Belarus (magazine #09 2020) by BELARUS Magazine

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No. 9 (1044), 2020 Беларусь. Belarus

belarus Politics. Economy. Culture

ISSN 2415-394X

Mikhail Karpechenko, editor-in-chief of the Belynichi newspaper “Zara nad Drutstsyu”

Honour to the word, respect for the book, knowledge — to everyone!

Newspaper from Belarus

Голас Радзімы edition of the “Голас Радзімы” is available at www.zviazda.by

The newspaper for fellow countrymen: well-known and well-read 1

ГАЗЕТА З БЕЛАРУСІ

ГОЛАС РАДЗІМЫ

Голасрадзімы пятніца, 14 жніўня, 2020

ВЫДАЕЦЦА З КРАСАВІКА 1955 ГОДА ●

● № 15 (3627) ●

● ПЯТНІЦА, 14 ЖНІЎНЯ, 2020

ВЫДАННЕ “ГОЛАС РАДЗІМЫ” ЧЫТАЙЦЕ Ў ІНТЭРНЭЦЕ НА ПАРТАЛЕ ZVIAZDA.BY

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Бы л а раз г ор н у т а ў р я о на ўл ц э рго ар с е ал l № зда Кож ясэн зной лянс там ара чая. тэ ро яе се l ру алл е т взву чэннязапі ча све пераадвыбарчай агітацыі кімдзевы ўн ны асо сабв ы.Ухо д н е ін в п а а у р а ы р ў к фабарацьба а а ш ад ор дну м хл ыя цца , zv ў ел Куп раз а хлнаызм маер пві дэа ір ання след “массированная”ін год ру т , ме саў ебакап а, е ч Б р е ю а р ia а н г а б р м а 2 е ы зн . І ав рпрый а сновы, што супраць дзе аш з рючаагаінПрэзідэнта, о м чыя с да вы л лііж б ка zd 9 ліп йц ем аку” атр ае га іта б, як елі. імі Ста ць ытхэрнэеце.н Фікса на ыйс ора 4 a. е ў наткарыпрафесійнаарга ды найперш у ін та жы ! — — ымлікалаор р. 6 т м ар. ўн жн ажуц by ня, 2 ы ваезоў пр ццё за вяд ні клікалігра валіся шматлікіяуепарауб лт іўнтоўпіза ь ліна ўр выа ыэнні 02 Ст ”ч мзес шзбо 0 заа оцьм вым пра омма Ба эш экза утюыўныхдзеянняў”. правапарадку ў ход а дзяндаак ы я д врауе а да рац у р цык цу ж, це“ мен ім ў ведурамля атав са чы гледзеь яе абот ле. 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Ал раі аг ву ве 3 л звал та т ажа а ўзм л(Ц ен агмаа гу0Сговя Д, ня стал нага Так эзід і тка неб эта ганіз адб ўнай льн гуц кан аў р фап ? аДзасць ботрвна ,ака ,маю па а р са й інт а ў інар йвё цы р пр пра сста ыта ну: п юць выпа еж БаяК ыЦмэ адго ч . з ы гор аўтінараў”,— моты вы ібы , ск ачн ызва кСё ПяўЦю ч с ім пр ыад хіс м і м. Г ар ты кты супо ь да аё ву летанапа ме буджальных звёскіруціцыкарэліцкагараёна !” ве ткыучэр н т а, чНат ,н кам эрв’ю тат аённ скіЯ пр ваў а ена оўіц тва аліся ы Ні асво сяб ўляц сей амір муд дак на й іхма І н . Іх зн В ь я на)ш з аак трцацясууп езанліць ёды ы На ры Я блем аяць ы су мал аўмнп ц цё алее скім да кале аб жыц ў у ун . е гса“Исновамай, значыўМі аны . якко алайЗен зн лаздру ш зін. Гродзеншчыныбыўродамадно зарадалле, воснівый к ы абре крукні ны хтож йро е,ча ь п ! Ум аць рае д із : ж ю ка ац амад ныя ыя ці. К а й , у пекі. Вале пра цьст арон ека з пар вуча дладет Ся п лка ацоўзажўнас на як бе жтыўвіс кан Ды му” у ра урна дош ўшчы ыба ды — не д,пр лаве рыя елі збі к р с а я с н р р б ны Куп сць — іцьпо ц в , я Як ч ым, эс т а ф е т у подз в і г у ге р а і ч б ед н ый май” — збор н ік цю м ень с кіх ФёдарШугля:афіцэр-ардэнаносец, л к а е н я ё р ы , а гр яточ ізац мас вацц с о а і у а а в д ы ь с і, т н ч р у іс м — б ов лік уп к ры ўс ла ад нц а е зя ы г т м дзе той еч аб а, ы а у вету а р амі— скай кі Д 2 ал рац е пр укі п о ты не кзмоў,дзя с да наня ў св рман вядо азві г нечанБы 75год я вя удзельнікВялікайайчыннайлежн ца стпаллпаэ н нры, т Тр зная я,— ва, у рука ы “Б ка ўзяона н ір К . Да і с ны: лізкіх дума тэты ь ч суцьсы р емтаў, ну у, ус пры во севе н ра пер Ядк оўгод е ку аўдзюга Пера ярныхбаць е ! ох й па жо вал уд т ы сро чыц прав і ты ць — льту ка х га й с ам р а іра гыі.СГэ к кі.Убойзагіс ой у да алвер к раз зв уну і з н а ал ды ру тлыч аўн ла у нруюпраў на мае ратк аго дзе, тон люд й— уідзе шы,лапаэ вайны.Памяцьпрабацьку-героя ця йкі. шытарвыч тр м! К ы ўбмо м а га та “У аб й!) у ёг ша ім н ул вы яспе ін ска ь ныя кам еда ні яш тады і. ік э леп а — пе ю. К як м асце без к у л Дзе ызв зды ыт больш аьту еб іхаяпаэ ся спа . Ах евіч ж, п як арод зей. г та о м я ркі Якларас , рыонку , вокладкі м кра вызначаежыццёвыяарыенціры бай ўгав чэ я , ўс й. с цьста рн сн ваецзія. фА ша . В чым 20 аўтараў. мжз”аў у4ю айна яр ляне трэб лебн , са ісаў пара жа ц жа на ч век І та уса. коле т шт йны шжур на ечн тая пер эй оды Рэ рудсзя ле уюпрсунчааа106ста вір ва рмнаіктаак(якую ы асамронкнаваа а ды йдлясынаягоУладзіміра:паэта, ір ш мн ая . К а к ач лаб у. 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К і, су ні, з’іць ацца тры , ув уцюдўзелтовреатрдазют,амн.айльсза ал . 3 ш гу: бо ца лі. твйа ш е ідавкровью в перен ы в ліпрапераамнноегукра я аац этааўнаписали,/ ь гдітлнер а”р,асты чэй т ль — ез ся дадим Усокай й аў сіх ль ут е Идане на жа ее ялікнан у І.Ж ан пл ста нта рам к — п уолнаікаацыыміўжя ыя, ссвёананлімі, ге дба ўпілПсеа сстчвые еН па ам ш за хав элект офа ў юман Уладзімір Шугля кааліцыі іжярнкй, феан ксмай шысц акія ым . — лав фа вы ые па абу ага ь пйр елі”а. .мУ і, іх о писать!”. кц юцБ п мГер пр дар вы тнад мшеар, штн е ацды рнуы п ек т у нашабук м п ы, ін на , зар ніць Мег ерн ас к вуліцна яз“Уфаррацам ёдзіза пе зе е акн ма а л ін а с л ц д а р а ф цька сдт ас Згор нічыь нена чыыСа аСа й вецкца а е ум і я п г зд:ытюозўка!Дэ ыяс бу ларусаўЦю ес цсбюзабе выме азхгін уц цёварю . А зіцы вев іл ом , аца Наш наас он фэ ая, пр у мні ні,ік. іІ тчоайш ымі ўн ноед,ны ду каўайшцаўрнтжіэр е е,штотвор ь. Ме ццчёуюйма па ратв эясл кіхна й ыштыЕў х ьлаі:гэтадва родаў”,паэт,ГанаровыГенеральны мвентапакглаожірчааы хзісн чзя . “нНэцзо па а стута та тыла чта р йлаімыўін азв арбаап уар нё аніі жы выя ш п ь в бора ні… ання 5 дл н”цпыр міЦнБКпы трі д ын ы імі то дыашаукаяахдль це аву я, р іл кін карарэ в . ларусіўЦюменьскайвобласці о рых адй зе ы саулБе пжымк ы для хав ачаы.пе а тоў о муюпад аццы, нію н трым ітар л ы кон іскупрыпад эс ➔ррыа е н цытатла й няыя колўлм,уычан іры м“оСкан нюянўшячхы, і — ў г інны н змож ацав і пр ці пл мац Стар Ш кам ачата аў э хорпу Сатцьш у н ады све атро ый іэс леьвы ў сіі.Ягонаяпрадмовапададзенаўзбор ы м ніы дый ід тданнізбор ую ту р я. Ра кааказаўУладзі за чужых тэрзлы тко раз ц а апмірШуг сям я тр бачн ь, та як экта ў. П не ст не да б асріс.т аявапнан зцпыы ацрьбкан зехц ь Тад пав аста ен ах ветр ” для . ➔ п У к іп а й п с а . 8 а р і ь ю д п і ). я ы гіянальнайгра скай ніку,івершынаваеннуютэмутаксама. лі вайну. ц за р “Жа б данне супкраць і? рн н Б р і ріаў свя ыяхцьана оля—кі зормсіад кі”нікРэ 3л ўсёста лу ажор асоб асц ь ды Яго (“Ка .2020 эгіч яку жам анйегчвнаанімаіўза кам льту юць на ё плы і, в алуч ашар к. іктуэшграцыя дна ымзпа і, “Са ўнцыі ом ынціта о Стар. 5 ю з — ін брац к ойхлус н ійбы л оад т ц н с 6 у іў с й а н с ➔ 1 ы д ы я а с м э а у т т а л у 1 р ін к вар лі свя ліч ле № 15.0 стр эс у к оль д на м сп ні н цца насх лар ці, ”. М “тр унітэ р с ія ст . Ка а ў — ” Ва лі ў ГР, ля і на дучы йма ыя “ й Бе дзе тую энцк чы б зь ак д, адк лі ім ог бы ляж ая,” т ІТ пада ” — і —ое п , ка ікам а бу м за чуж жна ашы тлус туд маю лад све к аП не ноўн мен мы інаю ацы ”. Т веня таўн вых ы ,я дзе цца зале ь н ват яФйлс алі, мо , до асто эт ет ое кім ас акра і з ім вуц адук аіны чэр нас мі, раін с, му і не жыц у. На ьны а,экш ікі й веды тпр ніт а т ус й Св “С тарк эт па а кр і 29 мі сара ёй к лек ў, пр лар тна іму й і ры адоў опк кол я пар ольнмоыбя эрнэ “Вт вы бе ве ой цы льн гу эрн тэм для арус льнырафе З ус комп жца р пр ь кр а, ш з та шк нов ін т Сіс на ел іва о п д о мо ным “сус ь св фек ыста гуля й т ў к ь а ў. н іц м ін з ы е у, і “ алі в Л якр ас юц у ш У, адо н ера кса га тБ ра ю ам вац х ін кар што етна і тБ ач П ля да ь ч ва лік ел яг ы ы ы т в , а — га я г эн са ВН х с ав ы ар ац агч ьнік ац сн рнэ сы сус рац на эзід ўся ыкі ячы ыст екце і. А з пе авац я лы льна здаб тым ус Пр пам тал ” ўм віру інтэ віру ах “ арпа араю а ь!” Пр рака ладч дзіц ў В расп насц эчы ерк аліс а во ўна нні ў ка да рыс іны фа ўсе пра стор і к ств к п кі ст вык камі сці м п леж устр ў абм кран ў п х, ты ажа ля ка вуц ць ін што чулі пра з ім таў, дна льні ь й льні ся го ічны Неза ай с ава і. За віла ната Ге ур нк па пра на, шкі ьных цца яліс ы. А ава прац х ва халі стал цы вялік апан ацы пра тэр адчы ў он е а ла а р ук ых у ін кл су су Пэў тро уал агаю ецы ам пазн і су ўны а. і п з’ н н ы д а ль с т в гр ь ц п ы ы м с ра ра ас кт дач ст які ы П энка ываммы а д но сцаў і в укац п хоц вір З , м у ва а ме ікаў ад р аш акт тэ кі ь на ны”. х ІТ ыя тры вядо эстр я за з фэй п Бе і: к а ь іс юц вуці чаны русн філь ай с і д дана цца ла Лу ным цё с танн У д таўн насц ру Н нас аж ы па свед тыві йкія авеч ых скла ага іч іц В г сі п в в ў ўД да ан не чал альн ьш ькі зм раз зныя ння бкаў ра аў п е о о чы авіць оўні збур бол бац га р упл зар чы ўп ст ўзр ра чэ і нас ст сту ажу ілс о на йкаў, яш чыл е р ў. К фэ й — ж ву ка э і ід у ц “Н

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contents

Беларусь. Belarus Belta

Social and political magazine № 9 (1044), September, 2020 Published since 1930 Founders: Zviazda Publishing House editorial-and-publishing establishment Editor-in-Chief: Viktor Kharkov Executive Secretary: Valentina Zhdanovich Editorial office address: 220013 Minsk, Belarus, 10a Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street Tel.: +375 (17) 287-19-19, +375 (17) 292-66-92 Тel./fax: +375 (17) 287-15-26.

Priorities for the future

Interaction will continue The status and prospects of bilateral cooperation, the theme of union relations, international issues and the situation in the region, as well as issues of joint response to emerging challenges were discussed at a recent meeting in Sochi between Alexander Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin

“Here everything was on the top”

“Electric Man’s” house

Беларусь. Belarus is published in Belarusian, English and Chinese.

The picturesque ruins on the Berezovy Neman, 80 kilometres from Minsk, are a patrimonial estate of the Belarusian scientist Yakub Narkevich-Iodko, whose research was ahead of his time. Contemporaries compared Professor Narkevich-Iodko’s popularity in science with that of Louis Pasteur, and the significance of his research was on a level with Wilhelm Rentgen’s discoveries

The magazine is distributed to 50 countries worldwide. Final responsibility for factual accuracy and interpretation lies with publication authors. Should any article of Беларусь. Belarus be used, reference to the magazine is obligatory. The editorial office does not bear responsibility for contents of advertisements.

Belta

29 Tariff — vital

Signed for printing on 18.09.2020 Offset printing. Coated paper.Format 60х84 1⁄8. Conventional printed sheets 6,51 Accounting published sheets 0,00 Total circulation — 1622

“The light of creative writing…” On the eve of the 27th Day of the Belarusian Written Language in Belynichi, the Minister of Information of Belarus Igor Lutsky answered the questions of our correspondent

Registration Certificate No. 8issued on 16.07.2018,by the Information Ministry of the Republic of Belarus Design and Layout by Tatiana Storozhenko Liubov Malysheva Proof-reader Alisa Gungor

How Belarusian neuroscientists save lives in the most difficult cases

14 Honour to the word, respect for the book, knowledge — to everyone!

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Living Word of the Master

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беларусь. belarus 2020

42 during the service in an Orthodox Church, and these words belong to Archbishop Joseph (Ivan Mikhailovich Chernov). This is a specific interaction of faith and new cosmic spaces!

Order. Safety. Good people... Vladimir Patokov, a former Muscovite, graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, PhD in Agricultural Sciences and a person with operational thinking, moved to Minsk a year ago for permanent residence. Not alone - together with his large family. How do Russian citizens live in Belarus?

40 Melody in major

Small motherland Comedy in two acts. End

National holiday, a holiday with soul Over 3,000 participants and more than 20,000 guests from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Poland gathered for the 5th International Festival of Ethnocultural Traditions “The Call of Polesye” in Lyaskovichi agrarian town of the Petrikov District

A view on art in the context of time

Viniamin Mikheyev

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more in the issue 1

Way to yourself

Dialogue of allies

A Within the framework of allied relations

As it was emphasized later in various sources of information, at the very beginning of the conversation between the Presidents of Belarus and Russia at the meeting in Sochi, Alexander Lukashenko thanked his Russian counterpart for his support during the post-election period: — You acted very decently, humanly. Therefore, I personally thank you and all those Russians who were involved in supporting us during this post-election period. The Belarusian head of state noted that in his opening speech the Russian leader frankly and quite fully touched upon all the important issues of the meeting:

— This is the right thing to do. Because more than ever — I am now following very closely publications in various mass media due to certain circumstances — there was so much conspiracy on the eve of our meeting… So everything you said is very important. And it in general responds to all those challenges and moods in the media. Alexander Lukashenko informed Vladimir Putin in detail about what was going on: — Of course, it is not the way it is shown in the media. You are an experienced person, you know as well as I do, the way things can be shown, told and so on. And in our time of information conflicts and wars, you know the way it is presented.

The President recalled a well-known saying that a friend in need is a friend indeed: — I say this sincerely. This is a lesson for us — not only for Belarus and Russia, but also for our post-Soviet republics. We will talk about it at the meeting of the EAEC, CSTO, and within the framework of the CIS there is a lot to talk about. I think you will be interested in my statement in these structures… As we discussed on the phone with you at the beginning of these events in Belarus, lessons should be learned from all events. And for us, too, it’s a very serious lesson, which I hope we have withstood. In the course of the conversation, Alexander Lukashenko repeatedly stressed the importance of reasonable interaction. In particular, he noted:

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Dialogue of allies

Our states and our peoples will always be friendly

— Indeed, we followed the CSTO agreement smoothly, and given the relations between the brotherly nations, actually one nation, we did so. We did not fight, we did not shoot, we did not even throw sticks. But we demonstrated our determination. So, if there, beyond the Belarusian borders, someone’s fingers are itching, we can help them any moment. And I am very pleased, I am very grateful to you for that — you have demonstrated that the Belarusian borders are the borders of the Union State. And nobody is allowed to be engaged in rattling there. The President of Belarus has also emphasised the fact that when creating and developing the Union State Treaty, the parties proceeded smoothly, gradually. — Our states and our peoples will always be friendly, — said the Head of the Belarusian State.

Important points Alexander Lukashenko also confirmed the inviolability of Russian-Belarusian military cooperation: — In terms of defense, as military people we have always followed the same tactics with you. I may have rudely told Russian journalists recently: we can swear at each other on any issues, argue and so on, but our defence and security have never

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caused any disputes or doubts. We should not ask anyone whether or not to conduct military exercises with us. We have conducted them and will continue to do so. Someone wants to join us, let them do it, someone does not want to do it — let them not. I think, Vladimir Vladimirovich, you will give an order to the Minister of Defense of Russia, and our Minister has already received such an order: we will plan for years ahead these exercises, we will specify them. We must conduct both small and large exercises together. In this regard, the Head of State focused on one of the lessons of the situation in and around Belarus: — Why do they need to rattle caterpillars near the borders of the Union State and Belarus (speaking about military manoeuvers of Western countries and NATO — Auth.) A difficult period, well, be patient. Alexander Lukashenko spoke about the transfer of an American tank battalion to the Pabrade training ground in Lithuania 15 kilometres from the state border: — Why would we do that? So as to prevent the mistakes of the Great Patriotic War, when everyone calmed themselves, that there would be no provocation, no war and so on… And we were left with ruins. There was the Soviet army, but they (German fascist troops — Auth.) went

through Belarus and it had no time to organize themselves and resist. They drove us all the way to Smolensk, and only there could we somehow resist it. The President of Belarus is firmly convinced: — We should never bear in mind what they may tell us. They do not consider us. They neglect our suspicions, they conduct military exercises whenever they want. Therefore, we will also, if you support this thesis, prepare our armies without straining the situation around us, so that if, God forbid, something happens, we could resist it… This is how the Russian President reacted to these words: — As for the military component, you are right, we have a plan. It will be implemented. During the year, we have some activities planned in Belarus and Russia almost every month. We will do all we have planned before. By the way, in his opening speech at the beginning of the talks Vladimir Putin spoke about the need to continue cooperation between Russia and Belarus in the defense sector. — I mean, first of all, defense enterprises. Here, too, we have great cooperation, and in rather sensitive areas. As for the military sphere itself, Vladimir Putin did not fail to remind that it was on the day of Sochi negotiations

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We agreed that Russia will provide Belarus with a government loan of 1.5 billion US dollars at this difficult time. And we will fulfill it. that the military exercises, which had been planned the previous year, began, they were to last for several days: — For military people, this is to a certain extent a routine matter, it is related to the training of troops. I repeat once again, so as to avoid any political posturing: it is an event that was planned and even announced back in 2019. Once the joint exercise programme has been completed, the Russian units will return to their permanent locations.

Agreements must always be implemented Vladimir Putin confirmed at the meeting in Sochi that Russia saw Belarus as its closest ally and would fulfill all the obligations it had undertaken. He assured his Belarusian colleague: — Russia remains committed to all our agreements, including those arising from the Union State Treaty, the CSTO. We regard Belarus as our closest ally and will certainly, as I have told you on many occasions in our telephone conversations, fulfil all the obligations we have undertaken. At the same time, Vladimir Putin noted that the respective commitments had been made by both countries, which happened even before his presidency:

— But it does not matter. What matters is that the state — Russia — has made certain commitments. And no matter who is in power at the moment, the country must fulfill those obligations. We have repeatedly stated that this is what we will do.

