Belarus (magazine #1 2019) by BELARUS Magazine

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No. 01 (1024), 2019 Беларусь. Belarus

belarus Politics. Economy. Culture

ISSN 2415-394X

GOOD MOOD HOLIDAY

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 ГАЗЕТА З БЕЛАРУСІ

ГОЛАС РАДЗІМЫ Голас Радзімы панядзелак, 14 студзеня, 2019

ВЫДАЕЦЦА З 1955 ГОДА ●

● № 01 (3589) ●

● ПАНЯДЗЕЛАК, 14 СТУДЗЕНЯ, 2019

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І цяпер, ран б ачв в4геа ш дак н урюы мсыабрмаз нЛас аядзея:пле 70-гадовы юбілей адзначыў вяддо окі, эн імна арц мы г т свае ю цыю а . пад яд я ціднзайЗямлёю ,рэ яц нкапа ру оўнтаарныч ня і,Ма рахо НЕ ьнай ітэт ліст йце энт, эгнам о у,я тыфаынмая леа ы1 (з шті бв аенн, саарбта ок ць ыхл ым,шоукДаш ацоўпарлэіна тэ ара м юр н”ыя пазаэзід імі р уктлу Уп чы ск нва чба аа пдзіміртаыМі б фекпе н рцбыя даа са“Свя ” Ула на калаевіча шмат ведаю, мастак, педагог, кіраўнік Саю чыў:“Трэбажтро ук ў св ўры дзіл СКА кул па апа ў. я,шчэн зеч ытмац р язяцтьыч пр аххіад д ба аніграя раемм экс ма ыласрту тры у цапе э р вродачлы Пр сійск тве, ыве одн сімт др Л суМ лісел Цяг так і ах,н есн на”, і”, а , вак есні “Б лкісалніыза гал ма лючы аё ра кій) аўг ўхо ьтур ахо ўніад га ды ньан еа руслюн я патаў, пры Улуачріу заСло ачым не толь ш Бе а ося кеіл святочных. ках дзяі кло беларусаў Дону, які родамцзі Парлес ндай,чымяўда чы аек н чы тв ад аспа я мРасраіі дс віннрадБаць ір цаўкаў ніксГіыомяў ама саш кіх амго матэ быў х,та тэат такс ль ар наай цьіпйбнолтьычас. кас2ф кла ват кул чы тэры цьб шэн адна орад дзе1 най с кіх ліцм йсреўжо,якка ан тэасткрл лоўцей”. ра дам ў ла 1Мі сдзіўд яе з усне“Хай нав ыпа лізяезай р лУадкназнарэ ры на лі, аевіч акцый алюякся.Аякжа:нано мір ц кза ла ьт у шаван цэр Гал апісасунпУла аой надызі звныаевін Ма ны“ яльн елар не. А гало зеП 3й кім а алпаалаар уюсмы плнеатўэнты карб ашт ыяль юстэ цахі льна а В аб адзя іў А вып мае об л “ р ч і ў С т в ц з і Д к н э н л о ь а ч а цранага ім ы л хо ждоовыюбілей...Ястарзаўся,як . васттво таВа аюнымі мас Іван Ждановіч лепшыямары—і я шынай пжуць,і70га н враюцц л ла і Б вят ай уск ян снап орт а жа збы кір і тн акнамітно й якд овы крэс спяД яліодвзіанца за п зель д абкеа евнічо,кн,Ів к н ены чныя ў”м меся ая с ку,б эат г арус айны ым ІМ ця в— ка рад , ма сп ўскі ожа кава культуі эле о та ры т мог,ува а ссоьбуіцьукарцінеўласнагажыц ас кілеп ачюцьсваецёп д р а ткнцнеатвор оў ганаДо агаяаб’яд уц х Рас і т Зы ілыяаб наны цраскпрыва і ач г— дым ы шы да азтм уўс дка сц елА асц і га па топ лУарлувана рц лімк ыяаб пая выр скл усв адчы на Цэ амад ў Л і П ярод о ачраам. эІв спа іс не фэст й Бу ннеў рна мент кое: Ірк ам ”ў адк ўнгалўе ш е атоўнцыя ўрокі, якія атрымаў ка ед і… год — ў,ш атвсяцаўігнодддзя!” а ня“На кКі.