, sandalwood from Indonesia, and Canadian cedar. He smiles, “Even the names envelop you with a gentle trail of scent.” Some ingredients, such as Lotus Pink Absolute and lotus oil, cost 50 Euros per gram. Vlad’s arsenal includes a portable perfumery bar, holding several dozen base components. With their help, he creates perfumes on holiday, giving each guest their own unique scent. Most customers are women, although a few men also request a personal fragrance. The head of a small regional firm once invited Vlad to a New Year’s corporate party, where Vlad developed an aroma for each employee. Scents can also be created to represent a certain business or service. It seems strange that he chooses to base his work in Belarus, since most of his customers are foreigners, but he admits, “Sophia asked me to do all I could for the country; therefore I’m here.”

HOBBY

Every day, Gomel resident Sergey Borisevich winds up his old gramophone. He listens to some classical music from the last century and waltzes. He is not alone, but with a nice girl. There would seem to be nothing strange in this, however there is a ‘but’ — his partner is a mechanical puppet.

e are sitting in Sergey’s office. The gramophone begins to play and we hear Klavdiya Shulzhenko’s voice, close to us is an immobile blonde with grey eyes. She is a puppet-dancer. Her name is Elle, translated from the French meaning ‘she’. Her unusual name has an equally unusual story. Sergey begins the tale, “I served in the army in Mongolia where I fell ill with scurvy. My face swelled up and the doctors said I would need to have my teeth pulled out. I was lucky that nearby there was an international mission camp and a female French doctor started to treat me. When I felt better, I promised her that I would learn the French language. And that is why I gave the puppet her beautiful name.” Sergey draws Elle closer to himself by means of a special belt around his waist. With a

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HOBBY height of 165 centimetres and a weight of just 6.5 kg she is not easy to manage. The designer supports the ‘girl’ with his right hand, whilst with his left he operates levers inside the puppet. The mechanism begins to turn and she puts one foot after the other. The mechanism offers her hand, wriggles her fingers and nods her head. The puppet master explains how to make Elle move, “Using my little finger I move the lever responsible for her feet, my index finger controls her right shoulder, my ring finger the left one. The middle finger makes her head nod, while the thumb controls turns.” At first sight, it is easy. I try but can make her do nothing. Without considerable careful preparation, even professional puppeteers cannot manage Elle. Representatives from the Czech theatre ordered several mechanical puppets of such a kind for their performances from Sergey, but when they saw how complex the puppets were to control, they asked for them to be simplified. He admits he is not a good businessman as far as the puppets are concerned, because he becomes too emotionally attached to them. He does not want the mechanisms to be simplified, his own training took twenty years to perfect, but the Czech and Chinese artists who have visited him expect to learn in a matter of days. Sergey first began work on Elle in 1994 when he worked as a scene painter at the Gomel Regional Puppet Theatre. His magician friend asked Sergey to create an assistant for his act. To increase the effect they decided to bring her hands to life and used prosthetic hands to create this. The mechanisms to allow the puppet move took Sergey two years to perfect. Friends looked at the creation and decided that such special hands needed beautiful feet. Just at that time, replicas of female feet appeared in shops, but all of them were unsuitable. It was necessary to mould one. “In the fifth year of working on the puppet the magician gave in and ordered an assistant from a different workshop,” Sergey sits his partner-puppet on the sofa and explains, “I was already so carried away by the process that I couldn’t беларусь.belarus 2014

stop.” The body of the ‘girl’ is made from organic glass. “It is because of my pride,” admits the puppet master. “I knew that the mechanism that would control Elle would turn out to be complicated and interesting. I wanted people to see it.” To calculate the ideal model proportions, the designer began to look closely at actresses who ran into the workshop. Many perceived his interest as a sign of attention, and one of them even thought he wanted to marry her. He was forced

to explain that the reason of his interest was a puppet. The actress appeared not to be offended, but did not return to the workshop. The head for Elle was found in a wig shop, while passing he noticed a mannequin with large tearful eyes. He asked the saleswoman what was wrong with it. She explained it had a defect and Sergey bargained to buy it, having paid $50 in the end. Six years ago, Elle was finished, and the designer decided to patent it in Belarus and Russia. Sergey recollects,” At that time I even did not imagine that the process would drag on for three years,” Initially he was told the Chinese had already patented the design, when he realized this was for the commonly found market toys, horse and cats, he worked harder to describe his invention in more detail, eventually succeeding. Suddenly Elle starts to fall from the sofa, Sergey picks her up at once. She has