New plans are being made At the meeting in Sochi, a lot was said about the development of economic cooperation between the two countries. During the talks, Vladimir Putin stressed the need to restore the level of trade turnover to the pre-crisis level. He pointed out that Russia remained the largest investor in the Belarusian economy and gave an example of a multi-billion dollar project to build the BelNPP. Indeed, the Russian Federation accounts for about half of Belarus’ foreign trade turnover, and many enterprises with Russian capital operate in the country. The head of the Russian state said: — We have very stable and deep cooperation in a number of areas and industries. Unfortunately, coronavirus has affected our trade turnover downwards. This is natural, as it happens all over the world. In this regard, I believe that we need to make additional efforts to not only restore the previous pre-crisis level of trade turnover and economic relations,

but also lay the groundwork for moving forward. It was not without reason that the President of Russia proposed to focus on this during the negotiations: — I have certain proposals. I think it is necessary to take additional efforts and steps at the level of governments, ministries, departments and even individual enterprises in order to eliminate existing problems and create conditions for moving forward. Reference was made to the recent visit to Belarus of a government delegation headed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, when important negotiations were held: — And they were successful in all areas of our cooperation, including the financial sector. In addition, Vladimir Putin said that Russia was planning to provide Belarus with a credit in the amount of 1.5 billion US dollars. In particular, he said: — We agreed that Russia will provide Belarus with a government loan of 1.5 billion US dollars at this difficult time. And we will fulfill it. Now, as far as we know, our Finance Ministers are working on this issue at the professional level. The President of Russia noted that the loan was planned to be extended in the near future. By Vladimir Velikhov

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Prospects

Priorities for the future

The role of scientists and their influence in society is highly appreciated in Belarus

In fact, intellectuals are always supported by the state. And this is logical. A well-thought-out development of the country is impossible without a scientific approach. These points were also highlighted by the President during his recent visit to the National Academy of Sciences, when he discussed many topical issues with scientists.

nuclear power engineering. There are also developments in biological, humanities and arts, physics, mathematics, computer science, physical and technical sciences, chemistry, ecology and earth sciences. In total, the exhibition presented information on more than 600 developments by Belarusian scientists.

Much is determined by comparison

Impact is based on achievements

It is necessary to stress that Alexander Lukashenko meets with scientists regularly. He is a regular participant of their congresses. He communicates with them annually on the eve of their professional holiday — Day of Belarusian Science. The President is always accompanied by representatives of relevant research areas during his working trips. Alexander Lukashenko is convinced: — The development of science determines the future. It is not only the future of a single state, but also of the entire humanity. Meetings with scientists were anything but simple in the first years of the Belarusian statehood. People of science complained more about unsettled state both in professional and everyday life. Today they are proud to demonstrate impressive achievements. It was not without reason that the President started his visit to the Academy of Sciences by visiting the exhibition of developments. There are, for example, unique solid-state lasers with diode pumping. Specialists noted: the approximate price of two such units is comparable to that of a tractor. This is about the economics of intelligence. At the virtual exposition, Alexander Lukashenko got acquainted with the developments already implemented by Belarusian scientists and the novelties that will soon be put into production. These are products and technologies for the agricultural sector, medicine, cell engineering, space research,

At all times, people of science have been concerned about the development of scientific research and its introduction into production. Alexander Lukashenko reminded that this issue was definitely resolved in our country about five years ago. The essence is that if scientists invented, developed and put into practice some product, showed that it is necessary for society and the market, but the manufacturer is reluctant to produce it for some reason, the head of the Academy of Sciences will have the last word in this dispute. — During this period, there have been no complaints that we have not dealt with any innovative product or the discovery of our scientists. And this will always be the case, — the President assured. Yes, the country highly appreciates the work of scientists and their impact on the society: — They are great people, because there is no work that is harder or more difficult. They are not just smart people who view all events from the height of their deepest knowledge. They are people with worldly wisdom who sincerely love their homeland because they serve science and the people.

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It is important to preserve potential At this meeting, the President once again emphasized that no important decision in

the country is made without the participation of representatives of the scientific sector, for this very reason he always consults with scientists. The Head of State reminded that our famous countryman, Nobel Prize winner in physics Zhores Alferov, thanks to whose discoveries the planet stepped into the digital age science, kept on repeating that science determines the future. — This man and I talked a lot, we often argued. But I always admired that he — the world’s big name — remained the greatest patriot of our Belarus all his life. According to international estimates, today Belarus is one of the countries with high scientific potential. Alexander Lukashenko cited data from the GOOD COUNTRY INDEX‑2018 rating, according to which Belarus ranks 54th among 153 countries. Alas, there were other examples, though. It was not without reason that the President remarked: — I really appreciate that you have withstood that difficult turning point, remained true to your conscience and calling.

Time for responsible decisions Yes, Belarusian science has come through a difficult path of development. — The older generation can tell you that the 1990s were a real trial for us after many years of prosperity. There are many people here who went through that difficult period, — Alexander Lukashenko reminded the attendees. In these difficult times, there was no money for equipment or salaries. The number of scientific and technical workers decreased more that three-fold. Many scientists had to change their occupation or go abroad, many traded at markets. Degrading ideas were voiced:

Prospects — There was much talk about whether a small independent country needs its own Academy of Sciences. Or maybe it would be easier to destroy everything to the ground, to sell off your know-how, buildings, funds — there were many willing to buy. And then, if we get rich, we will buy the needed technology and goods outside the country. The President admitted that the decision to develop Belarusian science was a serious challenge for him. At that time there were many lobbyists who believed that the Academy of Sciences should be a “public club”. However, the country still decided to revive the science industry, and later came to another conclusion: it is necessary to create a link between industry and science. The decision followed: scientists are involved in development, research and testing, and the President will help with implementation if the products are in demand on the market.

Thanks to the state support, it has been possible not only to preserve a capable core of research teams and the most important scientific schools, but also to start creating the modern history of Belarusian science. The Academy is actively developing the export of its developments. Alexander Lukashenko clarified: — It was the toughest line on my part and my requirement for the leadership of the Academy of Sciences. You have probably noticed: on any of my trips outside the country there is a scientist next to me. Thus, science made money for the country, for production, and scientists themselves earned money. This path and this direction will be one of the priorities in the next five years. It should be specified that more than one-third of foreign sales are now made up of knowledge-intensive and high-tech products. Last year, the country’s intellect

dream of. They created their own research station in Antarctica, and work at the Large Hadron Collider. This small country became one of the space powers, along with the giants, and held the International Congress of the Association of Space Flight Participants. The Head of State made a comparison: — These examples are, of course, similar to the sport of high achievement. Of course, they are necessary and important. But real science must first and foremost serve people and improve their quality of life. It is not without reason that the successful work of scientists in the agricultural and food industries is highly valued. The achievements of Belarusian medics are familiar to everybody. Thanks to their own design offices and interaction with scientists, bright novelties appear at the branded MTZ, MAZ, BELAZ. — All these achievements prove that the strategy of comprehensive system support for science chosen by the state was correct. This will continue to be the case in future. Our country, which is not the richest in natural resources, has no choice but to rely on intellect.

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Task number one

On September 11, during his visit to the National Academy of Sciences, the President Alexander Lukashenko got acquainted with an exhibition of scientific achievements

As a matter of fact, this was the case when the decision on implementation was transferred to the competence of the head of the National Academy of Sciences by a direct order of the Head of State.

There are still reserves Today Belarusian science is developing steadily. But it is not without support. Alexander Lukashenko assured: — It will be provided by me, as well as by all authorities and the Government…

earned almost 15 billion dollars. The President is convinced: — If we added a little bit of quality to these bright innovations in production, we would not just increase our competitiveness on the markets — we would be leaders.

The mission of science is to serve people Space, atom, biotechnology… Belarusian scientists today feel confident in the areas that a quarter of a century ago could not even

The President suggested that everyone should think together how to make science more attractive to young people. However, today a lot has been done: — We have a successful University 3.0 programme. Technoparks are functioning for the development of innovative entrepreneurship. Branch laboratories are being set up at industrial holdings and enterprises to train specialists in real production conditions. This practice must be continued. Alexander Lukashenko reminded that the government provides 100 presidential scholarships annually to post-graduates and talented young scientists, grants are awarded to teams: — If it is necessary — there will be more. But only for the result. However, as the President stressed, coaching was no less important than financial incentives: — I have always told scientists: you will only become great if you leave behind

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Prospects

There is a lot of work ahead of us Alexander Lukashenko has named the development of the regions as the key task of the next five-year plan. It means that good conditions for scientists should be created in regional and district cities. Much has already been done to support science: terms of payment for employees of state-financed scientific organisations have been improved, post-graduate and doctoral scholarships have been increased, additional payments to pensions for those who have a scientific degree have been introduced. — We will be moving in this direction as far as the economy allows us, — the President assured. The priorities of scientific work will be reflected in the decision of the All-Belarus People’s Assembly. The President addressed the scientists with words of encouragement: — We expect from you breakthrough developments and new solutions in various fields. Science should set the trends of the future, to create and promote new growth points for the entire economy. The President suggested that scientists should actively participate in the work on the new five-year programme for Belarus, which is to be introduced at the All-Belarus People’s Assembly: — I would like you not only to get involved in the development of the new five-

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at least a dozen people like you, better a school. Those who will continue the started by you. Well, you have to keep your eyes open. Foreign “head hunters” are wide awake. This must be taken into account to preserve the nation’s intellectual potential. Alexander Lukashenko noted: — Many countries focused on technological leadership have trained specialists who look for talented young mathematicians, chemists, programmers at international Olympiads and competitions. In the opinion of the Head of State, if a young person leaves the country to study and returns home with bundle of new knowledge, it will always be encouraged.

At the exhibition of scientific achievements

year programme and the development forecast for our state. I would like our scientists’ proposals to become the basis of this programme for it to be realistic and feasible.

The right to decide one’s own destiny Alexander Lukashenko drew attention to the fact that among scientific priorities a special emphasis is laid on ensuring state security, including humanitarian security. There is a special hope for scientists here: — It is no exaggeration to say that you are the brain of our nation. Remember that humanities scientists should consolidate the Belarusian society with their research and developments. Each of us should realize how hard the Belarusian people have gained their statehood and the right to decide their own destiny. We must not lose it. The President demands that social sciences exclude even the hypothetical possibility of double standards in evaluating historical events, set a strong barrier to manipulation or distortion of facts which traditional values are based on: — No one but us is interested in our being a strong, sovereign and independent country. A country that honours the past, values the present and is confident in the future because it relies on patriotism and national scientific schools.

The main principle is to go forward Many topical issues were discussed in real-life communication with scientists. In particular, the role of the state in economic development. Given that even the most liberal countries resort to administrative regulation instruments. Speaking about priorities at this stage, the Head of State emphasized: — Economic security is the main task of the economy. As for the main areas of development, they were defined long ago and are known to everyone. Therefore, Alexander Lukashenko suggested that the discussion on this topic should be put in reforms. The President outlined his vision in this way: — With the current government and the current President, we will reform our economy the way we have been doing for a quarter of a century. The Head of State specified that from the very beginning of his presidency he had been pursuing a clear and precise policy: to develop what we have without breaking anything. Standing, as he put it, on the shoulders of the giants from the USSR: — We have MAZ, BELAZ, and developing agriculture. But the creation of new production facilities is, of course, extremely important. And only high-tech, of tomorrow. As an example, Alexander Lukashenko cited the Belarusian National Biotechnology Cor-

Prospects poration, which is being established under his direct patronage and thanks to the trust relationship between Belarus and China. Until recently, only three countries in the world have had such technologies. Belarus will become the fourth country in the club. Another striking example is electric transport. The Head of State reminded that 10 years ago, when he strongly recommended developing this area, some people was skeptical about the idea. And now many states are setting specific deadlines when they will give up internal combustion engines. Alexander Lukashenko summed it up: — Basing on what we have, let’s proceed from it and move forward. It is the same in the entire economy. It will be the basic principle. The President suggested that the Institute of Economics of the National Academy of Sciences should be actively involved in this work.

Demand for bold solutions One of the latest achievements is the development of the peaceful atom. Which, as we know, has become one of the reasons for the pressure on the country. But the President stresses that a nuclear power plant is not just cheap energy. It is safety. The Head of State is convinced: — A nuclear power plant is a breakthrough, part of our independence. Our own nuclear power plant will allow the country not to purchase 4–5 billion cubic metres of gas. The republic will place a premium on electricity: from domestic use to the development of electric transport and various technologies in industry. Incentive measures are also being taken for this purpose. The Head of State also asked the scientists to actively propose ideas for the development of nuclear energy: — You have to be brave. Offer solutions. Decisions for the future that will ensure our sovereignty and independence. We have really brilliant scientists who can work wonders… The President emphasized: — We built this nuclear power plant primarily for people. To make life better, more convenient. And I, the President, want the people, our people of Chernobyl,

to appreciate this construction over time. It was not easy for me to make a decision about building a nuclear power plant. I was on my own. Today, many people agree: it’s right to have built it.

Tasks for today The discussion focused on the fact that some people, especially the younger generation, have little understanding of the historical values of the Belarusian people. Hence there are not always constructive discussions around the white-red-white flag. The President argues on this subject in the following way: — It is not the flag’s fault that it has such colours. But we can’t deny the fact that it was used by the most disgusting people who came to our territory with the war, i. e. the Nazis. There are so many living witnesses to that war who remember the atrocities that were committed under that flag. And yet it is used to the utmost extent at street rallies.

— We worked very badly at school. And we worked even worse in higher education institutions, — Alexander Lukashenko pointed out the origins of the problem. The President noted that the beautiful country that had been created should not be lost: — This is our task — ideologists, historians and others. And if you see that we need to revise humanities and add something (not for the sake of additional classes for teachers, or something else), ground it and we will make a decision. …Saying goodbye to the scientists, Alexander Lukashenko said he was ready to come more often, to meet in a narrower circle. After all, representatives of science have always belonged to the category of people who shape public opinion. And if there are results in the scientific field, the support of the state will be not long in coming: — Even in this difficult period, we will find ways to support great achievements and inventions. For the great, we will always find money. By Vasily Tikhomirov

Conspicuous facts Vladimir Gusakov, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences: — Today the Academy of Sciences performs a complex of priority fundamental research and applied developments, as well as ensures their implementation in all sectors of the national economy and is a large scientific and industrial corporation. It has already established and operates more than 100 of its own production facilities of various sizes — from laboratory facilities to legal entities in various fields of activity. According to last year results, the efficiency coefficient of scientific and technical programmes, for which the NAS is the state customer, was 43.7, which is the ratio of the cost of products sold to the volume of funds spent. This means that for each ruble invested in science, many times more products are produced. Alexander Shumilin, Chairman of the State Committee on Science and Technology: — Whereas in the last five- year period the share of Belarusian developments in the State Programme for Innovative Development was 10%, in the current five years it is already 36%, and in the next five years we set the task to bring this figure to 50%. For each budget ruble spent on development, scientific and technical products have been sold for more than 16 roubles. The volume of high-tech exports reached 15 billion US dollars in 2019 and increased 1.5 times by 2015. The volume of knowledge-intensive products and technologies created as part of state programmes has exceeded 12 billion roubles in the current fiveyear period. They are supplied to such countries as China, South Korea, Russia, the USA, Japan, Germany, Israel and others. The country has 17 technology parks, which last year produced innovative products for almost 149 million roubles, 4.4 times more than in 2015.

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Road map for scientists The modern world has entered an era of rapid, innovative change. Transformations in all areas of the economy demand from science to be in active search, breakthrough ideas and their quick implementation. Among the latest major world achievements of Belarusian scientists one should highlight artificial growth of organs and tissues for the “repair” of a human body, the creation of nanomedicine and micro- robots that perform manipulations in the internal organs of a human body, the emergence of artificial intelligence surpassing that of a human, super new composite materials and space systems, electric machines controlled by sensorics and thoughts, smart cities and industries. It is in these areas that Belarusian science is at the forefront, and is leading in some of them.

oday, Belarusian transplantologists are involved in organ and tissue replacement and restoration of human body functions. Biologists and physicians are actively working with DNA and have already learned to modify the human genome. Physicists and computer scientists working on artificial intelligence have taught machines to talk, read and communicate. Material engineers create unique multifunctional composite materials. Machine builders develop the latest electric vehicles and components containing exclusive know-how. Electronics engineers possess highly competitive lasers and circuits that are in demand in both the USA and Japan. Due to IT specialists and mathematicians we have the most powerful supercomputers for processing large amounts of data. Our Polar explorers have set up a domestic base in the Antarctic, along with leading countries, and its research is not second in novelty to the recognized leaders. Our space system for remote sensing of the Earth is also a landmark development. It meets the needs of many ministries and agencies and has allowed a relatively small Belarus to become a space power. According to Vladimir Gusakov, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences, today Belarusian scientists have become equal partners with world science. They participated in experiments to create and test the hadron collider in Switzerland. The geography of joint research and development is from Japan to the USA, not to mention China, Russia and the EU. Everyone is interested in working with Belarus and recognises its high level of science. Not only have we preserved the science of the former Soviet Union, but we

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have also enhanced its efficiency, created a number of new priority areas and provided a basis for sustainable growth. The leaders of a number of newest schools and areas are well known. For example, in the area of the latest nanotechnology, this is academician Sergey Chizhik; quantum research and development is connected with the name of academician Sergey Kilin; in genomic transformations and gene expression this is academician Alexander Kilchevsky; corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences Oleg Rummo is well-known in the field of organ and tissue transplantology,; oncosurgery is connected with the name of corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences Sergey Krasny… ow it is difficult to imagine that the situation was radically different a few decades ago. The period after the collapse of the Soviet Union was particularly dramatic and devastating for our science. Scientists immediately lost large Soviet orders, and therefore funding. The republic’s budget “shrank” and was unable to make up for these losses. Scientists found themselves in a situation of lack of funds. Young, capable and talented people went abroad in large numbers. Many went into commerce. Institutes were depleted and laboratories were shut down. — Newly appeared reformers suggested that our science should be rebuilt in a western way and even the Academy of Sciences — its centre and brain — should be turned into a club of scientists, while its institutes should be “distributed”, — recalls Vladimir Gusakov. This led not only to the literal disappearance of institutes, entire scientific fields

and schools, but also of national science as a whole, which is illustrated by the example of the countries where it took place. The head of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is convinced that if this had happened in Belarus, we would have never been able to revive domestic science and would have been lagging behind the world in all key innovations, hoping to buy high-tech foreign technologies. Only heaven knows, at what cost. — The end of the collapse came in 1994–1995, when the President elected by the people said: Belarusian science and the Academy of Sciences should be! He took the Academy of Sciences under his patronage, granted it the national status and ensured the adoption of a number of laws and decrees creating all the necessary conditions for sustainable development, — reminds the current Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences y the way, the Academy was one of the first, if not the very first, place the newly elected President visited in 1994. After a long conversation, the scientists breathed a sigh of relief. They understood that the difficult period was over and that it was possible to continue working actively on creation, implementation of their plans and scientific programmes, on building competence. The President firmly rejected any radical reforms of science, which can lead to its collapse, when everything has to be started from scratch. He proposed the way of improvement, optimisation and gradual development. In response to the government’s trust and the creation of favourable conditions, scientists have dramatically improved their performance.

The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus does not only do fundamental priority research and develops applications, ensures their implementation in all sectors of the national economy, it is also a large scientific and production corporation. It has already established and incorporates over one hundred of its own production facilities of various scales — from a laboratory to legal entities — in various fields of activity. The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is now working closely with the country’s leading industries and enterprises. It has undertaken obligations to provide a wide range of scientific service and support to the agro-industrial complex, e. g. the main varieties of plants, breeds of animals, the latest equipment and innovative technologies. The Academy closely cooperates with the Ministry of Health in the development of an electronic prescription, the creation of a single computerized system of medical personnel, software systems, the supply of unique medicines and stem cell research. It has established close cooperation with the Ministry of Education, e. g. the development of an electronic student card, joint work on textbooks, opening many branches of departments at the Academy’s institutes, active participation of Academy scientists in teaching at universities… In fact, the head of the National Academy of Sciences has many good examples. In particular, a joint scientific council is actively working with BELAZ, e. g. strength and durability calculations, special steel grades, vibration monitoring and control modelling systems, and with MAZ there is a whole series of joint results, e. g. design and calculation, research and production centre “BMZ — NAS of Belarus” (new steels and alloys). Joint industry laboratories have been established with a number of companies. In the area of generation of the latest microelectronic and optoelectronic technologies, the Scientific and Production Association “Optics, Optoelectronics and Laser Technology” has been recreated and has

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already achieved unique results. A multisectoral innovation-industry cluster in micro-, opto- and microwave electronics has been established, which includes such companies as Integral, Planar, Research Institute of Radio Materials, such higher education institutions as BSU, BNTU, BSUIR and a number of other participants. Within the cluster, it has become possible to integrate scientific potential and material resources. This made it possible to develop a system of sensors and modules for robotic vision, to create samples of a powerful point source of white light, to develop the latest intelligent systems of automation and robotisation for multi-purpose purposes. n the area of space activities development, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, together with the Peleng research and production enterprise and other scientific organisations, is working to create a new satellite with a submetre resolution, i. e. 0.35–0.5 metres. And this is the best world achievement to date. The country has also created the basis for the successful growth of biotechnological industry. The state scientific and production association “Chemical Synthesis and Biotechnology “ of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus includes various interested enterprises. An agreement was concluded and close cooperation was established with the Belarusian National Biotechnology Corporation — the Academy of Sciences was to provide its scientific support. Only in 2019 biotechnological products worth about a billion roubles were produced.