ХІІ—ХХІста дзе”імя ВіншуемрамУла дзімобірлааіяБМі крчалаеўвіча! шыяо небасхілы дзе тыя каш нт вагуа дчы мат )”у дсл го й не Ф ерчад тав но зі Да аст Т русы сы, бы: адва й“К на р , а ПКБ М. і2н д зіс ц ац с фі ў,іп адДзьаў эст н во нава ю, Р а э в уск су а В амодоў лі у насццюна а абе падк іім ўг ава ыяр ,д нац вёнзудзяч а цу з на д А Дзякуемняму лісьц іс іхбеьларускіхнастаўнікаў— пріадсва ай ную ыт пра ат за плён кое Хто ныч рыял эпр ўска арік пад асіл цн Даўг аў ы, рыпсісаў:“Са та :Ген таў, гаўп адк лар рэ аецу ў Сдтаятн тэр лаўЦ гад цк ел ар ы в рап асн у ад ліз ук ыва ыя ышы сак эзе й (Б оны р ал ь п р ы а т іл с б я ш Б я ку мно с с о п ў ы іл ь а в у ч шайГуга за г ія доб р ыя спра в ы, наепа ж а д ан н ено в а г адзе с я ц і г од д зя,бо нашвы п ускбыўуда л ё к ім1966м,уГоц б а л н с н безетай, Ір н е з л р кі ск ўп к п а куф тв ы, ал ты м у яш ав на ➔в яр цца тве ыдз ўву се ыя т обу ідэнт юсу дп дл ер ад айг ер ст лару ірав “Узск ай іў а Мар Амб ілса ны атт дсла чэ ецтв й кул таты удс ьн я аўсяржэд ра, орны іль—амальста , узвад с леік ц шко ан на і з робіцае ў умц а Баць кай зна а б што Салічгорскага раёна. з аміу ў імя а ск а анпаеряжы к няй а к . ад д квуякгод ьту ўны ус 25 вгаод задзя:ця жа хку ысяч ўскі не ч а. па яс нян ыя ом раб а а і Прэ анов ц ыю “Шт упра а шм сіхп ант ь—у ельс адп оны чы рад шын й ым уль ’ядна овіч сада Над й рн каз казадзе ар о -асгтванаву анка к і тоў атп а ролява ц ы чны на ін ўя ско ам ай ды гадобмапа бу дас ткоў ныяп фэс уў, вяд нпы, еж скпецьнетоль ул на ” ва т куріма ль , ві р Б Кеаннкаедзя цш ат па ер яМіжтыміпас ел каўшкчы ай рац ясскай вал рб е сяць.Трэ дра.аю ду ”рас л і е р ч ы ю е л о ш ц Б а в т, ь го н м й н т Б н за п а Д ю у з р ў е в я а с в ы д я т Я р г ы іБ ую аю м ў ь ц ра чы М біць,алежідзвекні а “Б эц ты ел іліг а то у” ую ых ур хгаіпад д жы.ваць,зна ігл а аг туру.Іўтымшэ е ыневы н сце ўн дум нік зямлібе куюкуль люн кізра в аходазіцьвый лэ амя аз лаўрлус нт ч е с ыў ва сёрйых е т аз ув уюп нмашнкам стац ліза ы.цАьп талі гож кахп Іця ітэце спа аўу омей Л іка ыІ ста йн з’бяольшмаш ур ініст Ган лпаарус сім удсл ешм ні— арус рым такс та нн вя лару рол ы ідэ р мыхцяж аў ць тн аб а рацгыунай у ект,якнам з ыкіхсітуапцыях—аненыць, р ар сп пкрізбор эа р ўса ль га рш таваць:упра дар ярг а Л нік“Мая нуыпра эз ма учыў рцаыбе на вал аўск атлі паг і ды кіз ама пе кага ярну лагіч лк ам ны рП ы кір ож і р сфе р” га ачал разм хф аБе ер,я яхо ў Бе атвіі е, па лікай скаг ю Сі, р эчы,сла но в Утласотвы Пр а кадлядзя о тыя ата Му м расмійскабе ы скардзіцца на в гэ падцаяец ла не цей“По ф рэ н іПры л цяжкасці. кДа е зей Упдяць”іфан — сці,—аў б іфэ кіяв лядзі зам роз інцс а, з— ў до ўЦ ы адзі йгра вую л ару .