only been dropped twice in twenty years, the last time with unfortunate results; she has a large hole in her glass body now. Sergey refuses to repair her, keeping the damage as evidence of what he terms his ‘disloyalty’ to the puppet. During an exhibition of puppets at the Vetka Museum, one of the visitors photographed her and put pictures on the Internet. People from Russia called Sergey and offered work for the puppet in a casino. She was to welcome visitors and to give them tickets. Sergey began to get excited at the thought of earning large amounts of money from the doll, it was at this moment that she fell and was damaged! This curtailed his commercial ambitions, despite another interesting offer from a German firm who wanted to borrow the ‘live’ hand mechanism to make cheap prosthetic hands, but once they began to discuss the terms of a contract, the offer dried up. Sergey has not earned money with the help of the doll, but has often become the centre of attention. “When I appear in the street with Elle to take photos, passers-by can’t take their eyes off her. We have learned to waltz, and now we are often invited to perform at concerts. Once I took her to Gomel University. In order to keep her clean I put an overall on her, hid her face and tied her hands, so it was more convenient to transport her. I put her on my shoulder, and there was a group of students coming in the opposite direction. One of them joked, this is what you have to do to people to get them to study at Gomel!” There was an even more comical case when the designer tried to teach Elle to walk upstairs. One of his neighbours called Sergey’s wife Natasha, who is also an artist, to tell her he had brought another woman home! Natasha has a relaxed attitude towards the puppet, who usually sits on a chair in the apartment and minds her own business. Friends think Sergey could take his creation to Hollywood and perhaps become rich, but he thinks he has everything he needs at home, including the pleasure of working with a skill he loves. By Yekaterina Panteleeva

festival

Trends in modernist style

his year’s event, the 27th one, gathered video applications f rom 5 5 g roup s , from 17 countries, with 33 invited to perform in Vitebsk: dance-theatres from Russia, Ukraine, Great Britain, Sweden, Spain, Israel, the USA, Esto-

International Festival of Modern Choreography in Vitebsk (IFMC) is not only the oldest contemporary dance festival in the post-Soviet space. It also boasts of being among the greatest number of foreign participants. nia, and Italy. Meanwhile, representatives from Germany and Holland sat on the jury and expert council. The Belarusian Minister for Culture, Boris Svetlov, notes that the IFMC is distinguished by its individuality, as recognized by audiences and experts. He tells us, “The festival is a reflection of the world trends in art. This creative laboratory of modern

Marina ROMANOVSKAYA, Author and Head of the IFMC, Laureate of the Sergey Dyagilev Prize for the Best Producer Project in the Sphere of Culture and Art, tells us that the Vitebsk forum has been recognized as the best project at the Dyagilev Seasons: Perm — Saint-Petersburg — Paris International Festival: We’ve tried to showcase diverse performances, presenting audiences with the same dance seen in Europe. I’m pleased that our artists are humane, exploring the search for harmony and mutual understanding. Accordingly, we’ve called the concert ‘Finding Yourself ’. Dance does not have the power to change us directly but it can inspire us to think, look deep inside ourselves, and encourage understanding of other people. Although our world may be confused, artists are alive now and must respond to what they experience. We’ve welcomed guests from all nationalities, but we speak one language. I’m sure that we are spreading something good and making this world better.

dance is always interesting for the audience and experts, garnering a lot of media attention. It’s been a platform for new names over the years.” This year, more than half of the participants were attending for the first time, with Russia sending wonderful groups from Moscow, Vologda, Kemerovo, Omsk, and Ufa. Olga Gorobchuk, from the Omsk’s nOga Dance Theatre, was recognized as the best choreographer by the expert council: her Light performance won her the Yevgeny Panfilov Prize. Meanwhile, Ilya Oshi, from Vologda, took the first prize for At Your Finger Tips. Choreographers from the Theatre-Studio of Modern Choreography, from Moscow, took two third prizes: Home miniature (Yegor Maslov) and Three Sisters oneact ballet (Pavel Glukhov). Jealousy, by Yelizaveta Zhukova, from the same studio, received a special prize from the expert council, ‘For Expression’. Belarusian groups took two second prizes: the Theatre-Studio of Кіраўнік дыпмісіі Яўген Шастакоў Diana Yurchenko, from Vitebsk, for 2014 беларусь.belarus