A whole cluster of genomic research has been created in the field of genetic engineering, which develops and implements unique technologies for personalised medicine, forensic science, sports, agriculture and environmental protection. The Stem Cell Centre has been launched to diagnose and treat patients with serious diseases of several organs, including in the area of COVID‑19. The development of a specialized vaccine has begun. According to Vladimir Gusakov, the main thing is to increase efficiency, to create competence and to be in the world lead in key priorities. There are now virtually no barriers to world science, and it can carry out incredibly complex research. The closest reality is artificial intelligence, which will permeate all spheres of life and activity. It involves not only production, but the entire variety of services. — We must also be leaders here, — says the Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. — In this regard, we have a roadmap — the Strategy for the Development of Science and Technology until 2040, which sets a goal to create not only an IT country, but also “Intellectual Belarus”. In practice, these are smart systems in any industry. As a result, further improvement and development of the Academy of Sciences and the country’s science. Scientists and the country’s elite are for creation and for confidence in the future. By Aleksey Fedosov

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СW On the eve

“The light of creative writing…”

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are not indifferent to the printed word, art, journalism and the book. And these are publishers, journalists, writers, local historians and librarians. The address of the holiday is quite modest — on September 6, as part of the spiritual and educational project “Touch Spirituality” a literary and theatrical interactive platform for thematic expositions of libraries of the Mogilev Region will be open all day long. Undoubtedly, each of the district centralised library systems, librarians of the Mogilev Region will demonstrate the connection with all-Belarusian achievements in the field of beautiful writing of the people of the Mogilev Region. — And the people of thre Mogilev Region have something to be proud of…

— It is true. Remember the poets, prose writers, who for decades have shaped the creative image of this unique land. Judge for yourself. People’s poet of Belarus Arkady Kuleshov, whose lines about the fate of his father Minai, whose ballad “Komsomolsky Ticket” are read by generations of Belarusians. While working for television, I often listened to participants of the “Living Classics” contest. So when children were reading something by Kuleshov, it was very touching. Ivan Chigrinov, People’s Writer of Belarus. In his novels “The Cry of the Quail”, “Justifying the Blood” and in many films based on these books, there was so much pain and human tears that this year they are worth reading by the protesters and destroyers of Belarus. The admiration for the beauty of the mother tongue is, perhaps, the exceptional feature of the Festival of Written Language, and all of us who developed its programme thought about the socialisation of the Festival, about connecting the high and the earthly. That is why we mention many local writers, and that is why we want to involve young people into “Treasures of Prince Golshansky”, a quest game dedicated to the life and work of Vladimir Korotkevich. We tried to shape the programme so that it would be thematically diverse, so that everyone could be interested. Both a writer and a common person who have put aside their autumn troubles would realise that they don’t waste their time. They can admire their native Belynichi in new, so to speak, outfits, and get good, bright imIgor Lutsky pressions. Belta

— Dear Igor Vladimirovich, the holiday of the Belarusian written language has turned a quarter of a century. You are the participant and organizer of many such Days. Does this year’s celebration in Belynichi differ from the previous ones? — The best characteristic of any tradition that has a respectable age is stability and strength. Without it, you cannot move forward, develop. Speaking of another meeting of media workers, writers, everyone who cares about the fate of education, it is worth stressing this point in particular. The interaction of printed publications, books, art and publicist words published in the electronic media, social networks, with society, its social and other aspirations is the main concern, the main theme of reflection and action. Of course, innovation is needed every year. Our sectoral ministry, which in one way or another is in contact with the whole country, together with other organisers of the holiday, primarily the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee and the Belynichi District Executive Committee, has done a lot. I will not comment on the entire programme of the holiday, I will only dwell on some “points”. Everything depends on the variety of the activities And I hope that all the guests of the holiday, all its participants will be interested to get acquainted with the program, which the organizers will present on the sites “Books and Press of the Republic of Belarus”, “Printing House”, “Word of the Writer”. In drawing up the programme we took into account different circumstances. First of all, all events and actions are organised by people who

On the eve of the 27th Day of the Belarusian Written Language in Belynichi, the Minister of Information of Belarus Igor Lutsky answered the questions of our correspondent

On the eve — Igor Vladimirovich, since you have mentioned the author of the novel “The Ears Under Your Sickle”, I would like to ask you how the classic of Belarusian national literature will be commemorated in Belynichi in the 90th anniversary year since his birth. — I would call Korotkevich not just a national classic, but a world-renowned writer, whose works are especially dear to the Slavic people, well known to readers in Belarus, Russia and all the countries of the near abroad and many other countries which are quite far from us. While working for television, my colleagues and I produced a number of documentaries, feature films in which we tried to tell the stories of many writers whose names are known by many and many people. We made a film about Yevgeny Yanishchitz, a “swallow” from my native Polesye. There was also a film about Korotkevich. I heard so many exciting words from people who, after a television acquaintance with the author of “The Ears…”, “King Stakh’s Wild Hunt”, rushed to bookstores and libraries to open the writer’s books as soon as possible. — And, of course, Vladimir Semenovich’s books are republished year after year? — Let me give you some statistics. In the last decade alone, almost 50 (imagine: 50!) books of the classic were published in the country in Belarusian and Russian. The total circulation is about 100 thousand copies. I would like to emphasise: in just one decade. By the way, the publishing house “Mastatskaya litaratura” is about to finish publishing a 25‑volume Collection of works by Vladimir Korotkevich. — In general, preparations for Korotkevich’s 90th anniversary have been made… — Both for the 90th anniversary and the holiday in Belynichi, too. All of the country’s book publishing houses, both public and private, were involved in this work. By the way, we have about 400 registered business entities engaged in publishing activities. And every year about 10,000 books are published in Belarus. — The figures are impressive…

— It’s not about figures. I would like to emphasise that we are preparing in advance for the Day of Belarusian Written Language, we have been preparing for the whole year. We assume that every year on the first Sunday of September we will honour Its Majesty the Book, the Belarusian artistic word. Sometimes thoughts arise that maybe it’s a wrong time for such a celebration.. But a holiday is a mirror of social aspirations of the society, a mirror of the state’s attention to Belarusian literature, language, culture, national literature. This is why in Belynichi we pay great attention to traditions. Visual art will help us in it. The Belarusian Telegraph Agency has organised a photo exhibition “Traditions of Sovereign Belarus”. By the way, last year, with the support of the Ministry of Information, BelTA published a book with this title. Turn its pages — and discover so many wonderful achievements that characterise the development of our country! And the final concert of the holiday is dedicated to traditions. — In short, the holiday of writing brings together different arts, different areas of activity… — Yes. It is no coincidence that not only local authorities, but also the ministries of culture, education, sports and tourism are organising the celebration together with the Ministry of Information. The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the Commissioner for Religious and Ethnic Affairs… Everyone cares, everyone is ready to show accord with the book and writing in general, and most importantly — to help make it interesting for the people of Mogilev Region, Belynichi and neighboring areas. — Will there be foreign guests at the festival, given the difficult epidemiological situation? — Traditionally since 2007 we have been organizing an international round table “Fiction as a Way to Each Other” on the Day of Belarusian Writing. Throughout the history of this creative project, many and many writers from dozens of countries — from Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Serbia, Montenegro, Mongolia, China, Poland, India, Moldova, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia and

Estonia — have become acquainted with the holiday and our country. We have special friendship with Russia. Poets, prose writers, publicists, translators, literary scholars used to come to us not only from St. Petersburg and Moscow, but also from Ekaterinburg, Astrakhan, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Chuvashia, Udmurtia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Chechnya, KabardinoBalkaria, Kalmykia, Mari El… This year, many confirmed their virtual participation in the Belynichi round table “Fiction as a Way to Each Other. The word creative and the word destructive”, making use of modern electronic technologies. There is obvious interest in Belarus, in understanding of the Belarusian character by the artists of words. — The title of the round table says about destruction.. — But also about the creative, positive role of artistic, publicistic word. In fact, there should be no destructive words. We have made the journalistic nature of the intended talk more emotional.. The word should only have a creative character! — Igor Vladimirovich, I understand that a lot has not been mentioned yet about the Day of Belarusian Written Language in Belynichi… — The best story is a vivid impression. By the way, the next Day of Belarusian Literature will be held in Kopyl, Minsk Region. The choice is not random. The names of many literary legends are connected with Kopyl, e. g. Kuźma Čorny, whose 120th anniversary was mentioned in Belynichi, Ales Adamovich, the author of the world-famous books “The Khatyn Story”, “The Expeditioners”, the co-author of the extremely emotional “Blockade Book”, a collection of stories, hellish stories of eyewitnesses of the dramatic events of the Great Patriotic War “I am from the Fire Village”. I specifically emphasise this because I am deeply convinced that the creative word must lead our entire society towards the high humanist ideals of kindness, justice and peaceful coexistence. And the Day of the Belarusian Written Language, as a longstanding state tradition of this movement, is a good platform for good deeds. Interviewed by Kastus Ladutko

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Honour to the word, respect for the book, knowledge — to everyone! The 27th Day of Belarusian Written Language is traditionally celebrated in Belarus on the first Sunday of autumn, shortly after the Day of Knowledge, when schools start classes. This year’s participants were welcomed in Belynichi, the Mogilev Region. It united everyone who works to preserve the printed word, popularise national culture and enhance spirituality of the Belarusian people.

— The Day of Belarusian Written Language unites those who love Belarus and wish it further growth and prosperity. This opinion was held by Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Andrey Kuntsevich during the Day of Belarusian Writ-

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ten Language. — Today’s vacation in Belynichi allows us to objectively assess the development of Belarus’ regions in recent years. It is not only about renovated streets and new facilities. There is a desire of the President to breathe new life into small

towns and villages, to preserve the real Belarus with hardworking generous people. According to him, such events should be held. — Since 1994, the Day of Belarusian Written Language has been traditionally

Holiday of Written Language held in different cities. And during this time the holiday has turned from an ordinary cultural event into one of the largest national projects, without which it is difficult to imagine the spiritual life of our citizens, — said Andrey Kuntsevich. — And we have come all this way together and managed to build peaceful and beautiful Belarus. We already knew the programme of this day before. Some of the events of the Day of Belarusian Written Language had been discussed at the National Press Centre a week before it started. And according to the printed programme that had been sent to us, journalists, the day was going to be extremely busy. This is what Deputy Information Minister Igor Buzovsky told us about it: — The Day of Belarusian Literature in Belynichi will allow us to plunge into the creative book atmosphere of our native land. We want this event to affect all residents and guests of the country. Along with a large number of events dedicated to books, book publishing, writing environment, creative activities, the holiday is worth visiting to see other outstanding events and attractions in the region. In particular, the icon of Virgin Mary of Belynichi, as well as a museum unique in Belarus, where one can listen to organ music. Of course, one can meet interesting people, representatives of scientific, creative and literary circles of Belarus. In addition, a bright concert programme will be organised for the opening and closing of the event. The Deputy Minister noted that the torch of the Day of Belarusian Literature would be passed to the city of Kapyl, the Minsk Region. In addition, on September 5 a procession of participants of the national scientific and educational expedition “The Road to Sacred Places” was held. — It will be not just a trip to the points of the route, it will involve communication with people, talk on spiritual topics that are an integral part of Belarusian culture, — he said. On the eve of the holiday, Igor Buzovsky also stressed the importance of holding the National Literary Prize:

Dear friends! I sincerely welcome the participants and guests of the Day of Belarusian Written Language. This holiday is a special event in the cultural life of Belarus. A polyphonic dialogue between pen masters — writers and poets — is held about the destinies of the word and culture, present and future of our people. They meet here and enrich the creative field, literature, music, painting and other arts. This year one of the most famous festivals of independent Belarus is hosted by the ancient Belynichi — a famous centre of spirituality of the Belarusian land, a unique corner of the Mogilev region with its rich history and extremely beautiful nature, known for its talented artists, including the artist Vitold ByalynitskyBirulya. I am sure that these September meetings are a good occasion for each of the participants and guests of the Day of Written Language to understand once again that Belarusians, irrespective of their views, are always united by their native language, common fate and homeland. And we must preserve this precious heritage for our posterity. I sincerely wish everyone good health, wellbeing, new achievements in life and work. Alexander Lukashenko

— We need to promote modern writers so that they are known and spoken about. Authors and readers should look for common approaches during literary meetings, presentations and autograph sessions. And yet it is better to see everything for yourself once than to hear about it. The programme included more than 30 events. Just have time to be everywhere! At the suggestion of respected members of the Organising Committee, the main “points” of the festival were the Year of Small Motherland, the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory, and the 90th anniversary of Vladimir Korotkevich. There were a number of publications, in particular an art album of Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya, a book “And I will pray to the Virgin” and other interesting books. All major events took place on 6 September. Among them, of course, was the grand opening of the holiday. The artistic concept of the holiday was based on the historical and local data of Belynichi and the Mogilev Region. As part of the holiday, the “The Road to Sacred Places” expedition, the “Belynichi Readings” scientific and practical conference were held, the results of the “Book from the Screen” competition and other creative competitions which had been held the day before, were summed up. The participants of the holiday were invited to a historical quest game “Treasures of Prince Golshansky”. A round table “Fiction as a Way to Each Other: creative and destructive word” with the participation of Belarusian and foreign writers from many countries was held on September 5. We also learned about it earlier from the director — editor-in-chief of PH “Zviazda” Alexander Karlyukevich, who was present at the holiday. The main purpose of the round table was to draw attention to the Belarusian writing in the world. Among its founders and organizers there were the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus, the Union of Writers of Belarus, the publishing house “Zviazda” and the publishing house “Mastatskaya litaratura”. The meeting of the Masters of Words was held in the Zoom-conference format, but it was also possible to see it on YouTube.

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Holiday of Written Language The discussion was attended by experts from more than 10 countries: Belarus, Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Moldova, Sweden, Ukraine and others. During the meeting, participants discussed the power and impact of the word not only on people, but also on the surrounding reality. The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Information of Belarus, writers, publishers, researchers, professors, PhDs, marketing experts, publicists, journalists and local historians. Needless to say, Belynichi was well prepared for the holiday of Belarusian literature. This is what Valery Malashko, Deputy Chairman of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee, said about numerous steps to create a new image of the city:

According to Vasily Zakharenko, Chairman of the Belynichi District Executive Committee, involvement of villages and district centres into holding significant events is an excellent practice. After the Day of Written Language, he said, there would be a renewed and more comfortable city: — This can be clearly seen through the example of Belynichi. The capital repair and maintenance of housing in the city has almost been completed, communications have been replaced, roads have been made, yards and adjacent areas have been improved. The museum building has been rebuilt — only the foundation remained from the old one. Our cinema has become a multimedia centre — people here have

At the opening of the Day of Belarusian Written Language

for children and adults — everyone could try themselves as a book printer of the past. It was a real adventure for children, and adults could also learn how our ancestors printed their first books. There were also “Word of the Writer” pavilions and many others where participants and guests of the Belarusian Literature Day could get acquainted with new books and meet writers. Expositions of periodicals of national and regional mass media were also presented. Literary meetings, presentations and autograph sessions were held at the “Word of the Writer” pavilion. Craftsmen from all over the region and other regions came to the Belynichi Festival. Handmade clothes and jewellery, household items, various thematic

Igor Lutsky, Minister of Information, presents the national literary prize in the genre of "Poetry" to Valery Grishkovets

— Our city and region will receive a good heritage after this holiday, because careful preparation was carried out, which involves the city infrastructure, highways and a number of cultural facilities. Of course, the pearl is the reconstructed Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya’s museum, which originally appeared 50 years ago and now welcomes its visitors again. The museum is not only equipped with all modern technologies — a barrier-free environment has been created in it that makes art accessible to a wide range of visitors. I also want to draw attention to a pavilion “The Destiny of My Land through Words”, which reflects the stages of development in our region.

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the opportunity not only to watch current films, but also to go to the library, access the Internet and obtain all the necessary information. And Linden Grove Park has become a real recreation area for our residents. The entire city centre has become a large pedestrian square. One of the most important moments of the holiday was the festival of books and the press, where the guests of the festival could not only get acquainted with book novelties of Belarus, but also buy a publication they liked. In the central square near the District Executive Committee building, the “Printing yard” became a real centre of attraction

souvenirs… Leading companies of the food industry of the region presented their products there: dairy and meat products, bakery products, sweets and much more. Industrial enterprises of the region also came to Belynichi on the Day of Written Language — they presented their products as well as told about the history of development of their plants and organisations. Each district of the Mogilev Region took part in the thematic block “The fate of my land in words”. They presented the development of the Mogilev Region from the time of Belarusian printer Spiridon Sobol to modern printed publications. For example, the Museum of History of Mogi-

Holiday of Written Language lev brought a small exhibition of paintings and books, including the charter of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Kruglian District displayed the exhibits from the USSR Museum. A delegation from the Slavgorod District held a theatrical performance which told about the history of the district and its modern life. The participants also spoke about the activities of cultural and educational institutions in the Mogilev Region. The renovated building of the Art Museum named after Vitold ByalynitskyBirulya is a joy to see. The concept of the museum has also changed. One of the central expositions, the People’s Artist Gallery, is dedicated to the master’s work. Some of his personal belongings are exibited in the

ing on this painting all the year. And this is what he said: — Every picture looks like a child that is starting to grow up, — he said. — The canvases, too. When they are born, they gradually begin to penetrate into the world they are in. And I would like the picture to stand in the whirlpool of historical events, to be preserved for posterity. I think that is the desire of any master, creator. Sculptor Alexander Minko from Mogilev came to Belynichi with his family to open the sculptural composition “The Phenomenon of the Icon”. — I am very happy with the result, because I was able to realize all my creative ideas. I am pleased that I was able to create a work that will please not only the

By the way, the size of a stone angel is 3x2 m. The sculpture is made of pokostin granite. Its weight is about 2.5 tonnes. Another 75 kg weighs a bronze icon with a little angel. The bronze icon was cast according to the sculptor’s models. The author said, the model was created in the image of the real icon because he wanted to convey accuracy and plausibility. It is obvious, that both the sculpture and the museum in Belynichi are the beauties without which our world would be impoverished. But still the main character at the holiday in Belynichi was Its Majesty the Word! This is why Belarusian Literature Day focused the attention of the country’s residents on the origins

The 27th Day of Belarusian Written Language took place on September 5-6 in Belynichi. The entire city centre turned into a large pedestrian square with a festival of books and press, thematic sites of each district of the Mogilev Region, and shopping stalls.

same hall. There is also a large hall for foreign expositions. Another new feature of the museum is the hall of spirituality. The central exhibit here is the fresco “Bearing the Cross” or “Ascent to Calvary”. In the late 1970s, the artist-restorer Yury Malinovsky and his colleagues saved it from a destroyed Carmelite monastery in Belynichi. Viktor Alshevsky, a famous Belarusian artist, native of the Belynichi District, came to asses the new halls. And mind you, not empty-handed. A gift to the museum from the master was a new work, i. e. a portrait of Byalynitsky-Birulya called “Golden Canvas of Vitold”. The artist had been work-

modern residents of the city, but also their descendants, — the master confessed. And he added: — The work on the sculpture lasted about three weeks. To be in time, it was necessary to keep a very high pace of work, but the quality of the sculpture was not affected. I wanted to make an interesting composition that would be associated with this city. That’s how the idea of an angel with an icon was born. And besides, I tried to add something original and interesting to it — I managed to make a drapery pattern on the wings of the angel. This is a very unusual way of working with stone, I have never seen such sculptures anywhere.

of their native language and culture. This opinion was shared with journalists by Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus, Head of the Organizing Committee Igor Petrishenko during the meeting of the National Organizing Committee for the Day of Belarusian Written Language in Belynichi. — Our compatriot Francisk Skorina, — he said, — published his first book in the Belarusian language. It is our history and heritage, which we are proud of. — The Day of Written Language makes it possible to popularise the Belarusian language. There are two official languages in our country, and they are equal for us.

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Holiday of Written Language

During the opening of the new sculptural composition "The Phenomenon of the Icon"

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the festival, which is held annually in different parts of the country, brings together writers not only from Belarus, but also from neighbouring countries. — This holiday is an excellent discussion platform where writers and cultural figures from different countries share their experience, find new interesting ways of further development. Belarusian writers continue to create interesting works relevant both for adults and youth not only in Belarus, but also abroad. The state provides serious support to our creative people, — said Igor Petrischenko. At the opening of the Day of Belarusian Written Language the best masters of words — writers, poets, literary critics — were honored. In this year’s literary season only playwrights were left without awards. According to Elena Stelmakh, the first deputy of the Union of Writers of Belarus, only one work was presented in this category. Valery Grishkovets from Pinsk became the author of the best poetry collection. His work “To Stay Forever…” was highly appreciated by both the panel and readers. Accepting the award, the poet said: — For me, literary creativity has become destiny. I have received many differ-

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ent awards, but this is the first time I have received such a prestigious award in Belarus. And first of all, I would like to thank those who highly appreciated my work. Igor Prakapovich from the Postavy District, who left his descendants a literary heritage in the form of the book “Postavshchina” about his small motherland, received the award for publicistic writing. The Best Work of Literary Criticism and Literary Studies nomination was won

The Day of Belarusian Written Language was founded in 1994 and is traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday of September. The celebration is held in the cities which are historical centres of culture, science, literature and book printing. The Day of Belarusian Written Language has acquired the status of national and has become a significant event in the cultural life of Belarus. Every year thousands of guests from all over the country and from abroad gather to celebrate the Day.

At the opening ceremony of the District Art Museum named after Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya

Holiday of Written Language

Festive mood prevailed everywhere

by the famous writer Ivan Saverchenko, and the award for the best literary debut went to 18‑year-old Olga Nikitenko for her poetry collection “The Constellation of a Bird”. The nomination “The best prose writer was won by Vladimir Stsyapan, and Ekaterina Khodasevich-Lisova became the best children’s writer. The panel members would present them with awards and diplomas in Minsk: due to a number of circumstances the writers did not make it to Belynichi. In general, the holiday turned out to be very bright and informative. Many guests from all over Belarus got together. There were also representatives of the diplomatic corps. The Day of Written Language in Belynichi ended with a big festive concert, in which pop stars and honoured groups of Belarus took part, e. g. Anatoly Yarmolenko, Alena Lanskaya, Olga Plotnikova, Alexander Solodukha, Alexey Khlestov, Ruslan Alekhno, “Pesnyary” and others. The holiday ended with colourful fireworks. By the way, one more interesting event of the holiday. That was laying out the Alley of the capital cities of the Day of Belarusian Written Language. Honoured guests of the festival in Belynichi planted more than 20 maples in the city park.

— Our park has already become a real landmark of the city. And its further development, the appearance of such a landmark as this alley will complement and decorate it even more, — said Chairman of the Belynichi District Executive Committee Vasily Zakharenko.

On each planted tree there is a plate with the name of the city and the year when the Day of Belarusian Written Language was held here. — The Day of the Belarusian Written Language is a holiday that unites Belarusian cities and their residents. Today I have planted a tree, which symbolises the city of Slonim. Last year they passed us the torch of the festival. We met and started to communicate. Our specialists came to them to find out about their preparation for the festival, — said Vasily Zakharenko. — We want to continue this tradition: to be friends with cities in different regions, to share our experience and knowledge. The torch of the Day of Belarusian Written Language was passed to the city of Kopyl, the Minsk Region. In the same way we did last year, a delegation from Kopyl will come to Belynichi. Thus, inside Belarus, the cities are becoming a kind of twin towns. By Mikhalina Cherkashina. On BelTa materials. Photo by BelTA.