АМшыр пра а арм ла эк “Б дн ы умк у, н іны этай кад о Пр мі авека ов ы тазд ару кір чы кМ арус ц ю окж г м а д дры ў баць кон зель скай дсонубудущего”. а афіцэрам, атм Св ч елар ст— ідэа цех еж рэ с іхэт кадрсавым м э ы ка .З быў аўцый“Изба ж мой ату гружениевбез к м сяб бр а ыдзі атўурн г уль эыхтра ст гос наа рэшчас амымк іро ней д таўу “А ав іко оўч ыю сул ніка , як ую іра атай дзей і адз ініст нне тона: у Ра Апе й асф ятка ытае уск гэт сюж аця с тв ч нго р у вед к, су біц , тонйе т алегэ ц т.абацька—незГоц й таакудратень”,ство ыпаіні вслей радНоваымгодамзямлякпа н дзя ем ”. Яш рнаая ты ш аў. ка,тамумя твяаты в о раек цы ў,ш ом ха На ых аба нках гру друж еры ванн мна ай ід аадзі еты. ь ➔ сііўДсаве ўіга яцяпўзнаг Маке —за асць начы эр на езф ае: б прая ццламіак ,імакмо нана ры муссаўДо к таўСа мы н н а, зеюл заабе лы вяд аю аруапрўжовот ў е п а с е п с а б л б в о д сі т ы в іс л а р ліў с язна м іпры е м н айна в і н ою:штостаў ч ымбыў:Ер в ічПа в елІва п С о я п ы т а в н т с к а с п э х р о е т а ы р т . н ы о а і р д н ы п р ап с а о хр в кі та аў так та эта аа п са га э мУ гав о “ ікГ цей рн род ы, се ад ай нт з Мін ўнліц вы ала мяч аг ер р. гарўам дванаДо ка гтао л у Амб дпіс Уз ф ач ў ўж ы віч.Зім,ка на лігій люд аб’я агул быв цеМ ыч ш м ую ні ліпашчырас о лякхаебы аднымзпе ад есне.леЯшчэ лцаі,уся енцаўкон 4 каў і ст на адў п112й пілож э курсу“Россий Ж а а сам ме іўва ар ата кол аен шко цо ацеоўРас ам д зі пр ць л ымі шлі аінш куцк ст эх чых в ы абеы не гаст ных зей, дно ьнай аецц ЗС. тат кал ц ю — ое свят каш віч сеНерал стув але“ анн сам ы г р ны м. літаратурную му в ан у ана ннДыплом а маста гаеіўдзяч йка — р валаа,алежяця а ў творчасць так скаялитературнаяпремия2018”уна перямузамно д і нн ат п не ўв а на у тпоў но е м ю ст е ра узвя за ь на , лас р ах ратадзін А , з татк ск ашч часн пра ын ьуІ ельг хто У е Р ар і яў ус ог за ае па а ў Гр цхэлроам, да тоа рэч кі д н зенаба тал нага тала зды ч ыць ўза л ар у асд да б ою об фе . П шство у нацыі“Малаяпрозаа”.Пратоесвед а од пц сутн роі р сп аз ртае хтоз 5га і,то — Укл ”. уйг ляда леж роз вагі сіі ўл няцайры с ны. арыІ дзед мой быў кадравымлафі нЖ , сустраэнныіму2007го с і,якіязеўлас ля кон так му” вак са йв хс ня зе уз ас озн на .М ды кл е бе внаіе гур вы юч ісшто ен — беларус з вёскі Камень, ен ў, на ны айд май ш Іва а стэр Ргаастіка а нўзо ляток П н ён ы ло сам уцка озны ав ан елТА ую т ап нпад а п в асвет н і к аКі р ы л ыТу р аў с ка г а.