Belta

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Province; and Minsk based Sergey Poyarkov and Igor Nichiporuk, for Flowers for Julia. Gomel’s Valentina Isakova won ‘Talented Debut’ — a special jury prize — for Spectrum. Meanwhile, Olga Skvortsova, the Art Director of SKVO Dance Company, was awarded ‘For Developing Belarusian Contemporary Dance’. The main criterion for victory is always talent: a quality immediately obvious. Accordingly, the jury chose the Grand Prix winner without much debate: Japanese duo Ayaka Habata & Cotaro Ito. While the audience enjoyed the performances, the expert council of international ballet critics, teachers and culture experts explored the current state of modern dance. Its chair, Ballet Critic and Musicologist, Larisa Barykina, notes that the technical level of performers has grown but the problem of ‘form and matter’ still exists. She notes, “As usual, the festival brought to light some exceptional choreography but the group from Jaбеларусь.belarus 2014

pan won because their dance artistry was evident throughout, without a moment’s lull. In the past, it was said that contemporary dance was dominated by ‘unhappy’ female choreographers, but men are now to the fore, and the theme of unhappy love is less pronounced. War, the search for mutual understanding and reunion are prominent: a sign of the times.” Modern dance is ambitious in provoking the audience to explore uncomfortable themes, to ask unexpected questions and to evoke new emotions. The inexperienced viewer may believe that failed ballet dancers choose modern dance, but it really is another genre entirely, in which performers may stand, lie down, speak, use theatrical effects, mime or demonstrate acrobatics. All choreography, classic and modern is an elite art, with a narrow circle. However, it’s said that, if you fall in love with ballet, it is for life. Vitebsk audiences fell in love with it many years ago, welcoming thousands of

artistes to its concert hall, from more than 40 countries. It was here, where the 20th century avant-garde art was born, that many choreographers have made their debut. Vitebsk audiences are never sated. Meanwhile, even in Minsk, it’s difficult to fill a hall for five consecutive nights. Traditionally, the IFMC features interesting exhibitions. This year, Moscow photographer Vladimir Lupovskoy brought his Twenty-Year-Olds series of portraits, dedicated to pioneers of modern dance. Meanwhile, Anna Moiseyuk, from Minsk, presents dancers’ faces backstage, and Belarusian avantgarde artist Alexey Kuznetsov presents his Non-figurative Art project. None of this would be possible without financial support from the founders of the festival: the Ministry of Culture of Belarus, the National Academy Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre, Vitebsk’s Regional Executive Committee and the Committee of the Regional Centre. By Olga Kruchenkova

VERNISSAGE

Surprising Paris News agencies have reported that the exhibition by Belarusian painter Victor Alshevsky is a great success in the French capital. The event was hosted by the Cercle de l’Union Interalliee Club, which unites elite representatives of French and foreign governments and business circles, including ambassadors of foreign states.

his club was founded in 1917 and is located in the historical home of Henri R ot hs chi ld, ne ar the Élysée Palace. The President of t he C e rcl e d e l’Union Interalliee, Denis de Kergorlay, and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to France, Pavel Latushko, introduced Mr. Alshevsky’s creativity to club members and representatives of Paris’ political and business elite. Those invited noted his bright mastery and originality, although it is not Mr. Alshevsky’s first exhibition abroad or in Paris. However, he has again surprised sophisticated Parisians, although he probably thinks it of little consequence.

Victor Alshevsky belongs to a generation of painters who were most active in the 1970s, founded in the Belarusian art school, with its metaphors, spiritual sincerity and expressiveness. The search for his own figurative expressiveness has been the basis for Victor’s art, interpreting themes and masterfully combining various techniques: from classical traditions to contemporary aesthetics. He is not afraid to experiment and easily transforms works by combining methods, seeking the essence of humanity, while exploring Fate and the future. He unveils the world’s hidden secrets, as well as his personal ‘self ’, searching for answers to eternal questions. Over the last decade, Victor has become one of the most famous painters in Belarus, exhibited regu-

larly, with success. This has enhanced his self-discipline rather than going to his head and his works always fit alongside those of other Belarusians harmoniously. Gallery curators and art experts worldwide are captivated by his imagination and intellectual schemes. The unexpected nature of his works and their variety inspire continued reflection. Meanwhile, the sensuality of his images, especially his intimate portraits, draws us in: experts and the common men alike. This ensures his permanent popularity far and wide. He explains, “Modern art always follows a global aesthetic, as well as artistic and philosophical trends: it is a form of dialogue between cultures. The need for greater creative openness is comprehended through mutual dialogue between cultures.” 2014 беларусь.belarus