In different years, festivities were held in the country's historical and cultural centres — Polotsk, Turov, Novogrudok, Nesvizh, Orsha, Pinsk, Zaslavl, Mstsislavl, Mir, Kamenets, Postavy, Shklov, Borisov, Smorgon, Khoyniki, Gantsevichi, Glubokoye, Bykhov, Shchuchin

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Achievements

Anna Zankovich

“Here everything was on the top” How Belarusian neuroscientists save lives in the most difficult cases

A young patient from the USA, who had limb paralysis as a result of a stroke and could not talk, was treated by Belarusian neurosurgeons with stem cells. When the man was leaving Minsk, he could talk using whole phrases, and could move independently. How the skills of Belarusian neurosurgeons help to save lives in the most difficult cases, told us a famous neurosurgeon, deputy director for scientific work of the RSPC of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Doctor of Medical Sciences, professor, corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Yury Shanko.

“Muscovites from the Burdenko Institute were amazed” Last year, the Belarusian neurosurgery celebrated its 70th anniversary. — Its development was started by the famous neurologist, academician Nikolay Graschenkov, who arrived in our country in the postwar period and headed the Presidium of the NAS of Belarus. On his initiative, the first neurosurgical department was set up, where Associate Professor Efrem Zlotnik started to work soon. He was the founder of microneurosurgery in the Soviet Union. Many people studied under him, including outstanding Russian neurosurgeon Alexander Konovalov. In Belarus, he was the first to develop vascular diagnosis — angiography and surgery of arterial and arteriovenous malformations aneurysms — back in the years when many believed that the emergence of cerebral vascular aneurysms was caused by syphilis, — Professor Shanko

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Yury Shanko

starts with landmark historical milestones. He mentions the 1990s as “roaring” in medicine, too: — There was a lack of equipment, a lack of medication, and very low wages. We had to work at 2–2.5 wage rates. In addition to daytime work, I took five or six night duty surgeries, three or four neurology duties, and there could be 15 sanitary aviation duties. It wasn’t every day that I slept at home. Most importantly, there was nothing to work with. There was almost no equipment, tools were out of order. We managed to get out of the predicament only in the late 1990s. The new development of neurosurgery began in the 2000s. The Head of State visited the capital’s clinic No. 5, and after his instructions we managed to buy new equipment. In particular, the magnetic resonance tomography scanner — one of the first in the country — and an operating microscope. — I remember my colleagues joking at me when I was sitting at this microscope. While they, working with a binocular magnifier, could complete the surgery within an

hour or two, it took me three or four hours. The microscope gives a better resolution, you can see small structures — you work harder and it takes time to develop your skills. Later, when we had additional microscopes, surgeons wanted to work with them, such operations were mastered by all — recalls Yury Shanko. He and his colleagues developed one of the most difficult areas — surgery of the base of the skull, which is dealt with in his thesis. — In 2003, the Congress of CIS Oncologists was held in Minsk, and for the first time there was a section on neurooncology — tumors of the central nervous system. Prominent neurosurgeons were invited and came — Academician Konovalov and his colleagues from Moscow, Professor Zelman from Los Angeles. And Muscovites from the Burdenko Institute, which is one of the best neurosurgical institutions in the world, presented results of 40 cases of craniofocal resections, and we presented results of more than 20! They were extremely amazed that we were developing such a trend, — says Professor Shanko.

Achievements He explains that craniofacial resection is an extremely complex surgery. A tumour, most often malignant, grows from the base of the skull simultaneously into its cavity (brain) as well as outside the skull — into the facial structure (eye orbit, nose). Previously, a part of a malignant tumor was removed from the cranial cavity, the rest was irradiated and chemotherapy was performed. At the same time, life expectancy was minimal, as part of the tumour remained. Craniofacial resections allow both removal of the tumour from the brain and resection of the skull base as well as the orbital tissue together with the eye. After that plastic surgery is performed and the patient’s life expectancy increases by several times. — One of the greatest discoveries of the late 20th century in neurosurgery is the socalled keyhole surgery, — continues Yury Georgiyevich. — It is surgery through small access, for example, through the access of 2×2 centimeters it is possible to reach the neoplasm of 5×7 cm and remove it. In this case, the duration of surgery reduces, it is less traumatic for the brain and functional result is better. We have been developing this direction for six years, and the lethal outcomes after such operations have been reduced to an absolute minimum. The functional results are better and the surgery time is shorter. Moreover, to perform these interventions, Belarusian neurosurgeons use not an operating microscope, but an operating endoscope, thus following the example of American neurosurgeons from the clinic of Pennsylvania University. This makes it possible to further reduce the size of access and, consequently, surgical trauma. Today, domestic neurosurgeons account for more than 300 such interventions, and with good results. Even colleagues from Moscow Burdenko Institute came to them to master this direction.

“Academician Smeyanovich is still operating” Today, the the RSPC of Neurology and Neurosurgery has the most modern equipment, in particular, the latest operating

microscopes and endoscopes, trained specialists, about three dozen of which in due time came to work here immediately after graduation. Today they are high-class neurosurgeons who have been trained, including in foreign clinics. And most importantly, the center has opened new areas, which are not available in other European and CIS countries, and there are developments that cause envy of foreign colleagues. The teachers of junior doctors are their senior colleagues, in particular, Academician Arnold Smeyanovich still continues to share his skills. — Arnold Fyodorovich is also my teacher, — says Yury Shanko. — He is an exceptional specialist: despite his considerable age (academician is 82 years old. — Auth.), he comes to work every day — to the operating room. He doesn’t just operate, but performs the most complex interventions — very quickly, qualitatively, without complications and with excellent results. He tries to take care of his health as well, and one of our doctors, Gumen Gorbanedzhad, helps him in this. He is an Iranian, by the way, who graduated from our medical university and stayed here to work. He has mastered all our methods, and even visits with us the regions to lecture on the prevention of thromboembolic complications. Under the guidance of Academician Smeyanovich, research is being carried out both in complex areas of modern neurosurgery, and more applied ones. With the help of one of them it was found that in certain malignant brain tumors, growing from nervous tissue, the herpes simplex virus intervenes in the process of tumor growth and makes it more malignant. In such cases, the results may be extremely poor, even with the best possible treatment. — All over the world, the life expectancy of a patient with glioblastoma, which has the 4th degree of malignancy, is 12–14 months after radical removal of the tumor, provided that the whole arsenal, i. e. surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, has been used. After partial removal, it is much less. But if we were able to influence the herpes simplex virus with fairly simple drugs, then the life expectancy of these pa-

tients would increase in some cases up to four or five years — explains Yury Georgievich. — One of Arnold Fyodorovich’s students Anna Boriseyko widely presents this material at international conferences, it is always admired. And we are going to continue this research. The direction of endovascular surgery is also developing in the center — without open intervention, when penetration is done with a special instrument through the vascular. This excludes arterial aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, vascular network of the tumor, so that the operation is less traumatic. Stereotoxic and functional neurosurgery is developing, the technology of implantation of neurostimulators is widely used — all the patients in need of it receive them.

TBI survival rates are among the best in the world Particular attention had to be paid to the problem of brain injuries. — When new technologies of TBI treatment were been developing in the world, here it was in a rather neglected state. The Ministry of Health drew attention to the fact that the results were unfavorable. Under the leadership of Arnold Smeyanovich, a course was created, and we started to teach doctors how to operate TBI. We had to develop, go and see how it was done in other clinics, invite specialists from Burdenko and Sclifosovsky Institutes. Our first clinical protocol appeared, and incredible things happened. According to the statistics since 2010, we used to have about 30 deaths per 100 thousand population per year, and gradually this figure was declining — to 20, 15 and finally to 10. Now it is less than 10 cases per 100 thousand population per year. This is at the level of the best indicators in the world — Germany, Sweden, Norway. While in the U. S. it is 20, in Ukraine — 25–30, the average for Europe is 25, in some regions of Russia it reaches 40 and 50 — says the interlocutor. Today, inter-district centers are set up in Belarus, located at the distance of no more than 70 km to any settlement, which allows transportation of a patient with a stroke,

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Achievements TBI within an hour. Such clinics have CT scanners, resuscitation beds and specialists who will provide qualified specialized care. In Minsk, there is an ambulance hospital and clinical hospital No. 5. The specialists of the RSPC of Neurology and Neurosurgery can get involved at different stages and go to any clinic in the country for surgery or consultation, in particular, for endovascular interventions. — This is a complex field, which requires a long training of a specialist: you cannot teach him/her in a year or two. And if a surgeon performs only 25–50 endovascular interventions a year, he or she

was going to marry her. But he had a small defect — a benign tumor of the lower jaw. Before the wedding, he decided to get rid of the defect. In one of Miami clinics, he had an operation: the tumor was removed, a metal structure was put to hold the jaw. Examination of the tumor showed that it was benign and completely removed. The next stage of the surgical treatment could be bone surgery. It was also done: a part of his iliac bone was taken to fill the defect of the lower jaw. The approach was from the inside of the jaw, and it so happened that the internal carotid artery was clamped for a long time. The young man

Yury Shanko with colleagues

will not be a specialist. After all, you need to do hundreds of such operations each year to master the skills and feel how the aneurysm that you are going to extract will behave. It is therefore easier to send a specialist with the necessary consumables to the region and when the patient comes out of a serious condition, to take them to Minsk and continue treatment, — argues Yury Shanko.

What do foreigners go to Belarus for? Foreign patients on the operating table of Belarusian neurosurgeons are not uncommon, either. Professor Shanko gives an illustrative example. — A young American fell in love with a Ukrainian girl who moved to the USA. He

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had a brain attack with the development of right limbs paralysis, complete loss of speech, and the brain attack was progressive. In order to save the brain, a decompression craniotomy is performed in such cases. 12×15 cm part of his skull bone was removed, and when the brain coped with the swelling, a titanium plate was installed. But the paralysis and speech disorder remained. The patient was treated as much as possible, even with cell therapy. Stem cells were injected intravenously. This helped: he began to say individual words, could walk three or five steps — and no more. By the way, this treatment cost 500,000 US dollars in the United States. But the result was unsatisfactory. The young man was brought to Belarus for treatment by his bride.

— By that time we had already developed the practice of treating focal brain lesions with the help of stem cells, but not in the same way as it is traditionally done in the world, — continues Yury Shanko. — It is important not just to introduce stem cells, but to deliver them to the brain. If they are injected through a vein, only 0.2% of cells get into the brain, if through an artery — 2%. If they are injected into the spinal canal, they will not enter the brain at all. If they are injected directly into the brain with the help of stereotoxic devices, the focus of injury is at the injection site and most of these cells will work to eliminate it. The situation seemed to be desperate. Our Institute of Physiology of the NAS has been working on this topic for many years, headed by Academician Vladimir Kulchitsky. There is a precise strategy: a stem cell moves perineurally — along nerve fibers in the direction of nerve impulse movement. And along not motor, but sensitive nerve fibers. In this way, the stem cells enter the brain in large quantities. Having had the experimental background of this method, we worked it out in the clinic, tested it on patients with brain infarcts, intra cerebral haemorrhage, which is accompanied by secondary brain infarcts. Now it is being tested in severe brain injury. And in almost all cases, this treatment shows excellent results. The American patient also underwent cell therapy, and within a month he began to talk using phrases, albeit small, and could walk up to 100 meters on his own. The effect was achieved after just one course of cell therapy, which cost 10 thousand dollars. — When I asked his family members whether it was worth going to Belarus, the answer was unambiguous: definitely, — says the interlocutor. — Now citizens of our nearest neighboring countries come to us for treatment, and we are planning to sign contracts for joint research, primarily with Russians. Stem cell treatment is closed in most CIS countries. But this is a very promising, albeit complicated, field that requires specific equipment, skills and laboratories. By Elena Kravets

Personality in history

“Electric Man’s” house

rofessor Narkevich-Iodko’s research was ahead of his time. This unique scientist made discoveries in physics, meteorology, medicine and psychology. At his estate, he created one of the first meteorological stations in Eastern Europe. And his home can in the future become a center of science for young people, which will open up new names in science to the world.

Loft of the century before last Yakub Narkevich-Iodko came from a wealthy noble family. The scientist’s grandfather, Anufry Narkevich-Iodko, according to some sources, was an archivist of the Radziwiłł princes — a man close to the almighty tycoons, who was aware of all the secrets of the family. — At the time, the Radziwiłł family was gradually getting poorer because of the wasteful lifestyle of some of its members. And some of the lands that were not part of the indivisible Nesvizh ordinance were being sold by the princes, — says Tamara Lukhverchik, director of the Uzda Regional Museum of Local History. In 1823, Anufry Narkevich-Iodka bought the Malyskovshchina estate, previously owned by the Radziwiłłs. And when, after the 1830–1831 uprising, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in his estate, he began building the house. This is how the history of the Narkevich-Iodko palace be-

gan. It must be said that the family’s wealth was linked to the timber-trade which went along the Neman, and the owners of the estate had no shortage money. Anufry decided not to build a house from scratch, but to rebuild for it a two-storey Radziwiłł brewery. To go ahead of time is, probably, characteristic of this family: nowadays, a loft, industrial space converted into housing, is a fashionable trend in interior design. For the nineteenth century, it was an unusual idea. However, as a result it looked quite harmonious, although non-typical, because the construction was likely carried out by the great architect Franciszek Jaschold, who designed and built such a masterpiece as the Kosovo Palace. The con-

struction work lasted more than ten years and was completed in 1840 by Anufry’s son, Aton. — The palace was built in the Baroque style with elements of medieval Gothic style: this creative solution was facilitated by the original building itself, i. e. the old brewery had thick walls, — explains the director of the Uzda Museum. — Not to make the building look gloomy, it was decorated with two towers — a square tower and a hexagonal one. A beautiful staircase led to the entrance door. When the palace was completed, Aton changed the name of the manor from Malyskovshchina to a more prominent one, i. e. Nad neman.

The entrance gate has already been renovated. Above it there is the coat of arms of the Narkevich-Iodko family. беларусь. belarus 2020

Personality in history

Byelorussian Tesla Yakub Narkevich-Iodko, one of Aton’s s sons, was called “Electric Man” in French scientific publications. And local peasants called their master a sorcerer and whispered that he was married to Perun. Narkevich-Iodko is the author of pioneering works on the use of electromagnetic radiation from gas-discharge plasma to visualize living organisms (the inventor of electrography), on receiving electromagnetic waves from electrical discharges in the atmosphere at distances of up to 100 kilometres, the author of an electrotherapy method known today as the “Iodko system”, the founder of systematic meteorological and phenological observations in Minsk Province, and a researcher of the use of atmospheric electricity in agriculture. Since childhood, Yakub was a very talented boy. This is largely due to the education he and his brothers and sisters were given by his mother. Aton Narkevich-Iodko’s wife came from the famous Kostuško family, was very educated and cultivated in her children love of science. Yakub received further education in Florence, Vienna and the Sorbonne.

— At that time tuberculosis was raging all over modern Belarus, — says Tamara Lukhverchik. — This disease, then incurable, left a terrible imprint on Yakub’s family. His father and sister (she was only 25 years old) died of tuberculosis. That was why the treatment of tuberculosis became one of the main areas of the scientist’s medical research. For this purpose, Narkevich-Iodko, who became the owner of the family estate after his father’s death, established koumiss production in Nadneman (and now koumissotherapy is prescribed for certain forms of tuberculosis). Special breeds of horses were purchased and specialists from Bashkiria were invited to raise them and produce the therapeutic drink. About five thousand bottles of koumiss were produced per year: three thousand for sale, two thousand for home consumption (they were given to the peasants for tuberculosis treatment and prevention). According to documents from the Paris Medical Community and the Italian Medical Psychological Community, which at that time brought together medical specialists, the methods of magnetotherapy, electrotherapy and phytotherapy used by

The winery has also been renovated. A coffee shop with traditional Belarusian cuisine is planned to be opened here.

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Professor Narkevich-Iodko had a good effect on lung treatment. In 1892, the professor opened a health center in Nadneman, which immediately became world-famous: people from all over Europe came there in hope of recovery. As tuberculosis was very contagious, there were comfortable cottages in the health center, each for one patient, in the light pine forest. Unique greenhouses with glass walls and cabins were also built so that the patients could breathe the healing air (thanks to careful selection of plants growing in them) and sunbathe without infecting each other. Mineral water springs were discovered nearby — the health resort “Podyelniki” is now located next to them. The professor also treated poor patients. According to his contemporaries, he effectively treated the damaged spine, stuttering, alalia with the help of electrotherapy, he also treated nervous and mental diseases. He opened pharmacies in small Belarusian villages. In addition to medical and physical research, he did a lot of patronage work. He sent talented local young people to study at his own expense. — He was a landowner and took care of the future of this land,— explains Tamara Lukhverchik. — After their education, the young people would often return to work in their own places. Professor Narkevich-Iodko left interesting projects in agriculture. In experimental fields, using metal pins connected by plates deep in the soil, he very effectively used atmospheric electricity to increase yields. The soils on the banks of the Neman River are still poor today, they are too sandy. And Narkevich-Iodko’s experimental fields were consistently producing good harvests. But breeding beef cattle was a much larger source of income than agriculture in Neman. However, it was more the merit of the professor’s wife. We know that, unlike her husband, she was an influential woman and ran a large farm with iron hands, i. e. four thousand hectares of land. In addition, Yakub Narkevich-Iodko installed lightning rods so that lightning would not harm houses, while peasants

Personality in history

The reconstruction work of the palace has just begun

were suspicious of the “master’s freaks” and tried to knock them out. By the way, the professor headed a local sobriety society and, in order to demonstrate that it is possible to live without alcohol, he organized festivals for his peasants on the estate — with artists and musicians, delicious food and sweets, but without a drop of alcohol. — The descendants of the talented “electric man” live now all over the world — in the USA, Canada, Poland and the Far East, — says Tamara Lukhverchik. — It is interesting that many of them are scientists, mainly physicists. The next owner of the estate was Yakub Narkevich-Iodko’s son Kondrat. After the revolution, he was forced to leave his ancestral lands and go to Poland. There was a school of mechanics in the palace, and some of the buildings were simply dismantled for building materials — there was a village of Nadneman around the estate in those years. The floors and ceilings made of valuable wood were removed. The scientific equipment was taken away and the wealth of the palace disappeared without a trace. Until 1941, a children’s health center was located there. And during the war the partisans blew up the house so that the Germans would not have their headquarters there. However, the building was properly constructed and wasn’t complete-

ly destroyed — the main tower collapsed only in 1994.

Nadnemansky Hogwarts In January 2011, on the initiative of BSU scientists, a charitable foundation for the development of science, innovative technologies and culture named after Professor Yakub Narkevich-Iodko was established under the chairmanship of BSU lecturer Vladimir Samuylov. Soon the restoration of the palace and other manor buildings began. It has been carried out at the expense of benefactors and sponsor assistance. In particular, a significant contribution to the restoration of the monument of architecture was made by the International Charitable Foundation “Science Around Us”, Leonid Lozner, physicist, co-founder of the international company EPAM Systems, and personally, Vladimir Vladimirovich, a former lecturer at BSU, who is now working at a university in the USA. As the work is being done at the expense of benefactors, it is progressing slowly. But the entrance gate with the coat of arms of the Narkevich-Iodko family and a distillery, where a café is to be opened in the future, have already been restored. The palace itself is still in ruins. But the restoration work has already begun.

— The reconstruction will be strictly historical, — emphasizes the director of the museum. — During the restoration, every piece of ancient masonry is carefully preserved, all those few things that have survived to this day. The interlocutor could not tell us even an approximate date of the restoration completion. But there are already plans to use the reconstructed building: International Scientific and Educational Centre for Gifted Youth will open there. It is planned that talented children from all over the world will come to Nadneman in the summer. — There will be laboratories, a conference hall and a hotel, — says the interlocutor. — University professors will be working with children. And with the help of computer graphics a scientific laboratory of the 19th century will be recreated, which one can “get in” by wearing virtual reality glasses. But the real equipment of the science laboratory of the middle of the last century will also be available in the palace premises allocated for the museum — some items of that period have already been purchased from the USA, — says Tamara Petrovna. Of all the things left in the family nest, only one miraculously survived, it is a chair. It is now kept in the Uzda Local History Museum. By Alexandra Antselevich

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Professionals

Living Word of the Master Leonid Ekel is a legendary journalist and essayist who has devoted his whole life to his professions. In his working arsenal a master of words, the author of almost a dozen books uses only a notebook and a pen. studlive.by

What is the way to the library? Once there was no internet connection. And I needed it badly at the time: I was working on an article on healthy lifestyle. Where can I get information about the benefits and harms of products? Who will ever go to the library to get a book on nutrition? The article had to be finished urgently and e‑mailed to the editorial office. And then I thought: how did journalists cope with such tasks in the past? After all, there was no Internet, and there were deadlines, though they were called in a different way. I wanted to talk to the “masters” of journalism to be taught to live without virtual reality. It didn’t take long to find a candidate to communicate and enrich my personal experience. Leonid Semyonovich Ekel is a well-known figure. Three years ago he celebrated his 70th birthday, on which he received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Presidential Administration. He is associated with the golden age of the newspaper “Znamya yunosti”, its each issue became an event thanks to the talented leadership of Leonid Semyonovich. At that time, in Soviet times, the newspaper had a circulation of 940 thousand copies. And today one can read the essays of the Master of the Word on the “SB. Belarus segodnya” holding’s website. Each of them contains the soul of the author and a reverent attitude to the unique personality of the main character of the article. Some of them are impossible to read without a lump in the throat. We decided to meet with Leonid Semyonovich at the entrance of the Minsk Kupala Library — his favourite place of work. However, it was preceded by a difficult conversation on the phone: I had to talk the honoured journalist into being interviewed. “I am not the right person for you! I don’t use the Internet and I don’t want to! All I have is a pen and a notebook. You won’t have anything to talk to me about…” But this is great, I would’n calm down. I need someone who has never set eyes on the Internet. I would even dare say that this is a unique phenomenon. Now people of all ages are trying to get involved in high technology. Finally, we agreed that I

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Leonid Ekel

would show Leonid Semyonovich my questions, and he would decide the outcome of our meeting. We decided to talk outside, without disturbing the silence in the library reading room. All the more so because the weather was favourable. We were sitting on the bench under a beautiful scattering maple. Leonid Semyonovich carefully removed his glasses from the case, carefully studied the issues, at times laughing quietly. “All right, let me tell you about it” — that’s how the story of the essayist began.