(Большпра твор ч юна а дып л ом3йсту п е н і,ме д аль“Зазаслуги . м а л ц с н с д с р а ў я к ы а м п н р о ж я а а с д э а а с к ь г у э уст ль ма ць рк ае а у а аг а т йк кс і,і па я па рн ацы д іх ы вял пе ддапыцхл За цца, Ірк ўр аб уд ізБ інс к піс Бе ацы ікш ннеў н ууюнат— і зе Пінскам,дзеяінарадзіўся”. ажы ада аг а р еэкс с ра азок”. ы м ат лар.ускайназ рудзіміра вобластикуль ых ава ств ар ыю аткахгоУла ю — з ы раЛ цаазбе турыиискусства”—яны ба мплевай“Аб г ад яль ару ож нов а М лар у На матг сп л ав а То цці 1953 аё н ічк ай амаг дзей юанс ,ме ўП ж год в ае сі кт алёт кале адамсанд атар баг гіён а я ала яакцыі літаратур ва няц ко Бел сьм э й корм ро —пе а цэвіча “Жывапіс белыхнда Намічытачамгазетыпом ц аэкс Бан далсі ла нырз на зы лар у прае ам а і ал што лі т ап як ерн м ан рэд а.га ча ы:рог”, йм інкул сі па цыян адов ісЮ з і э ва за сл жнай пачн сва год (нар вёск ае с , іхп ы, а к алас й і ў лар у яшч оў, Сну і ліс іАл Губ ель аг ар гато ым Бе выя дас дам ьт с б зеў ка сопіса е“Российский а ай НЕ я а) каваа дыцыі2018УладзіміраБан ліся леятась у двух колокол”. Па гэптоай т мажрахьга в а д емла імшдру яго цавэавмічаўБе Бе сць ктар у д і Был л янс ры льн сц ов уры прав льна сум СК ні эльм урна омсі апарозн ежн сар адск іў п но ер ы аве дзін е ар ус ам, ый в ійс к чы, е мн с кія дЦыэцтаыяна лях пэўн зіпўе е А й ы , ыан а п с н э та нампе русь.Першая—зі к с ьчы ка ня). х тлумачыў творца,зацяго м рпа ар” од ла тра н аў. яяі16жніў хларугла бр Саю ах, алрісу т дметуз азе, ыд лі.С адыхты:31лі сф м ь мовая(“Экс ы асц хо МЗ хЮ к сн ай і яр э Бел ч ан , д ра стр а ўза с ій еў а ад ка х— ц ыа,вя лпс гр іўу ац кім кой” у ф мет зік ым у ны о ам. ена р ждёа іс лаў заБ гнмаа — мб ай случікааягра Бацькаўшчы н тэрнацыянальны Саюйз,эк яў,н рган С, а НЕ ам еркая шы ліўс энта Леў н ага урсы асу к і в йра ей Л ліз не 1цц мпеад узрць а ыкю ам стрэ д зіЯкмнепа сц окзІн до , ш ота н к анпу”,14.03.2018),зад ікайапспры ліз — ш іі р с у д С я ф а а ц ы д іс н а в с п у б ка х ў 1 ў К а т п м о т ь с р ля эзід еем л ізар рэс с ян азчы цца ярг айш іж ч л алячан пра акхаў. а кам:“На ерт ра у ак А ьмру я “с пісь іс к ен цэрваічаўсі д дзімаіцрцаБан ны цаУла адвымпо падзагаламоў аз фо ні і а ц і. татктіпратое,дзе азд ме“ осё л ту лы ьб ай ісям енму нацьньемем ў С пр отм а п аў. д ав лад сам , а Як цую Пр ярг , ве н ыя р ыл а пак ухаю вняд оітаабр. Да цк йма аб Зв м ом плібе эк тха,воб лео п апнрандаз ымліпазі наік я ме Не ан етроў о а с ы ы р е а ы іт . С т д а л а р ус к айкуль т у р ы—гэ н гованд і к ізДо н апра е ха в ых к а т о р ыязбе л а р ус к іхпатэ м а т ы ц ы н а я п ч е к т а а а р н у д ь е 3 х е а х а ц х , т сн аціц р. аэт а тво арка з н аг ро гав ыц кр зна ,ш аз в сц каў зда ав “ ш зУ рш ар су м сал ож , у ам ь шыэтае? 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contents