VERNISSAGE Few Belarusian painters are involved in global artistic processes, with only a handful regularly taking part in international exhibitions over the last decade; Victor Alshevsky is usually among them. Most artists are known for either seeking recognition in their own country and beyond, or for very much reviling the idea. The European artistic market, to which most Belarusian artists turn, has its own laws of modernism and realistic figurativeness, and its own contemporary trends, preserved in various cultural, political and social conditions. Few artists famous in Belarus can boast that their creativity fits the strict framework of the European market. There is a particular balance to be achieved in doing so. Mr. Alshevsky manages to represent new artistic thought, including generalized images of the world culture, and using fragments of history and modernity, with themes diverted from the soil of reality, and symbolism. His spiritual images are the foundation of his original philosophy. His expressive creativity, like that of others from his generation, is based on former priorities, and academic thinking. Not all from this cohort found their own vision, as is fashionable today. Those who proved themselves interesting and unusual battled many stereotypes. Change is both exciting and brings complications, especially to the life of creative people. Victor has survived such times while finding his own path. Moreover, he found his artistic vision in the countryside of Mogilev Region, fed by rural wisdom and respect for nature and handicrafts — as his mother taught him. He recalls childhood fondly, often taking a pen and thick leather notebook to jot down his recollections. Those memories are the foundation for his persistence and confidence: evident in his four attempts to enter the Belarusian State Theatre and Art Institute’s Monumental Department. His confidence is rooted in his tenacious ambitions, беларусь.belarus 2014

which are unusual in a man from such a rural upbringing. As Prof. Gavriil Vashchenko, People’s Artist of Belarus, and the former Head of the Monumental-Decorative Art Chair of the Institute, recollected, “Victor Alshevsky, from youth, was notable for his purposefulness and persistence: good traits for an artist. The most important thing in independent life is to be motivated, finding your own direction and place in art, which will be recognized by everyone. The first steps are always difficult.”

Victor was lucky, entering the department not simply at the moment of its prosperity but plunging into an atmosphere of free creativity. Monumental art inherently creates images ‘soaring’ over the Earth; it requires generality and symb olism. This changed the thinking of young artists so that the graduates were not simply familiar with mastery, painting and stained-glass, but thought in images and paid attention to form. Mr. Alshevsky became a representative of the ‘new reality’, as he

Boris Zaborov (to the left) and Victor Alshevsky (in the centre) met at the opening of the exhibition in Paris

VERNISSAGE

Opening ceremony of Victor Alshevsky’s Flowers for Paris exhibition

defines it. He imagined himself as a master, able to generalize a theme, and searching for metaphors in multifigured compositions. From the first moment, he was patriotic, embodying national ideas, as his friends did: young artists who identified Belarus as a historically developed community in the world. He has always been fond of painting portraits, showing the essence of a person, their habits, and experience, through their emotional expression. His images excite and draw us in: his elegant women with their swan necks and shape accentuated by clothes. A delicate gauze of poetry adds an air of beguiling mystery to each portrait. Victor also likes to paint men’s portraits. These are sharper, with vivid colours, and tend to show a man’s nature through his profession, using activity to reveal character. He also

focuses on the look in their eyes, their facial expression, and their hands. His creativity has always been accompanied by reflection and artistic thoughtfulness, showing an interest in the wider world, and all people — with their thoughts, destinies and personal experiences. Yet, it seems that the tumultuous events in the life of the country have bypassed his studio, omitted from his works, although these events may indirectly influence his philosophy. He has always preferred to create huge canvases and monumental images, with simple compositions, often featuring symbolism and metaphors. The most significant symbol for him is a knight in armour, although some of his horsemen appear ‘empty’ beneath their breastplates. As German critic Barbara Eberhard emphasized in her review, it seems that there is an incompatibility between desire and possibility.

Today, the artist calls his creativity a ‘new reality’. Western critics constantly view him as a surrealist, which he does not refute. One of his pictures is devoted to Salvador Dalí, showing the heart of the well-known master beating against a red background. He does not paint ‘our time’, yet each work contains a pulsating nerve of modernity. It is impossible to hide in another reality or space. Each picture is a mystery: we see a wayfarer in the desert, bearing a temple on his shoulders; a lassoed centaur falling into a bottomless well; unarmed soldiers blindly wading through a river flooded with cold moonlight; Icarus, falling, symbolising the dissonance between the soul’s desires and the possibilities of the body; a clock — as a symbol of time and space; birds as people; a circle as the wheel of life; shells representing houses; and owls 2014 беларусь.belarus