Confession of a happy man — From early childhood, I knew I would be a journalist. I was extremely reverent about the book. Everything that could be read in my school village library was “devoured” by me excitedly with great appetite and greed. I remember, summer… The Ivatsevichi District, village of Zapolye… We lived on a farm, it’s even 3 km farther. I was 15 years old.

Professionals — Who are the people you write about? — I have always had a craving for rural people. It seems, how many essays can one write about the chief agronomist? And about the chief technician, a milkmaid, a tractor driver? Forever and ever! Human life is so rich! — Leonid Semyonovich, have you spent your whole life doing what you wanted to do, i. e. writing? — Absolutely! After school, I went to the Komsomol construction site in Arkhangelsk. A nautical school was being built on the shore of the northern Dvina. There I joined the Northern Fleet, I started my service at the newspaper “Za Rodinu” as a photo correspondent! I had never held a camera in my hands, but I was given an old “Kyiv” camera. I was about 18 years old then. I worked for three years, then came back home. My family had already moved from the farm to the village of Zapolye. I had a couple of days off and went straight to the Brest regional newspaper “Zarya”, without having higher education. Do you think it’s easy to get there? I wonder myself: I had enough courage, perseverance, impudence… (laughing). I went to the editor-in-chief, showed him my newspaper clippings. He looked at them and said: “Comrade Ekel, you are a ready-made journalist. But we don’t have vacancies”. Together, we started looking for a job for me. There are no vacancies in Ivatsevichi, none in Berezovsk… There is one in Malorita! I went there straight away. There I met Yaroslav Selvestrovich Parkhuta — oh, what a person he is, what a personality!.. I enjoyed my occupation everywhere I used to work. I was never anxious if could manage it. I understood well: it was mine. Yes, there was lack of experience, lack of skills. No big deal! So, I worked in Malorita for a year. Then I entered the BSU Department of Journalism. I remember a striped sailor shirt coming from under the shirt. That’s why they called me a sailor. The commissar of Journalist's House in Minsk the republican student squad gave the task to select the guys — staff reporters from different Union republics. Ah, how And Leonid Semyonovich fell silent for a long time. I also well everything was going! In 1977, I was already the head of Komkept quiet, “looking” at the picture that came to life in front of me, where there was summer rye and an open book in the hands… Oh, somol life department in “Znamya yunosti”. That was the most I wish I could spend at least an hour like this! complicated department: it is not easy to tell about the essence of During our conversation, Leonid Semyonovich repeatedly said Komsomol work. It was a rather uninteresting topic, nobody wrote “an amazing personality, an amazing person”, talking about many much about it. I had to create everything on my own. Two years people. This is a rare quality, in my opinion, to be able to be sincerelater I was already the head of propaganda department, then the ly appreciate those with whom the fate has brought you together. executive secretary, then deputy editor-in-chief. I devoted 10 years to “Znamenochka” And in 1988, the magazine “Rodnik” was cre— I understood that human happiness was to be able to write, to tell about an amazing person. For me, an essay is like an icon for ated, its circulation was 400,000 copies per year throughout the a believer, it’s sacred. An essay is the best genre! It reveals a person, USSR, about 40 pages in the issue. The idea of the magazine was his or her uniqueness. On the one hand, you reveal yourself as an to educate young people in the spirit of patriotism. Of course, the author, showing your competence; on the other hand, you tell about staff of the editorial board was golden: Vladimir Neklyaev — edianother person. It seems that everyone’s life is similar: childhood, tor-in-chief, Mikhail Katyushenko — deputy editor-in-chief, and youth, moving into adulthood, work, career, retirement… But at the me too, Pavel Yakubovich — head of publicism department. Years same time, everyone has their own destiny. It manifests itself in small, later, he invited me to “SB. Belarus segodnya”, where he worked as subtle little things. And it’s hard to make a person talk to reveal them. editor-in-chief. So, I have been writing essays for it for over ten I used to talk for five hours, and more. I got so damn tired! years.

Alisa Gungor

There were a lot of things to do on the farm, the burden was enormous! Still, I found time to get out of the house and rush to the village library. Words fail me to express the feeling of joy: I could take both this book and that one over there… My hands were reaching for them. I would take them and go back. And not along the road, but through some quiet place to be isolated from the outside world. I would go into the rye field up to my knees, its ears are swaying… I would open a book and forget about everything in the world. I would rear and analyze: how did the author manage to build a whole image out of the simplest words?! I really wanted to understand it… I made our school newspaper myself from start to finish. Then I went to Kossovo Secondary School. What a teacher I had! Terrific personality! I’m proud that I managed to write an essay about him, tell people about this amazing person…

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Professionals Ivan Zhdanovich

with the deputies, we decided what and where would be placed on the broadside. A model was made on paper, every line was counted by hand and it was given to the workshop. There was a maker there, who transferred the lines: there was a special metal frame made exactly according to the format of the broadside, a line was adjusted to another line according to the layout, blanks fixed it in height and width and everything was transferred to a thin metal plate, like a seal. And the headings were handwritten and there were appropriate fonts for that. — It is very difficult to imagine this process for a journalist who is sitting at a computer with Leonid Ekel with his colleagues from the newspaper "SB. Belarus segodnya" the Internet access from the first day of work. What do you think about modern journalism? — Tell us about the Belarusian Union of Journalists, which — I thought a lot about it. The main feature of modern journalyou headed for 15 years. Didn’t you supervise the construction of ism is that a person performs the function of a journalist. There is the Journalists’ House? no profession. Before now, thought was born, but now it is for— At first everything was fine, we were financed by Moscow. A mulated. The Internet and everything else, all this accessibility… percentage of journalists’ fees was transferred to the Centre, which It’s not that it simplifies the truth, just the soul has left, and the made up a decent amount of money. We could even afford to build profession has become a craft. After all, when you have a notebook 3–4 flats a year for those who were in dire need of housing. Tourand a pen in your hand, something new is born. And you cannot ist vouchers abroad were provided. In the 70s, the Central Comput it on wheels, you cannot mechanize it. Every line is pouring out mittee of the CPB and the Council of Ministers adopted a resoluof you alive. You see it, you feel it, you know it… I sometimes say tion on the allocation of land for the construction of the House a phrase seven times out loud. I pronounce it — and feel there is of Journalists in Minsk, as we were just renting a cottage. But the something wrong, something scratches my tongue. I look for the difficult 1990 came. Financing stopped — and there was nothing right sounding. And if you record it, put it on paper — it’s dead. It’s of our own! To be exact, there was money, but it turned into dust. unacceptable for me to find a lot of stuff from the Internet or from Oh, that perestroika… Alarm was hanging in the air. All public some other source, and put it together.. When this process goes in organisations were well aware that they would be abandoned. The your head — this is creativity! allocated to us territory was taken away, as the construction had — Do you think the print media will die? After the theatre, not started for a certain period of time. What should we do? It was which has long been foretold to die. the end for us all! I dared to go to Vladimir Vasilyevich Yermoshin, — They won’t die, they just scare us. The book hasn’t lost its valmayor of Minsk, and the plot of land was given back to us. It was ue, it’s just put aside now. But how can people be deprived of the 1991. Yermoshin was the wisest man! He didn’t ask if we had money pleasure to open a page and get into a new world? to build. I did not know the answer myself back then. But then I — What would you advise young journalists? was inspired by the mayor of Moscow Yury Luzhkov’s way of build— I am often invited to students, and I always tell them: write ing. He found people who had funds and built together with them. essays! This is the best that mankind has come up with. Only then So did I: I found a person who built a three-storey building with can you succeed as a journalist. Just to get information and pass it his own money and took one floor, about 900 square metres, for on — then you’re just a means. And a journalist is someone who himself. This is how the House of Journalists appeared, which is participates in the birth of the Word. Starting with a clean white now known to many people. sheet and the first line. — Let’s get back to your working routine in the newspaper. An hour and a half of the conversation under a scattering maHow did the publication process go? Were the texts typed? ple with Leonid Semyonovich, who was answering my questions, — At first I wrote by hand, and I still do. I do not recognise voice passed unnoticed. It seemed to me that we had just begun the conrecorders or computers. Then I give the text to a typist, who types versation. Not an interview, a heart-to-heart conversation. When and gives me back the typed material. By the way, Pavel Yakuboyou feel that communication gives you with something very valuvich, who has already been mentioned, was a brilliant man in this able, it enriches you. Simply put, when you get emotional pleasure. respect: he could dictate two different texts to two typists at the Oh, this brevity of time, immersing ourselves into it, we can miss same time: for Lora — a satirical article, for Zoya — sports review. the meaning of life! And it’s great to meet people looking at whom, I have never seen such people again. Then I give my material and we remember: the point is to feel more. a photo to the executive secretary. And if that was my post, then I moved it from my left hand to my right hand (laughing). Together Interviewed by Alisa Gungor

беларусь. belarus 2020

Scientific view

Tariff — vital

If you look inside yourself, you understand: yes, we all come from childhood. Sometimes touchy, sometimes illogically stubborn, sometimes even jealous. Nevertheless, we set an example for our children. And they mirror us. So, as psychologists say, if you want to change the world around you, start with yourself.

decided to talk to Oksana Katrenko, a psychologist, sexologist, audiovisual journalist, researcher in the field of psychology, senior lecturer at the Department of Television and Radio Broadcasting, about the best way to raise children during the pandemic of emotional exhaustion and information wars. — I once saw a photo on the Internet: a boy is standing in the middle of a blocked by the military avenue. He stands looking at a tightly formed “human barrier”. What is he thinking about, and his parents? How much should children be involved in adult problems? — The best way is when there are clear rules in the family. For example, problems that can overload children’s psyche should be solved without them. This is especially true for children aged 9–10 years. It is easy to traumatize their unsettled psyche because of a high degree of suggestibility, which has been proved by scientists. And even if mum and dad are silently watching videos with negative messages, this content can cause fear, even panic attacks, in a child. Children absorb everything like a sponge. “Mummy, will we have a war?” It would seem, why should a child be afraid of it? They can’t have that kind of fear a priori. But there is a concept — the collective unconscious, when in the information field there is a deep fear of, for example, war which is passed down from generation to generation. A child sees something on the screen, it resonates with his subconscious. We may not say anything, but the child will not sleep well at night. And when something is discussed in the family, mum and dad should understand that what is going on at home is usually told about by the child at school. The main criterion, whether to get the child involved into the topic or not, is the answer to the question: won’t I hurt him or her? Will this conversation do good to them? After all, all fears in children are irrational. They can see anyone as a cartoon character, even the

president. And, of course, when a child is three years old there is no need to discuss politics in his or her presence, especially if there are disagreements in the family. — You can love or hate the Internet, but you cannot be indifferent to it. After all, it penetrates not only into every home and every family, but also into the minds of mentally immature children. We can hide the router and turn off mobile data transmission, but when they go out, they get into a new information field teeming with all kinds of temptations and fakes. How can we protect an underage child from too much information? — It is not advisable to show a moving picture to a child under the age of three. I am talking about television and computers. It is trendy now to show a child various educational cartoons with colourful and rapidly changing images. This causes great harm to the child’s mental development, brain and vision. Scientists all over the world are “shouting” about it. I personally have studied more than 450 sources on this topic, 140 of them in English. It’s very difficult to correct such mistakes. A child needs their mother to be close to them, to feel sorry for them, to breastfeed them, to hold them in her arms. And that’s it! When parents understand that they are forming the child’s personality, there shouldn’t be any problems later in the dialogue with their children. Upbringing begins with the formation of basic values, emotional intelligence,

беларусь. belarus 2020

Scientific view

building a deep level of trust. I didn’t give birth to you to bring me a glass of water when I am old, but because I wanted you to be. I love you because you are. — It is an ideal model of a relationship. And even if parents succeed in building it, one day a child goes out into society and sees his or her peers make selfie and post their videos on the social network… The question arises: Mum, can I so it, too? As a result of my research, I concluded that a period of value reorientation begins at the age of 9–10 years. When, on the one hand, you understand that you have to be kind, honest, watch your health and learn well, and on the other hand, you want to “have a boyfriend” or a tattoo on your arm even if it is drawn with a felt-tip pen. Children swing from one extreme to another. Right now, almost every child wants to become a blogger. All these shootings of themselves which are either second-rate or just plain horrible, are a demonstration of adulthood. Parents have to help their child resist this unbalanced period. Offer them a choice from the material you have selected. In other words, guide him or her yourself. Constantly, daily, hourly! Do you want to become a blogger? That’s great! Bring me the concept of your content. Mommy, what is the concept? So, step by step, “pull” your child out of the informational rubbish in which he or she may already have mired, teach them to distinguish gold from copper. — And then such a smart and right child comes home from school with tears and declares that he or she is an outsider. — Yes, they are not like others! Yes, they are special. But let’s be honest with ourselves: each of us has this feeling in us. It’s just that many people have it distorted, twisted. Develop in your children self-respect, love for themselves, the ability to forgive themselves and others. There is no need to feel offended by anyone, a person should have the right to do this or that thing. An outsider? Well, so what! We can’t be loved by everyone. You don’t have a mobile phone, but as compared to Vasya, everything is not so bad: you have wise, loving parents… And Vasya has a bunch of phones and no understanding of the meaning of life, he doesn’t aspire to development and is angry with the world. Restore a balance of values with your child.

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— Not all parents know how to do it. I wish we could learn to understand our emotions, to say nothing of restoration of the balance! — Alas, we are not taught to do it. Although there are many psychological centres, webinars and seminars. And even with a free introductory lesson! But there is a lack of depth and multi-vectorness, integrity and consistency. The information is given in pieces and is perceived in fragments. You seem to get interested, and then you have to pay. And even if you pay, you often don’t find anything useful for yourself. It would be nice to have a “turnkey” system: the one that can advise, help a person to deal with himself or herself. By the way, I have an idea how to create such a project. — Do you have any quick tips on how not to burn out emotionally? — Regulate your daily routines. Sleep, nutrition, physical activity are the basic needs of both adults and children. After all, children burn out emotionally, too. And a mental component, of course: everything we do should bring joy. That’s why you shouldn’t say “you have to do lessons!”, but explain their use, talk together about the pros and cons of learning. After all, school is the foundation; it gives you the opportunity to get to know all areas of life and choose your own. And in adults, the school of life is the same foundation on which we build our personality. No matter which way you look at it, we are all in a certain system which cannot be ignored. — I remembered my teenage discussions about whether it is possible to remain free within a particular system. During the most critical period, it seemed to me that life is a prison.

Scientific view — And what is inner freedom? It is a feeling of love for oneself, of accepting oneself. When you understand that you are a separate planet, you are self-important. You know your destiny, you know that you are in your place, you do what you want, what is in tune with your soul. You understand why you are here. You don’t limit anyone and don’t let them limit you. All this gives you a sense of inner freedom. The person who has found it is always a bright personality who is not afraid of been disapproved by others, has a point of view, but takes into account the “rules of the game”. And, of course, fears impede inner freedom. — I have long observed a tendency towards permissiveness, when a child, for example, has the right to choose his or her leisure activities and it makes me uneasy. Do we always have to respond to the desires of an underage person who wants to have the same gadget as Vasya’s or dye her hair pink, because all the girlfriends have already done so? — If a mother doesn’t want to burn the psyche of her child, she needs to limit all kinds of “temptations”. If you let children watch and do whatever they want and as long as they want, you will simply ‘burn’ their psyche. And what has been put into the child, can be crossed out. There will be a devastating imbalance, which children anyway experience from time to time due to their physiology. As for endless children’s “wishes”, you just have to be reasonable. In some cases we give them the right to choose, in others we reach a compromise. But if a girl is convinced that a boy won’t like her without dyed hair, her mum should think if it is her own subconscious complex which she transmits to her daughter. It is necessary to develop critical thinking in a child from an early age: is it true? If I looked at some images and my heart started beating a lot, my spirits sagged and I felt scared — do I need it? The task of parents is to teach their children to be aware of their emotions and not to let be attacked from the outside. — Now it’s very difficult to do it when there’s a large-scale “attack” on the child’s consciousness. The theme of intimate life. If we don’t tell anything, classmates will do it. Why does it happen? — Because these are reflexes… We have an instinct to survive, to reproduce. These are some kind of “buttons” that always work. What for? To make it easier to control people, the masses. So you have to teach your child to understand what is really going on. That he or she does not live on their own, but in a big world where there are a lot of both good and bad things. That there are systems, and each of them is trying to influence them. Of course, I am against explaining a seven-year-old child the process of conceiving with all the physiological details. Although this is a common practice. But at this age, girls want to play football with boys, play dolls. And suddenly such a revelation! A strong psychological breakdown, rejection,

re-consciousness begins. Some cannot treat their daddy normally. Do we need it?! Yes, now it is difficult to protect children from media violence. But still, you have to try to delay the “moment of truth” until the children are at least 9–10 years old. — Bullying, trolling, mobbing… Why do these phenomena arise in modern society? Where do the roots come from? — This is the way huge internal dissatisfaction manifests itself. And now you see how many underloved people there are around us! They were not loved by their parents, perhaps by men and women. Because in a state of love, a person doesn’t envy, there’s no aggression, anger, hatred, fear… And if there is, just give a reason to squeeze out all your dissatisfaction. It works as a compensatory measure. Moreover, people who don’t understand what’s really going on with them can even encourage negative feelings within themselves. They may be convinced that they are right. But we’ve already discovered the root of the problem — they have been un-

derloved.. There is also a conscious game. When deprived of love “puppets” or pawns, as you wish, think that they are acting in their personal interests. And they even seem to enjoy it. But you have to understand what is true, what is illusory and teach it to your children. There are, of course, a priori evil people. But there are 1% of them on the planet. The rest are like this because of the price we pay for ill upbringing, alas. — I’ve heard that molding the character and future behavioral reactions takes up to 5 years. Then it’s extremely difficult to correct anything. Sad facts… — Everything can be corrected! Focus on your abilities and talents. This is what your inner self always wants. Develop yourself, then inside you will have a strong charge of love, joy, happiness, gratitude to everyone and everything for all the experience that you gain through life. This is the surest way to revive yourself, to preserve yourself. And it is a difficult one. I must confess that everything I have told you, in the past I could tell only to the people close to me. I was not sure that society was ready to accept such information. But since our meeting has taken place, it must have become a pressing issue. Interviewed by Alisa Gungor

беларусь. belarus 2020

A place to live

Order. Safety. Good people...

We met him three years ago — thanks to Lyudmila Demina, a Belarusian from Togliatti. The head of the Belarusian local national and cultural autonomy “Neman”, as well as created by her ensemble “Kupalinka”, participated in the projects of the Russian Cultural Centre — it was created and managed by Vladimir Patokov in Togliatti. Last year, Vladimir Vladimirovich wrote to me from Cyprus: he was going to move to Belarus. And the Patokovs have already been here for a year now. Talking with Vladimir, I learned that the decision to move was well-thoughtout and balanced. There were people who helped to turn thoughts into reality, including Lyudmila Ivanovna, with whom he visited Minsk in 2017. Then he came, he says, not just on work-related issues but to see how people lived here. Before that he had read a lot, watched: how everything was arranged here. And to get a more complete impression, he “plunged” into this environment.

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Vladimir Patokov, a former Muscovite, graduate of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, PhD in Agricultural Sciences and a person with operational thinking, moved to Minsk a year ago for permanent residence. Not alone — together with his large family. How do Russian citizens live in Belarus?

Tsnyanka reservoir from a bird's-eye viewpoint

What is interesting: the Patokov family were pushed to take decisive steps to move to Belarus by young people who had left the United States after living there for over 20 years. They were taken there by their parents when they were children. There they grew up, learned to work as IT specialists, got married, gave birth to their children and decided to return to their ancestral land in Belarus after having stayed in Cyprus. They said that in America it was no longer possible to bring up children the way they want. Almost simultaneously two families found themselves in Minsk: Americans and Muscovites. Vladimir Patokov descends from a family of diplomats, graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations: his grandfather, father and mother used to study there and had appropriate jobs. But when he and his wife, a groupmate, graduated from this prestigious institution in the early 2000s, the Soviet Un-

ion did not exist any more, and the father’s assets were grabbed in 1995 by thugs, and his parents separated. And Vladimir, who was staying with his grandmother then, had to grow up before time. But his work in the representative office of an American commercial firm, the International Foundation for Dialogue of Civilizations, as head of a department in a large retail chain “Hippopotamus” in Togliatti, and as Oleg Deripaska’s consultant in the company “Russian Aluminium” enriched him with invaluable life and professional experience. In addition, his studies in the group of Russian science theorist, sociologist, political scientist and publicist Sergey Kara-Murza (together they even wrote the book “Russia: Point 2010, Image of the Future and the Way to It”) yeilded fruit. And it so happened in life that Vladimir Patokov and his family have been living in Minsk for over a year. And they have already applied for Belarusian citizenship.