Беларусь. Belarus Social and political magazine

Eternal values of nation

№ 1 (1024), January, 2019 Published since 1930 Founders: Zviazda Publishing House editorialand-publishing establishment Editor-in-Chief: Viktor Kharkov Executive Secretary: Valentina Zhdanovich

4 8

Meetings that are remembered for long

...He was so encouraged by Belarusian poetry that he had already prepared translation into the native language of a book with works of the best in his view masters of Belarusian belles-lettres

Participants of the Christmas tournament of Hockey Amateurs for the prize of the President of Belarus held a charity event in the orphanage “Family”

More than books

14 10

Ball as a gift Chic dresses, strict costumes — so much beauty saw the Palace of Independence at the New Year’s ball for young people! They were preparing for a long time: rehear sed and picked up dresses, admitted students and senior pupils, who were invited to this social event

Knowledge on shelf This is not the first time that the publishing house “Mastatskaya litaratura” participated in the 26th Minsk International Exhibition Fair.

Valery Turgay, guest from Chuvashia

“Molodaya Gvardiya” is looking for Belarusian authors The oldest in the post-Soviet states publishing house “Molodaya Gvardiya” prepares to take part in the 26th Minsk International Book Exhibition Fair, which will be held on February 28 — March 4, 2019

The Holy Scriptures The humankind still continues to open the Bible; no wonder that it was called a “living book”.

26 “Culture is a vital need for each of us”

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. www.zviazda.by E-mail: belarus.mag@mail.ru Subscription index — 74977 Registration Certificate No. 8 issued on 16.07.2018, by the Information Ministry of the Republic of Belarus Design and Layout by Tatiana Storozhenko Liubou Malyshava Proof-reader Alisa Gyunger Беларусь. Belarus is published in Belarusian, English and Chinese. 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. Signed for printing on 18.01.2019 Offset printing. Coated paper. Format 60х84 1⁄8. Conventional printed sheets 6,51 Accounting published sheets 7,63 Total circulation — 1648

copies (790— in English)

Order Divimax JSC Licence No. 02330/53, as of 14.02.2014 220007 Minsk, Belarus, 125 Aerodromnaya Street

Cover designed by Liubou Malyshava

беларусь. belarus 2019

more in the issue 1 2

беларусь. belarus 2018 2019

33 Ni hao, friends! 34

“Red” tourism, nature and chocolate Tourists from the Celestial Empire do not listen much and take a lot of pictures. They are interested in our nature, communist past, flax and chocolate. The Chinese are used to have channels in their native language and at least one person in a hotel who speaks Chinese in the country they visit.

Mikhail Kolochinsky headed the magazine “Belarus” almost 20 years and also participated in the work of the XXVI session of the UN as the chief editor

Tickets for Lesik Ticketpro official ticket operator of the Games, started offline ticket sales.

It was’t boring! “Music has incredible magical power...” It is difficult to disagree with opinion of the French writer Gaston Leroux. And it was possible to make sure that these words are correct in the Big Ball at the Bolshoi Theater, which traditionally took place on the night of the Old New Year

Patterns on white

Poet, colleague, citizen

Our Masha Maria Vasilevich from Belarus was recognized as the most beautiful girl of Europe

Come in, you are talented! At the end of 2018 there was opened one more cultural space in Minsk. At the point of the 15th anniversary creative team and students of the production center “Spamash” received a new multifunctional house — a modern four-story building in the historical part of Minsk.

At Home Among Friends

panorama

`` First place in trust rating of Russians

`` Both for collection and as a gift

The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko enjoys the greatest confidence of Russians among the leaders of all CIS countries according to the opinion poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM). Results of sociological survey were recently presented on press-conference in Moscow.