VERNISSAGE symbolizing wisdom. Gathered together, at first sight, unconnected figures and objects seem unreal, like a secret message. According to the artist, fine arts cannot be read superficially. A picture is more than a copy of an exterior form. Public perception in many respects depends on the imagination of those who view his works. He notes that he pushes us to look anew, freeing our imagination, and trusting in our intuition and feelings.

ing Letters of Time series. He drew historical artefacts within the context of time and their architectural situation — including domes and columns, facades and portals, sphinxes and pyramids, San Pietro and the Tower of Pisa: the architecture of Belarus, Russia, Italy, France and Egypt. Alshevsky’s images are often unrecognisable; they are not part of the landscape but are traces of human activity — illusions of time and

Mr. Alshevsky became a representative of the ‘new reality’, as he defines it. He imagined himself as a master, able to generalize a theme, and searching for metaphors in multi-figured compositions. From the first moment, he was patriotic, embodying national ideas, as his friends did: young artists who identified Belarus as a historically developed community in the world Alshevsky creates more than an artistic image; he gives us his personal understanding of the world — through his own experience. This enables him to ‘diagnoze’ our age. His philosophy is based on personal impressions f rom his t ravels, books he has read and thoughts he has had. In the 1990s, Victor began a new artistic stage, addressing the world histor y and creating his e ye - c atch -

space. His every gesture is a thread uniting him with himself and with his own place in life. Nevertheless, Victor is a realist, although some would argue otherwise. The National Art Museum has showcased many of his portraits: repres enting real p eople known well to the artist. Besides being realistic in their similarity, each has some symbolic element, uniting the contemporary with a historical prototype, underlining the connection of different time periods. He often draws himself in knight’s armour, connecting personally with this image. The details he chooses to depict are chosen with care. Victor presents himself as a knight, with his visor raised: in his creative life and everyday routine. He often includes knights in his works, although most lack faces, with helmets closed. At first sight, they seem impersonal and soulless yet these medieval symbols help him contemplate our place in today’s world and the loneliness of being. Victor’s silhouettes are also mysterious: such that many cannot begin to decipher his message. In fact, he invites us to use our own imagination and personal mediation, believing that he cannot impose his person-

Collection of pictures for exhibition in Paris

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VERNISSAGE

Booklet of Victor Alshevsky’s exhibition

al perception of the world on us. It’s necessary to unleash fantasy, intuition and feelings. Only in such a way can we enter Victor’s diverse world of philosophy and creativity. Undoubtedly, Victor Alshevsky views the world philosophically; even in ordinary conversation, he tends to ‘shift’ to philosophical musings, explaining the essence of things and the logic of their origin. He may be an artist by profession but he is a philosopher in life; the two are complementary, aiding and supporting each other and helping him generate original ideas for his new endeavour. We often meet in his studio, among his canvases, which hang on the walls. Some are large scale, radiating symbolism, while others are more cosy and intimate. In fact, he is more of a monumental artist, keen on large shapes and symbolism — such as his knight in armour and his lady with a white lily. He tends to segment each painting, adding Roman streets, Egyptian pyramids, Norwegian fiords and Belarusian churches. This is the philosophy of artist Alshevsky. Me anw hi le, we have anot her reason to return to Paris, since the French capital recently hosted a tour-

ing exhibition of reproductions of works by contemporary Belarusian painters — as part of the Zabor art project. According to the Belarusian Ambassador to France, Pavel Latushko, the project has familiarized the sophisticated French audience with Belarusian pictorial art. Many in the world are aware of such names as Marc Chagall, Chaïm Soutine, Michel Kikoïne and Pinchus Krémègne: they came to Paris in the

early 20th century, aiming to reach the pinnacle of Montparnasse and gain worldwide recognition as artists of the Paris School. However, few know that these masters were all born and raised in Belarus. The artists presented at the current exhibition are also united by their geographical connection to Belarus. A century later, Zabor has offered Paris residents and guests a look at modern Belarusian paintings, via an art-promenade. Reproductions of works by eight Belarusian painters have taken part in the Parisian segment of the project, aiming to promote the styles and themes of Belarusian painting. Strolling along quiet Henri-Martin Avenue, people can see the mystical realism of Viktor Alshevsky. The exhibition is symbolic, since Marc Chagall and Chaïm Soutine conquered the capital of arts in the early 20th century. Now, a century later, Belarusian painters have again demonstrated contemporary art in Paris. By Victor Mikhailov

PS: At the time of printing, Victor Alshevsky’s exhibition had moved to the Spanish town of El Escorial, 40km from Madrid.

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