A place to live — Vladimir, moving from Russia to Belarus will surprise few people, although Muscovites probably do not often part with the capital’s residence permit. And what did your friends dislike in the USA? — They were not happy with purely domestic issues. They have a good job: both are IT specialists. But they say that marijuana has been legalised, drugs are getting out of control, and there is no culture in its traditional sense. By birth, Sasha Reznik is Ukrainian, his wife was born in Belarus. So the culture is in their blood: they are people, as I say, with Russian cultural code. They were influenced by the West in terms of professionalism, but inside they remained people of integrity. They understand what is good and what is bad. They have three children, and they clearly saw that it would be hard to raise them in America. So they came back to Belarus via Cyprus. Alexander and Olga bought a house in Minsk. In Cyprus, we used to talk to them a lot. Gradually we realized: this is our “Belarusian” chance, there will be something to take a hold of here. Well, for a start our children will be able to communicate with each other. But I must confess, back in 2017, I understood: Minsk was going to be our final destination. — You said at the time that by your mother’s birth, you were likely to come from Belarus. Could your roots have called you? — It is quite possible. Firstly, Mum’s maiden name is Bulakh, which is common here. Secondly, there are villages with similar names. Now I’m actively looking for ancestral roots, interview relatives making use of a dictaphone. I know that our ancestor received the title of nobility for his feats during the defense of Sevastopol in the Crimean War of 1853–55. In the revolutionary times, three brothers from the family fought for the whites, one for the reds. And I am his descendant: Mikhail Ivanovich Bulakh. He became a big man under the Soviet rule: he worked for the Moscow government, was responsible for the capital’s economy in the 20s. And in 1937 he died of a heart attack — probably, anticipating his arrest because

he was “lucky” to work with Trotsky. Mikhail Ivanovich’s descendants quickly left for the Far East out of harm’s way. That is why my grandfather, Yury Georgiyevich Bulakh, came from Magadan to enter MGIMO (in 1946 or 1947). He was one of the first graduates of MGIMO. Well, so on and so forth. — And how did it happen that you, a native Muscovite, became PhD in agricultural sciences? — It so happened in life that in 2007, I defended my thesis at the Institute at Rospatent: “Formation of a system for introducing biotechnological innovations in the agricultural sector”. After graduation, even before the International Dialogue of Civilizations Foundation, I worked for a short time for an American company that traded biotechnological innovations in the agricultural sector. It sold animal feed. The work was extremely interesting and international in nature. I was 22 years old, I was employed as a marketing specialist by the Hungarians, they have a central office in Europe. My English was good, I was young — and I was assigned to organise foreign business trips and I went together with the heads of Russian agricultural enterprises abroad. Seminars were held. I saw, studied how the process was organised — and wrote my PhD thesis. — Did it help you somehow in your life?

— Everything we do in life has consequences. I don’t think any Candidate of Science regrets spending time on their thesis. For example, later I started working with the Timiryazev Academy — and we spoke the same language with scientists. There’s a laboratory there where they grow mushrooms — using genetics, among other things, innovative technologies. And everything grew out of the microbiological industry of the USSR. When everything collapsed, people of science tried to survive and saved something. What they could and knew was commercialised. They maked substances for increasing yields. Being put into the soil, the root system of plants develops better as harmful microflora is suppressed by mushrooms. It is simple: the immunity of the plant increases. Our mushroom destroys rotten bacteria, mold, which can weaken it. And the plant sharply increases its potential using its own resources. The results are very serious: 18 percent yield growth at the very least. And in some warm areas, up to 35! I am talking about wheat. It is very good. If now there are about 8 million tonnes of grain being harvested in Belarus, you can safely approach 10 with our product. — It looks as if this the topic you are dealing with now? — It would be more correct to say: this one, too. I think it will find its development in Belarus. — From Cyprus, you wrote: “In the middle of 2017, I had to give up my business, because almost all the clients were broke, and I broke even. In terms of economy, it’s total hopelessness”. — Well, we manage to survive 2017. Then I moved to Moscow and even worked as an analyst for the company Russian Aluminium, with the famous Oleg Deripaska. I was his personal advisor. And, of course, the salary was not bad. But for a number of reasons, I had to quit. Apparently, some people thought it was a little too early for me to calm down — I had to move on. Or it was the will of God… Anyway, I thought hard — and decided to change everything dramatically. So we left with my family for seeminly

Vladimir Patokov беларусь. belarus 2020

A place to live southern skies of Cyprus, to the city of Paphos. Does it sound nice? — Even snobbish, I would say! But why to Cyprus? And why “seemingly southern skies”? Did you get a cold reception? In a letter from there you wrote: “But children must be brought up in our traditions. So I am thinking of trying to apply for Belarusian citizenship”. — Going to Cyprus was the easiest thing for us: we do not need a visa there. We left, rented a house and started living: to see what Cyprus was from the inside, to feel what it was like to live abroad in general. A lot of people go to Cyprus in the summer to have a rest — and come back from there in full delight. And they think: if only they could live there, that’s where earthly paradise is! — Yes, and I know people like that! — But it’s one thing to stay for a month, in a good hotel, and quite another to live there all year round. The children go to school, you talk to the locals, you earn money for a living and so on. We lived in Paphos: southwest of the country, a very good place. There is a large and strong Russian-Ukrainian diaspora. And there are no problems in relations: all Soviet people, as I call them. And yet it was the worst winter I had ever experienced in my life: the winter of 2018–2019. The house was big — and the boiler was placed outside: they burn diesel for heat-

ing. I wanted a house with radiators: to keep it warm in winter, because there are five children on our team. They had been fixing the boiler for three weeks. A specialist told me: it will cost you at least 20 euros per night. I did a test run — it was 70 euros. Overnight! The house was not adapted to cold at all. We bought electric heaters- it didn’t help much. It was 6–10 degrees outside, up to 12 degrees, and inside it was not much warmer: it felt like living in a refrigerator. And we had children, women. Greek Cypriots, however, are very optimistic. It’s cold, I told them. And they: go out for a walk… And it was no joke! — Did you get to know the Resnikis then? — We lived not far from them. And the harsh Cypriot winter certainly accelerated our thinking processes. We were determined to leave. The Reznikis helped me find a house for rent in Minsk: I was still there, and Sasha had his eye on it. He e‑mailed the pictures. We came to Minsk: on 14 July it has been a year since we arrived. — Did you find any positive moments in Minsk life? — Of course. And they prevail over the negative ones. In short, it is order, safety, ecology. Predictability of life. Good people. The latter, by the way, is very important because I have already lived in different

Vladimir in "retro" style

Lida is the youngest in the family

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societies. Here you know what to expect from people. My boys, say, now cycle to do football: they do sports. And the elder girls go by trolleybus to study and on their activities. Our children are Vika — she is 14, Olya — 12, Sasha — 10, Serezha — 7, and Lida — 3. So even Serezha rides a bicycle to do football. He rides a bike, crosses the street. But I know: nothing is going to happen to him. And this is very important. In Russia, it’s just not possible. I say this with full responsibility, because I also worked as an analyst on threats. And I know about kidnapping of children, ransoms and so on. It’s a terrible thing, God forbid! And about football. Our younger does it for free, and our elder does it for half the cost: instead of 120 roubles a month we pay 60, because Sergey has a good reputation. This is a private school, and everything is serious there. The children are trained for international tournaments and trips abroad — only the coronavirus intervened these plans. — What about secondary school? — Formally, we, as Russian citizens, are attached to Russian schools, study according to the Russian system. There is a Law on Family Education. One can study like this: being attached to any school you study at home and come to school 2 times a year to take exams. This is what we do. Our basic money is spent on education. We go to school here: large families have hired a teacher. From the legal point of view, this is a hobby club, Sasha and Serezha went there. Because of the coronavirus, they started to study on-line. Sanek also plays the piano and goes to music school. And he is making progress. He even started composing music himself — at a basic stage, but I hope he has a great future. Olya is planning to enter the biological faculty of the BSU. — And I also know that Vika entered the prestigious BNTU lyceum. — Yes, she is already studying. She successfully passed physics and mathematics exams and entered on a competitive basis. Last year she went to the BSU Lyceum: Vika has a diploma on completion of the 9th grade from the Russian Embassy in Cyprus. With homeschooling Vika took

A place to live exams for two years of study at once, and at the age of 13 she finished the 9th grade. And then she did not study anywhere for a year. In September 2019, we came to the BSU Lyceum to make enquiries — and they had a requirement: the school certificate must be the same year as the one you enter. We looked through the Education Act, which does not specify that. We got to the Ministry of Education, made an appointment. And a specialist worked on our question for 40 minutes. She even gave us her mobile phone! It won us over. This is absolutely impossible in Russia. And our question was resolved: in 2020, she could enter any educational institution with her diploma, which helped to enter the BNTU Lyceum. — How does your wife feel in Belarus? — Wonderful! Svetlana Grigorievna is a family-oriented person. By the way, she also graduated from MGIMO, and she even had a personal scholarship. She was a year older than me, she did an internship in France, and when she came back, she was doing the same course as me. And in the end she chose her family. And all we have is thanks to her. She got accustomed to Minsk quickly, goes to Komarovka for groceries. — What are your prospects and plans? Where are you going to apply your know ledge and experience? — There are many plans, but the coronavirus has changed them. We wanted to register a company here for the production of those Timiryazev mushrooms, to locate production in Belarus. We want to participate in agricultural exhibitions. I look, think. calculate As you know, switching to other products in agriculture is always a change of technological process. In addition, the use of our bioproduct leads to a sharp reduction in the percentage of “chemistry” in the technological process. It turns out that we will take the bread out of somebody’s mouth. But this is a promising way, these are the very green technologies that Belarus is focused on. This is why it is important for the information about our product to win over high officials, including those who make important decisions at the state level.

At Dozhinki in Belarus

Svetlana is a happy mother

— Isn’t Minsk boring for the most senior member of the family, Tamara Vladimirovna? — Not at all. She is lucky to have a neighbour: Elena Nikiforovna is also 85, and she also remembers the war. So they have a lot of topics to talk about and opportunities to communicate. And our children have grown up, they spend a lot of time on Lake Tsnyanka, which is close to us. There are bicycle lanes, various attractions, barbecues for family holidays, pergolas. This is cool, as young people say. We all go for walks there, we have family gatherings all the time, and we make kebabs. — And yet there are five children! Are you registered at our polyclinics or do you use paid medicine? — We are, and we have experienced the care of Belarusian doctors. By the way, I used to hear complaints about queues in Belarusian polyclinics. But — everything is relative. Which of the complainants has seen at least out of the corner of their eyes the state of things, for example, in Russia, in other post-Soviet countries? What do you compare with when you say that it’s bad here? And I honestly say: how cool everything is organised in your country! If something hurts you, you have the place to go to! And in Russia, after the reform,

there’s just nowhere to go. We are all registered at a polyclinic according to our place of residence. — Unfortunately, there are people who do not like our free medicine at all… — And for nothing! If they happened to fall ill where you have to pay for everything — everything would quickly fall into place in their heads. By the way, I once listened with great interest to Alexander Lukashenko’s big interview with the radio station Echo of Moscow. And once again I was convinced: he is a reasonable business manager. As a person who graduated from Moscow State Institute of International Relations and has seen something in his life, including political behind-the-scenes, I want to give supporters of paid medicine and market relations in general such advice. When you have the opportunity to choose the leader, between a financier (or, as they are now called, an efficient manager) and a business manager, you should always choose the latter. Because he at least has some common sense. And a financier, what does he do? Efficiency is the main thing for him. And those who are not efficient are put aside, closed down, eliminated… — Yes, there are different approaches to solving social and economic problems…

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A place to live — Very different, even opposite, I would say. And, of course, I got acquainted with the programme of one of the presidential candidates, who is positioned as an efficient manager. Everything is clear there. The first thing this man would do when he came to power would be to launch a large-scale privatisation programme. Do you think it would be for the benefit of the people? Absolutely not! Oligarchs from the east and west would come — and that would be the end of the Belarusian economy. I can assure you that this is exactly what would happen. — And it seems to me that it is illusory and even foolish to rely on foreign investment of the owners who will make us happy people. This is a kind of economic, political, even Trojan horse. After all, investors come to us not with the country’s development programmes, but with their own interests. By and large, they do not care about our problems — our old people, children, large families, disabled people and so on. They just need to make money here. I will tell you in simple terms. A 100‑percent market is Cyprus, let’s say, and the incomprehensible market is Russia. But Belarus is a national economy. Your model is closer to this definition. And what is the difference between an economy and a market? National economy provides for existence, for the lives of people. If it is a family farm in a rural area, it provides for it, even if not everything is effective there. And an entire country can be a national economy. And the market is aimed at profit. This is the fundamental difference. I once learned a good example: Norilsk in Russia. It is in the north, the city is cut off from mainland In Soviet times, it had its own agriculture. From the market point of view, it is completely meaningless: terribly expensive. But from a management point of view, it provided the local population with food. Here’s a clear example. And another example that is closer to the people of Minsk. We go to the Palace of Children and Youth, and teachers and craftsmen work with us there — and we do not pay a penny for that. We build ships, we play chess…

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— They also draw, sculpt, sing, dance — there are a lot of hobby groups and clubs for developing talents… — …And if there is a market, then what? All these services will become extremely expensive for parents. In Cyprus, a teacher came to us and did music with children. By those standards he didn’t charge much: we were a family with many children, from Russian community. The class cost 20 euros, and it lasted 45 minutes. This is to make it clear to you. The market will immediately turn any service into money, and most people will be cut off from these

One of the former Russian ministers of education said back in the early 2000s: we need consumers — we don’t need creators. This is what the market is! So when you are told about Western investments and other such things, you must understand that they pursue their own interests. — So the farm model is more suitable for life than the market model? — There is even no doubt about it: the farm model is more suitable for life and development — both for society and individuals. And the market is more suitable for those who, roughly speaking, are

Tsnyanka is a favourite holiday destination of the Patokov family. The house where they settled is also nearby.

services. Including from medicine. Nowadays, Belarusian medicine treats people, but market medicine involves them in treatment. It is interested in your long and thorough treatment, paying good money for it. Or let’s take the education of children. In a market society, educated people are simply not needed! Because educated people buy less: they are less affected by advertising. This is not my ideas, Swiss scientists have proven this with their research.

already in the market. Those who do business. And by the way, many people like to talk about democracy as the power of the people. But it is worth reminding: when democracy was born, only those who had property were considered to be people. And everyone else was God knows who. Those who had nothing: slaves, plebs. So when you say that democracy is the power of the people, it is a lie. And my advice to Belarusians is to think, to compare,

A place to live to analyze everything that is going on. You have an excellent system of national economy… — We do, Vladimir Vladimirovich… — Yes, we do. But there are disadvantages. One of them is that we are actively investing efforts and funds in export developmet — but domestic consumption is not developing. Or it is not developing actively enough. It is believed that the level of consumption in society should increase: by creating new jobs and other factors. Because if there is any perturbation, exports will drop drastically — and people have

to survive: sell goods, provide services, so that money could go around the circle. Otherwise, you depend on those who buy your products. If you have high domestic demand, you have more room for manoeuvre. — Maybe our domestic market is not big enough? I heard about economists’ calculations: they say that a market of 100–150 million people is needed for a harmonious development of the economy.

— Well, economists can be different. And let’s take Liechtenstein: it has the highest GDP per capita, and people say they live there perfectly. So the idea about a big market is, to say the least, untenable. But since there is a concept of macro-regions in the world, it is lobbied by different “specialists” at different levels for the benefit of a number of global actors. Which ones? These are multinational companies and a number of countries — the United States, China, Russia… And economists are paid their salaries, and they phrase with enthusiasm what they are told. — They say that when external forces helped to destroy the Soviet Union, it was assumed that a stratum of post-Soviet countries — Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic States — would be a kind of “cartilaginous stratum” for western and eastern civilizations. So that it did’t spark at their borders. And so that there would be no sharp conflicts of interest. Such an idea was kind of voiced by the Western cultural and political elite. Not to absorb the new independent states but help them develop… — Oh, do you really believe in this? I do not agree with this concept. Life shows that things don’t really go the way someone might have intended them to. As soon as the “middle” state has weakened slightly, it is immediately absorbed: either from the west or from the east. And this, by the way, happened in Belarusian history. Life lays own its own rules, and the West follows its rules. Read what anaconda rings are, or McKinder’s geopolitical concept — and you will understand everything. And there is an idea: your political opponent must be surrounded by a belt of instability — and this instability, conflict will always draw resources and forces out of your enemy. That’s what is being done with China: the technology is well seen. The Islamic arc of instability has been implemented with regard to China. How many colour revolutions have there been? About 14. Look at the geopolitical arc formed by the countries where they took place. — When you see how the political elites of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Es-

tonia and Ukraine react to post-election events in Belarus, you involuntarily remember the anaconda rings and the arc of instability… — But still, don’t despair! I personally believe in Belarus — that’s why I am here. And why do I believe in it? Belarusians may not know about it, but Russians have not only a positive attitude towards Belarus nowadays but metaphysical, I would say. For many Russians, Belarus embodies the great past: the best thing that happened in the Soviet past. And what theoretically can be in the future. It is now — as an image — concentrated in Belarus. We look at the Belarusian coat of arms and see continuity with the Soviet coat of arms. Russians know: Belarus is a kind of Soviet economy. With market elements, but still. And another thing. They used to joke in Russia: if not only Russian citizens could run for president, Lukashenko would win. And this is no joke! The image of Lukashenko is the image of a manager. Belarus can offer Russia the image of the future that Russia itself fails to find. — Does what Russians are looking for already exist here? It seems to me that Russians still have other ambitions, and occasionally some politicians don’t mind giving Belarus a bit of instruction… — Yes, there are many things in Russia. And Belarus has enormous potential in the image of the future, in terms of meaning, culture and education. And in other areas. If all this were implemented in Russia, they could transform the country. At this stage, Belarus itself cannot realize all this potential for one reason: you are trying to derive your national identity from the past. Well, it is clear: everyone does so. But I do not see the image of the future of Belarus, it is not felt. And how can you go forward if you have no idea where to go? It is clear that the Soviet heritage has been preserved in Belarus — but not in Russia. Russian people understand this very well. But it will certainly not be the USSR version 2.0. — Thank you for your frank conversation, Vladimir! I hope that Belarus as a place to live will not disappoint you. Interviewed by Ivan Zhdanovich

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Parenthood

Metropolitan of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan Joseph was born in Mogilev Perhaps today’s generations of Belarusians or Kazakhs, in general residents of post-Soviet countries, remember a phrase said by an Orthodox priest: “Yury Gagarin flew into space and did not see God ... And God saw him! And blessed him!”. Perhaps it was said during the service in an Orthodox Church, and these words belong to Archbishop Joseph (Ivan Mikhailovich Chernov). This is a specific interaction of faith and new cosmic spaces!

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etropolitan Joseph is our compatriot. He was born in June 1893 in Mogilev in the family of a reenlistment officer. His father by faith belonged to Old Believers. He was baptized in a regimental church, which, of course, was run by the Holy Synod. This is what the priest recollected about his childhood: “I am the son of a company, the son of a soldier. I was handed from one person to another. Vanya and Vanya. All the officers knew me. And the regimental commander knew me and always brought gifts when he came to visit...”. In 1910 Ivan entered the Byalynytsky Monastery of the Nativity of Our Lady of the Mogilev Diocese. He was a lay-brother of the vicar of the monastery, Archimandrite (future bishop) Arseniy (Smolyanets). And in 1912 he became his sub-deacon. In 1912-1917 Ivan Chernov was a novitiate of the Tver Assumption Monastery. In 1918, he was ordained as a monk by Bishop Arseniy (Smolyanets). In 1919 - hierodeacon, in 1920 - hieromonk. Our compatriot also served at St. Nicholas Church in Taganrog. He spoke out against the

movement for renewal. In 1924 he was elevated to the rank of hegumen. A year later Joseph Chernov was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison. He was imprisoned in Komi, in Col-Yola. Later he returned to Taganrog. From 1927 he was archimandrite and economist of the bishop’s house. On November 27, 1932, the priest was ordained as Bishop of Taganrog, Vicar of the Rostov Diocese. The ceremony of ordination in the Rostov Cathedral was performed by Archbishops Dmitrovsky Pitirim (Krylov), Chairman of the Holy Synod of Rostov Nikolai (Amasiysky), Tobolsk Nazarius (Blinov) and Archbishop Alexander (Belazer). From February 16, 1933, the new bishop drove the dioceses of Dan and Novocherkassk. In 1935, he was arrested again. He was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of “anti-Soviet campaigning”. This time our compatriot served his sentence in Ukhta-Izhevsk camp in the Komi ASSR. Five years later Chernov was released... The priest returned to Taganrog. Later he was deported to Azov. During this period, the native of Mogilev took

Parenthood part in the activities of the illegal White House community of believers, secretly conducted service. Such was the time... He arranged priestly consecrations and monastic vows. When the Nazi invaders approached Taganrog, the priest resumed his service as Bishop of Taganrog from August 1942. Although it was difficult to go against the Nazis, Josef Chernov refused to participate in Nazi propaganda. And the offers and instructions were very different. And it took extraordinary courage and bravery not to follow the orders of the owners of the “new order”. They demanded that Metropolitan Sergy (Stragorodsky) should not be mentioned during the service, which was not done either. In autumn 1943, Metropolitan Sergy was elected Patriarch at the Holy Synod. In difficult military situation Joseph Stalin, the Soviet government set a course for reviving the Orthodox Church... In this process, Orthodox believers of the Soviet country determined the victory in the fight against German fascism... In October 1943 I. Chernov arrived in Uman. On November 6, 1943 the Gestapo arrested the priest. He was accused of “having been sent by Metropolitan Sergy to work in the occupied territories for the benefit of the USSR”. In addition, the Nazis suspected Chernov of working for British intelligence. Well,

Metropolitan Joseph with his four-legged

Metropolitan Joseph Chernov in Semipalatinsk (centre). 1967.

they did not differ much from the repressive Stalinist machine. It’s not for nothing that the priest was accused, for example, of working for American intelligence or some other... Japanese intelligence, for example. Iosif Chernov was released on January 12, 1944. As soon as the Red Army liberated in the city of Uman, the priest went to Moscow to meet Patriarch Sergy. But on his way he was arrested in Kyiv on June 4, 1944. Our compatriot was imprisoned in Butyrsky Ostrog in Moscow, later transferred to Rostov-on-the Don. He was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in February... The Bishop of Taganrog was sent to the Chelyabinsk special camp. And in 1948 he was transferred to the Spassk settlement of the Karaganda camp. He worked at the construction of a brick factory, was a medical orderly. From 1954, he was in exile in the village of Ak-Kuduk. And, despite his advanced age, the priest had to work as a water carrier. And in 1956 he was released, which our fellow countryman never expected... He stayed in Kazakhstan. He served in the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsky Сhurch in Kakchetov. Soon the priest received another title - Honorary Prior of Petropavlovsk Church. In the same year I. Chernov

visited Moscow, the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, Taganrog and, of course, his native Mogilev. There is evidence of a meeting with the bishop in one of the temples of his native city: “...the whole city came to see and pray”. Since November 25, 1956, our compatriot was Bishop of Petropavlovsk, Vicar of Alma-Ata Diocese. Less than a year later, on March 14, 1957 he became Bishop of Petropavlovsk and Kustanai. In 1958, the priest was elevated to the rank of archbishop. On 28 September 1960, he became Archbishop of Almaty and Kazakhstan. At that time, the Peter and Paul Diocese was abolished. And its parishes were moved to Alma-Ata... From February 25, 1968 in Chernivtsi he was raised to the rank of Metropolitan Archbishop. By the way, after the death of Patriarch Alexy, our compatriot was considered to be his successor. But the native of Mogilev refused to participate in the elections for this high hierarchical post... Our compatriot served for 15 years (!) as Archbishops of Almaty and Kazakhstan. During this period and during those years when he endured other trials in Kazakhstan, he became related to the land far from Belarus, found there many people close to the Orthodox faith... By Ales Karlyukevich

friends, Muzhichok and Jerry. 1973. беларусь. belarus 2020

Unique production

Adjuster Martin Boltovsky

Melody in major

It’s going without a hitch Older people remember well the Borisov factory of musical instruments, which produced up to 2000 pianos per month. They were bought up in the whole Soviet Union and not only. In 2006, the factory closed. However, by order of the President, it was revived. A “Piano Factory” was established in Minsk, where instruments under the usual brand name “Belarus” are produced again. — We have 25 employees, — says Renata Martynovich, Director of the Piano Factory. — Our country does not have piano production facilities yet that teach piano making. That’s why masters train their successors — they pass on experience and skills. It takes at least two years to train a piano technician. The factory manufactures classical acoustic pianos. They are hand-assem-

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bled, so each instrument has its own tone of sound. The price is about 9000 rubles. Manufacturing begins with gluing the piano case. A powerful press glues of spruce and pine the skeleton of a future musical instrument. At the Borisov factory it took two days, and now — 20 minutes. Progress is evident. The case is perfectly assembled and adjusted with pinpoint accuracy. Otherwise, the instrument will not sound right. Then masters get down to business. The key action is assembled. For example, they insert weights into the keys — this is a weighing process. At the end of the assembly, the master leaves his last name on the left-most key. The next step is mellowing. On an automatic machine in an isolated room. 15 minutes of this “play” replaces six months of actual use. This is a resource test. After assembly and mellowing, a musical instrument is tuned up, four times.