National Bank will mint 14 commemorative coins in 2019

he list of commemorative coins to be minted in the coming year was approved by the resolution of the National Bank’s Board. Traditionally, sport coins are popular in Belarus and abroad. Specially for the 2nd European Games, which will be hosted by Belarus in 2019, the National Bank will mint commemorative coins “The 2nd European Games 2019. Minsk”. Taking into account the achievements of the Belarusian masters of tennis, coins “Summer sports. Tennis” will be also minted. Commemorative coin “The world through children's eyes. 2018”

lexander Lukashenko took first place in the trust rating of Russians. According to the survey 65% of respondents share this viewpoint. The second place in the rating was taken by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev: 49% of Russians supported him. Next come the leaders of Azerbaijan (14%), Armenia (8%) and Moldova (7%). The leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Georgia received less than 4%. VCIOM (Russian Public Opinion Research Center) opinion poll was conducted in the form of a telephone interview. In total 1,600 respondents were interviewed on a random all-Russian sample.

It has become a tradition to mint coins dedicated to the bird of the year, which is determined by the public association “Protection of Birds of the Fatherland”. In 2019, the greater spotted eagle has been chosen as such bird. A coin “Greater spotted eagle” will be the 13th in the series of commemorative coins “Bird of the Year”. Mint of environmental coins will also be continued with the mint of commemorative coins “Reserve “Zvanets” in the series “Belarus Reserves”. The segment of commemorative coins, which are of interest not only to collectors, but also are a good gift, is planned to be complemented with a commemorative coin “Saint’s day” dedicated to name days.

By Olga Korneeva

By Svetlana Savelyeva

`` “And who goes there...”

Exhibition dedicated to Yanka Kupala is opened in Argentina

he story of Belarusian literature classic will be told across the ocean. The exhibition aptly titled “I am called just Yanka Kupala” was organized by the Belarusian Embassy in Argentina. It will be held all over the country in Diaspora clubs. More than a hundred people gathered for the opening at the National Congress; many of them being grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those Belarusians who once went abroad long ago. Visitors of the exhibition could not only familiarize themselves with the poet’s biography, but they could also read his poems (translated into Spanish) in order to experience the genius of an author who could describe a portrait of an entire nation with words. Vladimir Astapenko, the ambassador of Belarus, emphasized the imporPHOTO OF belarusian EMBASSY IN ARGENTINA

tance of Yanka Kupala’s contributions in formation of Belarusian identity and development of the national state. Elena Leshkovich, director of the Yanka Kupala State Literary Museum, noted that the poet’s heritage has received wide international recognition and still remains relevant to the day. By Pavel Mironov

беларусь. belarus 2019 2018

pirituality

Eternal values of nation President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko presented awards “For Spiritual Revival” and special prizes to cultural, artistic and sports figures

On Christmas days, the halls of the Palace of the Republic are always filled with a special aura of goodness and mercy. It can’t be described in words, but you almost feel it physically, when the New Year holidays are held for children and you are surrounded by happy faces and children’s laugh, and a little later, when the laureates of the prize “For Spiritual Revival”, special prizes for artists and cultural figures and the prize “Belarusian Sports Olympus” are honored. For more than twenty years now, the country has been marking the achievements of those whose lives and work

беларусь. belarus 2019

are permeated by ideas of humanism. And every year the President personally presents awards. This is a special symbolism. Any country is strong with its traditions and spiritual values. It’s what makes up moral foundation of the nation. And without which peace and tranquility in society are impossible. During its long history, the Belarusian people managed to preserve their best qualities, reverential attitude to their origins, respect for their past, faith in the present and the future. It is symbolic that Alexander Lukashenko delivered his address to the laureates

and guests of the ceremony in Belarusian and Russian. This reflects the spirit and essence of the peaceful and tolerant nature of Belarus. Opening the ceremony, the President noted that this gala night occupies a special place among the New Year holidays. Its heroes are people who are united by a noble desire to make the world kinder and more beautiful. According to the President, art, which was born on the Belarusian land, has always had a creative character. Therefore, rich heritage of our ancestors glorifies Belarus today. The names of many educators, artists,