Production manager Vladimir Stasevich

We visited the Piano Factory and Zonta company to find out how and how many musical instruments are produced in our country today It is impossible to tune it up to the required frequency of 442 hertz at once: the strings will break. A powerful cast-iron frame holds 222 strings, which is up to 16 tons of pressure. Finally, the voicing, which is to give the piano a smooth, rich sound. In total, it takes two months to assemble each instrument. — Last year we produced 669 pianos, and in the first half of this year we have already produced 464 instruments, — continues Renata Martynovic. Most of the work is done by hand, with loving care and attention to detail. As, for example, a lid closer, so that it does not hit one’s fingers. Such important little things make up the overall impression of the manufacturer. Then comes final polishing and packaging. The beauties in black lacquer and soon in the white one, with the proud inscription “Belarus” are going to be sent to customers.

Unique production

Music master Mikhail Sitko

Adjuster of music instruments Olga Boltovskaya

Assembler of reed instruments Tatyana Soroka

Assembled by gifted hands At the meeting with creative young people two years ago, the President was shown the possibilities of a unique electronic midi chromatic accordion created by Zonta LLC in Molodechno. It is able to reproduce the sounds of various musical instruments, playing the role of a kind of mini-orchestra. Zonta company has been producing chromatic accordions, harmonica and accordions since 2006. There are 25 employees, just like at the Piano Factory. They produce everything themselves — from a sheet of plywood to a finished instrument. Even the smallest details — levers, valves, buttons, pushers and springs — are made by Zonta. This is why the scale of production is not so big- around 60 musical instruments per year. In 2018, according to requests from music institutions across the country, more than 600 chromatic accordions alone had to be renewed. The company received a flow of orders and even had to expand. — The demand still exceeds the supply, because creating an instrument is a timeconsuming manual process, — says production manager Vladimir Stasevich. — It

takes three months to produce one accordion. We produce the instruments individually for the musician. There are three types of chromatic accordions in the size range: “pioneer”, “medium” and “grand”. They differ from each other only in a reduced range. In Grodno, Zonta purchases leather for belts and fittings. Brass, duralumin and aluminium are also Belarusian-made. Spruce for resonant parts of the instruments is from the north of the country. — We buy some parts and materials abroad, — continues Vladimir Stasevich. — For example, 2.2 mm leather for bass registers — in Germany, natural pearl for buttons and celluloid — in Italy, in the Czech Republic — lumpy slat for combined chord. There are 2000 details in a chromatic accordion. There are about 800 voice slats alone. This is why the work of local craftsmen is akin to the craft of watchmakers: filigree assembly of even the smallest mechanisms and components. The first stage of production is preparatory, which is carried out by turners and milling workers. Then the right and left keyboard mechanisms are assembled, and the chords are riveted. The craftsmen then glue the resonator and mount the chord. The case of the instrument is not painted, but covered

Photo by SB.by

with celluloid. This material is acetone-soaked and fixed on the case with special adhesive. Then the case is polished. Additional decorations are according to the client’s taste. For example, Khoroshki asked to put the name of the ensemble on the harmonica. A tuner is a unique worker, one for the entire production. He grinds off the solder on the voices. He also makes voicing. One slat sounds in unison with the tuner, and the other one goes up or down — this is how overtones are born. The factory also makes covers and belts for instruments and installs midi-systems. Zonta has made a chromatic accordion for concerts with installed midi-system. It combines eight instruments. There are also instruments with radio microphones, which operate within a radius of up to 80 metres. Only about 5% of Zonta’s clients are individuals. Prices for harmonica start from 2500 rubles, for chromatic accordion from 5000 rubles, for accordions from 8500 rubles. It is simply impossible to create a high-quality handmade thing cheaper. Zonta has its customers even from Italy, the motherland of the accordion. Foreign musicians like the sound of our accordion, with its unique Eastern European coloring. By Ilya Krasovsky

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Premiere

Way to yourself The Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus opened its 88th season with the ballet “Peer Gynt”

he faces of the theatre staff showed well how the opening was expected at the Bolshoi. The security men, cloakroom attendants, ushers, regular ballet fans — all were smiling. And even though the faces of many were hidden under masks, joy was seen in shining eyes. It’s no joke that for more than five months due to the pandemic there has been no spectators in the Bolshoi. We who always attended premieres at our favorite theatre, also missed its warm atmosphere. And anticipating the premiere, were also in a good mood. At the entrance, we met Sergey Mukhin, the head of the Opera and Ballet Art Promotion Service and congratulated him on the opening. He just thanked us and said how tired they all were without meeting us… One could only suppose how a virtual world filled with fantastic images of Scandinavian mythology, created 145 years ago by playwright Henrik Ibsen and composer Edvard Grieg, would manifest itself on the Bolshoi Theatre stage. Back in March, I had a chance to watch the story on television, which said that the first showcases of the ballet “Peer Gynt” started at the Bolshoi Theatre. The premiere was expected by early July. And already at that time we knew that the performance would involve 4 casts of ballet dancers. Opera soloists would sing in the Norwegian language, there would be choral parties. As choreographer and stage director Sergey Mikel put it, there would be minimal “toe technique”. The emphasis would be on dancing in soft shoes, and there was a total of 15 pairs of pointe-shoes for two acts and eight scenes with a prologue. And that’s what Valentin Elizariev, People’s Artist of the USSR, artistic director of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera

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Peer Gynt (Aven Capitaine) and Solveig (Lyudmila Ulantseva)

Premiere and Ballet Theatre of Belarus said about the work of his student Sergey Mikel, winner of the National Theatre Prize and winner of international competitions: “He was learning, very consistently was moving towards the goal. Before he came to us with his idea, he had staged, in my opinion, two very interesting productions in the musical theatre (two ballets for adults, i. e. “The Cherry Orchard” and “The Titanic”, as well as a play for children “James and the Giant Peach” — Auth.), well, we gave him a chance. I really want to raise talented Belarusians. Sergey will take a very responsible attitude to the Bolshoi Theatre production, because not everyone is trusted. And I expect interesting work from him, a potentially talented person”. (https://www.tvr.by/) I will also quote the words of Lyubov Sidelnikova, the artist and ballet director of “Peer Gynt”. “It was necessary to find such visual images, in which the costumes would be in harmony with our time. To say that our Peer Gynt is glamorous — probably not. I think that he will mainly conquer the audience with his plastique and dance, and himself. He will change three or four times. A young Peer Gynt and 30–40‑year old Peer Gynt these are different performers. We decided that it would be more believable. By the way, the Bolshoi Theatre already turned to this work more than 40 years ago and it remained in its repertoire until 1978. But this is a very different story, says Sergey Mikel: “I wanted to update the material, to get as close to life as possible, make it understandable to the modern viewer. The plot seems to me to be very topical. In an era of limitless possibilities, when there are practically no limits for its implementation, more and more people are looking for themselves, and looking for the real themselves…”. By the way, over 250 costumes are used in the performance. It took over six months to make them. One can only imagine how busy all the production shops of the Bolshoi Theatre were. Lyubov Sidelnikova created the Norwegian national costumes typical of national theatre actors, but the miners’ clothes by the decision of the artist remind modern, little has changed in them. Very beautiful hats were created for opera soloists. As for music, Alexander Anisimov, the conductor of the opera, admitted that he had been fascinated by this work for many years. This is what he said about it: — When I started this project, I suggested that the choreographer should not base his work on two popular suites, but on the full score of Edvard Grieg’s music for the drama “Peer Gynt”. It includes about one and a half hours of music,” admitted the maestro. At the same time, he said, he did not limit himself to music for Ibsen’s drama, but took other musical works by Grieg, in particular four Norwegian dances, used symphonic dances, lyrical pieces… As a result there were two acts. The creative union of the young choreographer and stage director Sergey Mikel, the master — conductor-stage director, People’s Artist of Belarus Alexander Anisimov and stage designer Lyubov Sidelnikova was a success. The play by Henrik Ibsen, created back in 1867, was put new life into on the Bolshoi Theatre stage. We were watching a very spectacular performance. My colleagues called it a blockbuster that can shake sensitive natures to the core. Scenes from the performance беларусь. belarus 2020

Premiere

Yana Shtangey — Anitra

Solveig and Peer Gynt at an advanced age (Anna Fokina and Anton Kravchenko)

I confess that there is a grain of truth in this definition. The ballet does not leave you indifferent. Emotions and feelings experienced by the performers are conveyed to the audience. And when you catch them, you respond because the plot is also captivating. Here is a summary of the libretto, which was written by Sergey Mikel and is based on the play of the same name by Ibsen. It can be found on the Bolshoi Theatre website (https://bolshoibelarus.by/) In the Prologue, we see a chase. A wounded deer is running away from its pursuer Button Maker, a master of remelting “unfit” souls — souls that are not worthy of hell or heaven, souls of those who did not aspire to holiness, but did not commit great meanness either. This is also where we meet Peer Gynt. He is a dreamer looking for adventure and exciting stories, and a wanderer looking for glory and immortality, in the present he is a man who has spent his entire life without achieving his goals. The Button Maker reminds Peer about his longstanding debt — he has to give its soul to be remelted: “You were poured as a button for the world’s waistcoat, but its ear broke, came off, and you have to be given for scrap to be remelted along with others”. Peer, looking at his reflection in the lake, sees himself young and carefree… The first act introduces us to the mobile theatre Syria Muria, owned by Oze (mother of Peer), which comes to the village of Hegstad. The actors of the theatre play an unusual performance, but it is interrupted by Peer’s prank: he kidnaps Ingrid, one of the actors of the theatre. After a violent quarrel with his mother, Peer sees a migrator Solveig and falls in love with her. However, his heart does not find peace. Peer meets the Button Maker and, having betrayed his fantasies, leaves the people close to him. His vanity brings him to the Trolls Corporation. Meeting the Mountain King changes Peer’s life, from the head of the Trolls he

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learns the truth that will determine his future path: “Troll, be happy with yourself! This idea of a troll is close to Peer, he is ready to accept the invitation to stay and marry Dovr Maiden, the King’s daughter, and gets completely into the power of the trolls. A sudden light image of his mother saves Peer from being completely turned into a troll. He returns to Solveig and finds peace of mind for a while. The quiet, secluded happiness does not last long, Oze dies. Peer Gynt cannot cope with the feeling of guilt and leaves home again. In the second act, Peer sets out on a journey around the world. Over the years he travels and tries many occupations. He solemnly declares each new craft as a long-awaited work of his life, but dedicates himself to it until he encounters difficulties. He seeks happiness in money by becoming a slave trader, he heads arms smugglers, tries to find himself in passionate dancing, seducing a Bedouin Anitra. A mosaic of succeeding roles leads him to a madhouse where he is called emperor, wearing a crown of deer horns on his head, and finally to a dump site for the homeless. At the end of his life, feeling lonely, having skittled away his money and having lost his position, Peer realizes the threat of being “remelted” in the Button Maker bucket: “Your life has failed, it is time for remelting”. At the end of his life, he desperately looks again for the answer to the question what it means to be oneself, and if he was himself. Peer meets Solveig, the grey-haired woman, and only then does he realise that he has been saved. Under all sorts of masks, throughout his motley life he has remained himself only in Solveig’s love, protected by her hope and faith. So, the curtain rises. Introduction to Peer Gynt begins with a mass scene in the cave of the Mountain King. A mystical ac-

Premiere tion is taking place on stage: the real world invades the fantasy world and vice versa. And the dance tells us about their interaction. Its language is clear to us. In the centre is Peer Gynt, the main character. The role of Peer Gynt is performed by the chic Frenchman Aven Capitaine, while the delicate and loving Solveig is danced by Lyudmila Ulantseva. By the way, People’s Artist of Belarus Irina Yeromkina plays the role of a refined, dreamy Oze, the mother of Peer Gynt, and the Dovr Maiden, daughter of the Mountain King, is performed by Alexandra Chizhik, holder of the Francisk Skorina medal. And in this ballet she demonstrates her high, elegant and inimitable leap. As well as Takatoshi Machiyama, the audience’s favourite, charismatic and talented winner of international competitions will also show us his unique leap. He appears on stage as a temperamental, cunning and insidious Button Maker, a soul melter. Artistic Yana Shtangey, winner of international competitions, is very good as Anitra, the leader of the Bedouins. Her colourful and passionate dance cannot go unnoticed. Old-aged Solveig is danced by Anna Fokina, winner of the Francisk Skorina medal and the woke Peer Gynt is danced by Anton Kravchenko, Honoured Artist of Belarus. Vocalists on stage sing next to ballet dancers. This creates an interesting performance, which is not quite a ballet itself. By the way, the soloists sing in Norwegian. As they say in the theatre, they had to work hard at their pronunciation under the guidance of professionals from Minsk State Linguistic University. It is as if Solveig’s soul itself sounds in Elena Zolova’s vocal part at the premiere. Well, the quality of choral singing at the Bolshoi Theatre, as we know, is always top-notch. I cannot but mention other performers of bright and expressive parts. These are the “mechanised” retinue of the Button Maker, the

so-called Krives — Veronika Ovchinnikova, Veronika Oleshchenko, Tatyana Ulasen. Their movements are so honed that it seems that we can see robots. People’s Artist of Belarus Igor Artamonov, the Mountain King and owner of the Trolls Corporation, works in the same style. We also meet Solveig’s parents and her sister (Anton Kravchenko, Anna Fokina, Karina Malakhovskaya), other residents of Hegstag, as well as trolls men and trolls women, mobile theatre actors, Bedouins, patients in a madhouse, and homeless people in a dump. This large-scale ballet, I repeat, employs several casts of performers. Peer Gynt’s journey in search of his place on earth and his own self is accompanied by a dynamic change of scenery. The mountainous landscapes of Norway and the lake are transformed into the habitat of the Trolls… And there are images of a madhouse, a dump, a desert… Peer Gynt, a dreamer, a man who dreamed of an exceptional fate, will pass through many trials and temptations, to understand at the end of his life: he was himself in love with Solveig all his life. He realizes that it was Solveig’s love that was his true protection from all evils. Curiously enough, initially “Peer Gynt”, like Chekhov’s “The Seagull”, was not a success and was quite negatively received in Norway and Denmark. The famous storyteller Hans Christian Andersen called the work “completely senseless”. However, according to literary critics, over time, mainly thanks to Solveig’s image, “a rethinking of the play began”. Above all, this was facilitated by Edvard Grieg’s exciting music, which has not lost its freshness even today. The talented Belarusian authors wrote a new page in the history of Grieg’s and Ibsen’s works. And Sergey Mikel’s “Peer Gynt” is a successful debut on the Bolshoi Theatre stage. By Valentina Zhdanovich. Photos presented by the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus.

Sergey Mikel:

I wanted to update the material, to get as close to life as possible, make it understandable to the modern viewer. The plot seems to me to be very topical. In an era of limitless possibilities, when there are practically no limits for its implementation, more and more people are looking for themselves, and looking for the real themselves…

The premiere of "Peer Gynt" at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus ended with applause from spectators. Sergey Mikel, choreographer and stage director, is at the forefront

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Theatre and life

Alexey Dudarev

Small motherland Comedy in two acts

Characters: ivan zhdanovich

ATELA — He MASHA — She GABI — Doll End The beginning in the No. 6.

ACT TWO Day Four The same apartment. It is run by GABI doll. There's thunderstorm outside the windows. Atela and Masha appear. Gabi disappears. MASHA (shaking the umbrella). Creepy! Everything is mixed up… Winter is coming… and all of a sudden! Rainstorm. ATELA. This is in honor of our wedding. MASHA. Wedding… Oh, by the way, give me a wedding gift! ATELA. What to give? MASHA. A gift. The groom must give something to the bride. ATELA. Of course, of course… (Digs in his backpack) MASHA. You may not have it that way, but we have… ATELA. And so have we.. MASHA. Who are "we"? ATELA. You. (Takes a ring out of the backpack) Is that okay? MASHA (looks at). Well, though not gold… ATELA. This is platinum. MASHA. It's okay. And the pieces of glass are beautiful. ATELA. These are diamonds.

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MASHA. Well, of course, of course diamonds… Girls’ best friends… How much does this beauty cost? ATELA. I don't know. Five million, I guess… MASHA. How much? ATELA. Five million. MASHA. Our currency? ATELA. Oh, you're kidding. MASHA. Foreign?! So are they, real? ATELA. Listen. Were you beaten in childhood? MASHA. No. ATELA. I can feel it. How can I give my wife something that's not real?! MASHA. My ring finger will fall off… Five million! Five million! ATELA. Maybe more. MASHA. Well, you dad is a big shoo‑ot… To live so well on bribes! What was he given so much for? ATELA. You don't know any other ways to get rich but take bribes? MASHA. Nah… ATELA. Our family owns a mine. Diamonds and platinum are mined there MASHA. Not bad. ATELA. And believe me, the miners who mine them never feel offended. And don’t want to become migrants. MASHA. Don't kill me. What do people call Masha in your Pekheteriya? ATELA. Mariya. Not in Pekheteriya, but in Ur-Lagash!

MASHA. Of course, of course… (Sin ging) Masha from Ur-Lagasha! From UrLagasha Masha! ATELA. Stop it! MASHA. I'm sorry. In my life, I've forgotten about real things. Platinum is real! And it's more expensive than gold. I remember. ATELA. More expensive is a bad word. MASHA. I agree. There's something above platinum and gold and Pekheteriya… ATELA. Ur-Lagash! MASHA. And Ur-Lagash… ATELA. Above Ur-Lagash — no! MASHA. There is! ATELA. Shut up! MASHA. I'm not saying anything, but you agree with me. Don't you agree? ATELA. I agree. MASHA. Then tell me what it is. ATELA. Love. MASHA. That's right! That's right, honey… You're going to ask me to dance now. ATELA. To dance what? MASHA. Waltz. A bride must necessarily waltz with her groom. It's a tradition. I'm gonna look for something suitable. MASHA takes out a mobile phone, turns on the radio on, browses from station to station. ATELA. Wait! Switch over to the previous one.

Theatre and life

The next part of the comedy can be figuratively illustrated in such a way

MASHA. Hell with it! It's a mess everywhere. ATELA. Switch it over! MASHA. You're welcome. (Switches) RADIO. …Masha. According to world agencies, the people of the island who rebelled against the military junta have restored the monarchy in full. Richard Al Mababa III returned with his family to the capital Ur-Lagash Hobanero and immediately abdicated the throne in favor of his eldest son Atela, who was hiding somewhere abroad… MASHA. Oh! You even have namesakes… Atela. ATELA. Let me hear it! RADIO. Ur Lagash is looking all over the world for its new ruler… MASHA. So this is… ATELA. Can you be quiet? RADIO. The former monarch of UrLagash asked numerous radio stations to read out his address to his son. We're going to do it now, preserving the style of address Son! Come back! I'm an old sick man. My time has passed, your time has come. If God does not favor giving me the opportunity to hug you, know that I have always loved and felt sorry for you. And left the throne because I was not allowed to forgive those who had betrayed me. General Chombe was executed despite my ban. You are now the supreme ruler of Ur La-

gash. Listen to my covenant: God always reflects on us what we send… He who loves will be loved, he who forgives will be forgiven, he who steals will be robbed, he who kills will be killed… And so on and on forever. And at all times. I ordered to send planes to countries where you can be staying. My son! Come back here! Come back and remember: the king is above any shaman, and God is above any king! Music. Atela and Masha sit stunned. MASHA. Well, let's go to my cousin's cousin, my own aunt's niece. ATELA. What for? MASHA. To divorce. ATELA. What for? MASHA. Well, what do you need me for? (Takes off the ring from the finger) Take it… ATELA. Yeah, you sure didn't get hit when you were a kid. MASHA. No. ATELA. And for nothing. If you had been beaten, you'd know that real kings don't get divorced! MASHA. Why do you need me! Such… ATELA. I'm your "why" and you're my "why" even more. Do you understand? MASHA. Thank you. ATELA. Put the ring on! Now!

MASHA. Thank you. (Puts on the ring.) So.. Don't laugh. I used to be Masyusya Manka, Girl, but I have never been a princess. I'm a princess now, aren't I, because I am your wife? ATELA. No. MASHA. Why? ATELA. I am the king! You're my wife! So, who are you? MASHA. Q‑u‑e‑e‑n. Pinch me. ATELA. Pack up! There's a plane waiting at the airport. MASHA. So I… I don't have a visa! ATELA. I think we already have. MASHA. Aren't you going to leave me? ATELA. Pack up! RADIO. My son! Come back! My son! Come back! ATELA. Hurry up, Your Majesty! MASHA. Don't mock at me! ATELA. Who's mocking, you fool! Move on! We'll miss the last train. MASHA. Do you like me Your Ma jesty? ATELA. From now on everyone will call you that! MASHA. And you? ATELA. And me. MASHA. Then I'll move. Where are my curlers? I put them right here! You didn't take them? ATELA. They went out for a walk, Your Majesty. Pack up, pack up. MASHA. Where did I put them? Ah, there they are! ATELA's goes out. Masha is packing up.

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Theatre and life

MASHA. Did you make chikh-pykh to a doll, right? ATELA. I did. But I didn’t get acquainted with it. Pack up, Mariya… MASHA. Pack up all. ATELA. Well, pack up all… MASHA. N‑o‑w I will dre-ss my girl, comb its hair… On the way we will visit grandfather's grave. Your Majesty, we'll be passing by the cemetery, won't we? ATELA. Of course. The float-boat is behind the hillside. MASHA. And you will tell grandfather that you forgave your mother for everything… And that your mother will never upset grandfather and you, my sunshine… And that your mother got married… Married this good man, though this good man is a king. And he has a mine full of diamonds… But that's not the point. liveinternet.ru

ATELA appears. He leads GABI by the hand. ATELA. You asked me about the doll. That's not it? MASHA. Gabi! My girl! Honey! (Takes the doll) I’ve come… Your mom has come to get you. Where did you find it? ATELA. Behind the gas stove. MASHA. That's right! I hid it there when we were evicted. And I forgot! (To the doll) Your mommy forgot where she hid you and uncle ATELA found you. My little, my beautiful… Wait, wait… You said you made chikh-pykh. ATELA. Is it your doll or not? MASHA. You've got to be kidding me! So I don't even recognize my GABI! Here's a crack in the elbow, here's a burned shoulder. ATELA. So what is it?

ATELA. Let's go, Mariya… MASHA. Let's go, Gabi… They leave Epilogue Empty salon of the board No. 1 of the kingdom of Ur-Lagash. Atela and Masha are sitting with their seatbelts on. Gabi is running around the salon. Turbines thunder. MASHA. How far is it to the ground now? ATELA. I don't know. Twelve kilo meters, I guess… MASHA. And somewhere there is Drevlyansk. ATELA. And somewhere there is Drevlyansk. MASHA. How far is it to space? ATELA. Any distance you want.. MASHA. Ati, are we going to have children? ATELA. Of course, we will have… MASHA. And many? ATELA. Many. The rulers should set a demographic example. MASHA. Just don't laugh. You're darkskinned, I'm white-skinned… What if they are striped?. ATELA. As sailors’ shirts? MASHA. As sailors’ shirt. ATELA. Maria, what a naive woman you are! MASHA. Do you love me? ATELA. I love you so much, Mariya… I love you so much, Masha… MASHA. Mee too, Your Majesty. ATELA. Don't cry. Everything will be fine. MASHA. Everything will be fine… Closes eyes. GABI (singing) The wind sang it a lullaby: Sleep Mashenka, sleep tight! The snow was making clothes for it: It was a pretty sight! The snow was making clothes for it: It was a pretty sight! Turbines thunder. Blackout Сopyright protection is ensured by the Russian Copyright Society

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Festival

n 2020, more guests were expected than in the previous years, but the coronavirus interfered with it. For example, in 2018 the festival “The Call of Polesye” attracted 35 thousand guests. According to mass media, the activity of foreign guests noticeably decreased. But this did not affect the uniqueness and flair of the specific world of Polesye. For the first time diplomats from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Iran, Lithuania, Pakistan, Palestine, Russia, Sudan and Uzbekistan were the guests of the festival. The day before, during the Trade Advisor Day, they analyzed the potential of the Pripyat Polesye at the Mozyr Economic Forum. “This is my first time in Polesye. The festival gives good impressions. We are very surprised. Very beautiful nature, good people. Everything is wonderful”, — shared his emotions Ali Hassan, Economic Relations Adviser at the Embassy of Sudan in Belarus.

In his welcome speech the Minister of Culture, Yury Bondar mentioned the fact that the Polesye Forum had become one of the country’s brand identities over the years: — I am very pleased that there is such a bright event in the cultural life of Belarus as “The Call of Polesye”. Every year the forum develops, its programme opens the most shadowed corners of the rich Belarusian culture, which is the basis of our national identity. I think that this festival has a great future, because today’s young people are sincerely interested in their history, which contains our roots”. The festival began on the central stage with the traditional awarding of the “Ganarovy palyashuk” title. This year, two natives of Belarusian Polesye received the bronze statuettes: Pyotr Ostapchuk, head of the merited folk ensemble “Vitananka” of the Stolin House of Culture, and Roman Petrushenko, canoer,

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Festival

Beauty of senior women, who have had a lot of life experience, is obvious.

To sing a song, dance to the harmonica with a tambourine wearing a national costumes is a vivid sign of the festival "The Call of Polesye"

Many highlights were prepared by the artists of the Ukrainian group "Lisapetny batalyon"

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Olympic champion and seven-time world champion. This is an unusual award in his collection, the champion said with a smile: — I am proud that I was born and live on the Polesye land. My home town is Kalinkovichi, and I work in the neighbouring Mozyr. Wherever I am, my small homeland is always in my heart. I spend my holidays here with a fishing rod on the lake and, of course, with my family. The National Academic Folk Choir of Belarus named after Gennady Tsitovich, the Honoured Ensemble of Belarusian Folk Music “Byaseda”, the vocal group “Chysty Golas”, the folklore ensemble of Slavic song “Zbitzen”, artists of the Gomel Regional Philharmonic, the Gomel Variety Symphony Orchestra named after Yury Vasilevsky performed on the stage of the festival. Many highlights were presented by the artists of the Ukrainian group “Lisapetny batalyon”. The guests of the festival were offered to get acquainted with the fantastic and mysterious world of our ancestors through the mythology of Polesye villagers. For example, at the farmsteads with the general name “Tayamnіtsy paleshukou” they were told about mythological characters, dramatizations about them were shown. The farmstead terraces introduced mythological characters as a cultural phenomenon and part of the history of the people’s spiritual life. Festival participants and guests could visit a mill, weaving houses, a fisherman, a hunter, a potter’s workshop and a café in the national style. The exhibition-fair “Ramesnaya slabada” invited to master classes. “Maysternya gancharstva i kuznya”, “Maysternya salomaplyatsennya і tkatstva”, “Maysternya lazaplyatsennya і bondarstva”, “Khata rybaka і palyaunichaga” opened their doors to the visitors. This year Lyaskovichi, according to the unanimous opinion of those who came to this festival in the previous years, has changed a lot. For example, Alexander Klachko, a beekeeper from the Lelchitsy District, offered everyone who came up to him fragrant Polish honey: — It is pure, meadowy, forest honey. Everything started here just on the glade, and now it is possible to hold cool festivals and large-scale concerts. And those who came to the festival for the first time sincerely admired its scale. This is what Tatyana Sakhankova, a design artist from the Khoyniki House of Culture, said: — I have heard a lot about this festival, but have been invited as a participant only this year. We invite everyone to our backyard to buy some Khoyniki treats “prysmaky”, charm with our district and invite them to visit us. Near the Khoyniki participants of the festival there were residents of Polesye from all over the Petrikov District, and all of them tried to outdo each other to express their joy at joining the festival. — This is the second time I’ve been here, — says Olga Silivonets, artist and director of the folk theatre at the Culture House in the town of Kopatkevichi. — “The Call of Polesye” changes every year. This time the venue is amazing! But the most important thing is that we get to know each other here and

Festival make new friends. This is not only a festival of Polesye culture, but that of friendship. The most important thing is Polesian identity. This is the opinion expressed by Vasily Kazachok, a potter from the village of Garodnaya in the Stolin District, who is well-known throughout Polesye: — If we do not preserve our roots, crafts, songs, rites, costumes, language, who will we be? Belarusians? Poleshuks? In this respect, Polesye is woven from such colourful cultural threads that it is unacceptable to lose this unique world for Belarus, and for the whole of Europe. Therefore, such festivals are vital. And the wood carver, Alexey Batan, whose sculptures one cannot help admiring, said: — Both in a spoon, and in a statue, there must be heart and soul. If you don’t put them into it, the item doesn’t come to life, the wood doesn’t give off heat. But we have the best places for inspiration here… Polesye has its own soul — a big, ancient soul. And if you understand it, you will never stop loving this land. By the way, the ethnographic festival of Polesye life unites eight districts of the Gomel Region (Mozyr, Narovlya, Petrikov, Khoyniki, Zhitkovichi, Yelsk, Kalinkovichi, Lelchitsy) and three districts of Brestchina (Stolin, Luninets and Pinsk). This year, interesting novelties have been added to traditional stylized farmsteads. For example, performances of traditional portable puppet theatres, “batleykas”, which originated in our region in the early 16th century. Nadezhda Gananaiko (Yelsk District), head of the Mikulich House of Culture, writes the scripts for puppet shows herself. — It is already the second year we have had Batleika. This is the most common Christmas play, “Herod the Tsar”. It tells us about the birth of the baby Jesus and the events associated with it. Children and adults love it. Now the new figures for the play “Pan and panienka” are ready, it will be not a religious story, but a social one. It was possible not only to watch, but also to participate. A dance surprise was prepared for the audience: teaching rhythmic movements that come from ancient times. The festival included a master class on teaching the ancient Belarusian domestic dance called “Lysy”. In the evening, on the main stage of the festival, the beauties from two regions competed for “Polesye Beauty — 2020” title. The winner was Alexandra Vobel, a resident of Petrikov. And the festival ended with an evening show and festive fireworks. The international festival of ethnocultural traditions “The Call of Polesye” is a truly national holiday. It is aimed at preserving and popularizing ethno-cultural traditions, studying and supporting the region’s rich historical and cultural heritage, and strengthening creative ties between border regions. As Gennady Solovey, Chairman of the Gomel Regional Executive Committee put it, the success of “The Call of Polesye” was determined by three components — unique, wild nature, rich historical and cultural heritage and authentic folk rites and crafts. Plus industriousness, hospitable, kind-hearted Polesye residents, who know how to love and rejoice sincerely. By Mikhalina Cherkashina. Using SB. Belarus segodnya, BelTA materials. Photo by BelTA.

In one of the workshops it was possible to get acquainted with the oldest craft of weaving

Master of willow weaving Viktor Davidovich

All the beauties who won in different categories were united by one great festive joy беларусь. belarus 2020

One’s own way

A view on art in the context of time I meet the Rector of the Belarusian State Academy of Arts Mikhail Borozna quite often: either at the event in a museum, or at the opening of the exhibition in a gallery. As a rule, in most cases we managed to have a talk, exchanged opinions, albeit briefly, on cultural issues.

t one of these meetings, I received an invitation from the rector to visit the academy. To come to a kind of housewarming party. The point is that a major renovation has just been completed there, which lasted no less than a decade. I remember having a thorough professional conversation with the rector in the Academy in August 2012. At that time, the construction had just started and Mikhail Borozna had to apologize, interrupt our conversation

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and solve various economic issues. This is not the case now. There was a clear feeling of inspiration with which the rector gave a tour around the renovated Alma Mater, where now, indeed, there are excellent conditions for students and teachers. It is not without reason that the partners from Moscow — the branded Institute of Cinematography — came to Minsk for a week to feel the excellent atmosphere here, with their Belarusian colleagues. And it was with great pride that Mikhail Borozna showed how the creativity of the Academy’s students blended

And it was with great pride that Mikhail Borozna showed how the creativity of the Academy’s students blended harmoniously into the renovated interior

harmoniously into the renovated interior. He told the story about the foreign guests who admired the paintings they saw on the walls of his office, and were sure that they had been made by mature authors. How surprise they were when the rector said that they had been painted by a freshman. That was the favorable background against which our current conversation with the rector of the Belarusian State Academy of Arts was taking place. — What, in your opinion, are the main events of the last ten years in the life of the Academy of Arts?

— For the Academy staff, the main event is that we have returned to Alma Mater. There are events from professional life that are no less important. Among them, first and foremost, is our participation in the Ribbon of Time exhibition at UN Headquarters in Geneva. It took place last year in April on large exhibition space — the space that reflects not only the nature of the UN’s work, but also contains a huge collection of art. And on this platform, the Academy was granted the honour of making a large retrospective exhibition which showed the work of teachers and students

over several decades. As a result, not only the academic school was presented there, but also what can be called contemporary art. These include media projects, animation, installations, posters and photographs, experimental works. The opening of the exhibition was attended by UN Director General, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Vladimir Makei, and the Rector of the Academy of Arts, as the organizer of the exhibition on the Belarusian side. This event has probably been the most significant in recent years, which allows us to see retrospectives, the dynamics of many

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One’s own way

Now the Internet allows us to quickly penetrate into a wide variety of information resources. And the Academy demonstrates its tolerance to everything that is part of our platform of values: humanitarian and moral processes both in fine arts and design, and in the development of the creative philosophy itself, which is cultivated at the Academy of Arts. This event is undoubtedly a landmark, testifying to the recognition of our school. We are grateful to the Belarusian UN Office in Geneva, the headquarters, for the opportunity to organize such a large-scale exhibition. — You have been working as a rector for 10 years now. Reasonable time to gain experience. Do you feel that the rector is a significant figure in the academy? — Frankly speaking, I feel that the rector is the same unit as everyone else. It is like in the activities of any expert council. The chairperson of the council has only one vote but two opportunities to speak: at the beginning and at the end. That’s why he or she has more opportunities to speak out. But then again, the rector is part of the team. The way he or she behaves is the most important thing. I have been working at the academy since September 2, 1992. This is without my student and postgraduate years. That’s why, on the one hand, nothing has changed for me, even in terms of my previous and preset-day experience. On the other hand, it is a very long way. Not just these 10 years, but the last 20 years, 25. It’s a very long way. I remember what the curriculums, programmes were like, what was taught at the lectures before, the uniformity of requirements we had. Now we see a wide range of opportunities for students and teachers: to speak

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their own language, the sensual language of art, to defend their principles, their views, even their philosophical convictions. Before everything was limited. But now I see how much has changed: there is mobility, there are different activities for teachers and students, a lot of information. It used to be limited, we looked through some catalogues awe struck, but now the Internet allows us to quickly penetrate into a wide variety of information resources. And the Academy demonstrates its tolerance to everything that is part of our platform of values: humanitarian and moral. Therefore, I see a good dynamic of opportunities for young people in their creativity, in their pedagogical skills. — You have already noted that you were represented internationally on the high podium of the UN, figuratively

speaking. In general, are the Academy’s international relations with other organisations significant? To what extent are international communications necessary today for students and teachers? — Extremely necessary, because it is part of our international activities. For life, it is crucial to feel equal in the global community and sometimes to be the leader, to have a clear idea of what to improve in order to compete, for example. This is one thing. The second is educational and ideological work. Students need to feel that they are involved in huge space, not confined to the walls of their alma mater. They, as well as their teachers and many free creative people, must feel belonging to a community as wide as possible. There are scientific contacts — for analytical work. And in order to analyze themselves, it is always im-

One’s own way portant to have a context that is not confined to the Minsk ring road. I would like to emphasize once again that we have very broad scientific contacts. This, by the way, helps in adapting and correcting curricula. We are in constant contact with many managers and employees of higher educational institutions in Eastern Europe. And not only in this region. It is always interesting. Figuratively speaking, the Academy was traditionally formed through polemics. For example, in the 50s and 60s of the last century, at the educational establishment, which had a different status at that time, there were teachers who represented completely different schools: Kyiv, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Lvov, Prague, Warsaw

and Vilnius. And it was in the polemics that a unique art school was formed: both theatrical and fine arts. This kind of polemics is still needed today. Debating is extremely important for development. It is not just a matter of reporting — it is a vital necessity, a desire. When a teacher, having received an international prize, having given a master class or having exhibited his works abroad, comes back and shares his or her experience with students, I see the glint in the eyes of the teacher and the desire of students to challenge themselves. — By the way, are there any international students at the Academy today? — Yes, there are. Their panorama is quite interesting. There are students from

the United States who are studying to be film artists. There are two Danes. One guy is studying to be a painter. And the girl is a graphic artist. This is Matilda Lutson. She is one of our leaders, she knows that the Belarusian school of graphics is very strong. Matilda Lutson is showing very interesting results. And at the “Time Ribbon” exhibition in Geneva at the Palais des Nations, she exhibited her works together with Belarusian students. I think that is right. If the Academy has such an international student-body, we offered her, and she participated in this exhibition with a great desire. Of course, we have representatives from Lithuania, Russia, and China. In recent decades this panorama has included representatives from many countries. — Do you think it was a conscious choice for them to go to the Academy of Arts in Minsk? — Absolutely. It is connected with the fact that since the Soviet time the rating of our Academy, then — theatre and art institute, has been very high. And since then there has been an opinion, or rather belief, that we give a high-quality education, there is a school with good traditions and techniques. We have our web-site, we post a lot of information on the events which take place in the Academy. And many people see for themselves that nothing has been lost, that this is a great platform for education. I am sure if we could have a bigger dormitory — there would be more foreign students. — Tell me, how do they communicate with their Belarusian peers? Do they socialize, or do they keep themselves to themselves? — No, they are as sociable as our students. People of art — wherever they are, they are all alike. As a rule, both artists and actors are always sociable and speak a lot. Although they understand well that one has to work hard and intently. This, by the way, is also a requirement of our Academy. After all, we don’t train artisans here. The tasks that we set require a high level of concentration, both strength and ability, as well as time. Young people are all the same. Especially since today’s youth have no language or linguistic problems.

беларусь. belarus 2020

One’s own way

If he is out of a creative process, the colleagues will not understand this person. But I don’t do creative work to please my staff. It’s just my creative need. — And how would you characterize this year’s graduates? — Every year they are different. There are wonderful graduates from the theatre faculty. I believe that the performance “Quiet Flows the Don” in the Belarusian language is a significant achievement of our theatre school. There were interesting works at the faculty of screen arts. I can sincerely say that every year it is more and more interesting. Although there was concern for everyone: how will the pandemic affect the performance, will it cause any damage to the graduation works? But I want to say: we didn’t notice it. On the contrary, at the Department of Graphic Arts, for example, there were simply stunning works. As for the monumental department, a feature of recent years was very vivid: most of the works were aimed at decorating the Academy itself. Over the last three years we have significantly changed the sterile look of the head office. After the renovation, we have transformed the local environment into what is needed to educate artists and actors, directors and operators. We have saturated it with aesthetic objects — paintings, complex technological materials. These are stained-glass windows and mosaics. And there are also hostels, which are also interestingly decorated. I will take the liberty of saying that no hostel in the city has such artefacts as ours. However, we have experience of fulfilling orders for other regions of Belarus. For example, in one of the churches in the Bykhov District of the Mogilev Region, Anton Bielsky painted more than

беларусь. belarus 2020

800 square metres as his graduation work. As a result, he received a special prize from the President. In the Volozhin District, Minsk Region, the mosaic altar for the Orthodox church was made by Polina Omelyanovich. She was also awarded the special prize of the President of Belarus. But for the last two years we have been focusing more on the Academy itself. Not for advertising, although there are people who ask us to organize excursions. But we are doing something for ourselves, not for this purpose. Because to train specialists means to us to educate them. And how can we educate them? With the help of books, by personal example. As well as by showing the power of spirit, the revolution of creativity that reflects the time of this generation. And with their attitude to work, our students prove that they have something to protect in terms of their spirituality, their development. Their words “We were doing it, we did it, we have left it!” I believe, are the best result of our educational work. — What hopes does the Academy have connected with the latest admissions campaign? — There are two important events in the calendar year: intake and graduation. Everything else is a daily job. Graduation is the result of our work: educational, scientific, methodological and creative. Intake is like a great sacrament when we expect the talented, bright, those who will shine in the skyline of art and culture not only in Belarus. This is what we always want. But there are certain conditions for the Academy admis-

sion campaign, i. e. everyone should have equal rights, nothing should prevent anyone from manifesting oneself. You know, almost everyone who applies is convinced that this is their calling in life. Time will show. — Do you have any time left for your creativity? — Yes, I do. In the evenings. A day consists of 24 hours. At work, I do my work. I don’t do creative work, but I think. I think about it for a second, a minute, at lunchtime. Life forces me to do more creative work on holiday, at weekends and late at night. And without it, I think the head of the Academy has nothing to do in it. If he is out of a creative process, the colleagues will not understand this person. But I don’t do creative work to please my staff. It’s just my creative need. — If it’s not a secret, are you working on some art project now? — Yes. It’s a theoretical project. I have several books that have a significant encyclopaedic part in addition to their scientific component. Now, or rather the last two years, I have been working on a manuscript which is theoretical in nature. I hope that it will have been completed by the end of this year. It is a very impressive manuscript in volume, 300 pages long, if not more. I guess I have already reached the age when I can afford to share my thoughts. I don’t know what critics will say. To be concluded. By Veniamin Mikheyev. Photo by the author.

Tatiana Storozhenko

September morning in Minsk

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