politicians and scientists took place of honour on the pages of the world history. And we are proud of our history and land — the birthplace of famous people, our compatriots. We know our roots, respect traditions. We can easily accept new things — most important, that it does not contradict our laws and values. In conditions when the world loses its spiritual focuses, we strive to maintain inner purity. I would like to remind you that in 2018 four prizes “For Spiritual Revival” were awarded. Among the awarded — the author’s collective consisting of Yulia Bykova and Evgeny Oleynik for the embodiment of the theme of the small motherland in the modern variety art. The prize was awarded to the teams of the Orthodox and Catholic Churches of our country for the translation of the New Testament books into Belarusian. The staff of the Belarusian Children’s Hospice was awarded for its active work in the humanitarian sphere, promotion of ideas of humanity and mercy, and for its significant contribution to creation of the national system of children’s palliative care. The award was also presented to the staff of Vesnovsky boarding school for children with special needs. In addition, Alexander Lukashenko presented nine special awards to artists and cultural figures. In particular, one of them received a song and dance ensemble of the Armed Forces, which these days

celebrates its 80th anniversary. Awarding diplomas and badges, the President noted: Today we honor people with a big heart who give their love, attention and warmth to children with a difficult fate. We award the ministers of the Church who gave the New Testament a new sound in the Belarusian language. We thank the teams that have preserved our original culture. Authors and performers who glorify their favorite land in their work. We note all the talented culture figures whose projects have been recognized as the best. On the eve of the ceremony, the names of those who obeyed “Belarusian Sports Olympus”

pirituality

the state is you, our people, true patriots of our Motherland, who with own talent, creativity and diligence increase its fame, inspire compatriots to good deeds. The President awarded diplomas to the best of the best, an orchestra played and the audience. At some point, I thought: the people who came to the stage of the Palace of the Republic this evening are truly unique. They’re all different, but they’re all very similar at the same time. Because they perform a special mission. They work to make the world a better place and a brighter place. They make a real spiritual feat, showing a vivid example of true patriotism and national con-

But the main value of the state is you, our people, true patriots of our Motherland, who with own talent, creativity and diligence increase its fame, inspire compatriots to good deeds became known. According to Alexander Lukashenko, this prize has been awarded to courageous, strong-willed people who have dedicated their lives to high achievements in the national sport. Belarusian women also deserve admiration, as well as their beauty and spirituality, which have gained international recognition. — We will always treat our cultural heritage with care, — emphasized the President. — But the main value of

sciousness. And that, no doubt, deserves a high reward. A common gift for the winners and guests of the ceremony was a festive concert program “Christmas. Motherland. Revival”. One of the musical numbers was performed by Yuliya Bykova, the winner of the prize “For Spiritual Revival”. Yuliya was accompanied by Nikolay Lukashenko together with his teacher Elena Ostashkina-Myslivchik. By Evgeny Kononovich

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ood tradition

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The 15th Christmas International Tournament of Hockey Amateurs for the Prize of the President was held in Minsk. The Belarusian team celebrated the victory for the twelfth time in the history of the tournament.

Rich in impressions tournament

ifteen years ago, inviting hockey lovers and veterans to Minsk for Christmas, the organizers of the tournament for the prize of the President spoke about the beginning of a good tradition. So it happened. And the tribunes of “ChizhovkaArena” are again sold out, and on the ice are those who can be called hockey stars. Participants and winners of the Olympics and World Championships. Players who have spent more than one season in the NHL and KHL. Names familiar to many generations of fans. And also

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G the participants of the tournament “Golden Puck”, who are just starting their way in the sport. In this combination of interests and destinies lies the main peculiarity of the Christmas tournament, which is absolutely not by chance called the informal world championship among hockey fans. As in previous years, the President addressed the participants and guests of the competition. He reminded that the first match of the Christmas tournament took place fifteen years ago: — This tournament is unique. It clearly demonstrates that sport unites peoples, despite political crises and disagreements. But the main thing is that Minsk ice gathers together real men, devoted to hockey, not only with strong bodies, but also with a strong spirit, and also sincerely wishing to make the world a better place. The President noted that the current sports year is special for our country. Belarus hosts the 2nd European Games, and all of us are waiting for rich, bright events. But it will be in summer, but for now, all attention is to the Christmas ice hockey tournament. Moreover, the idea of holding it was immediately supported by many hockey fans in different countries. — Every year the geography of the participants of the tournament expands and there are more and more people who want to come to Belarus. And in order not to offend any of our friends, this time we even had to change the format of the competition. However, the Christmas tournament is not only uncompromising ice battles but also friendly communication. Sport is known to be the best form of public diplomacy. In this sense, the great New Year hockey in Minsk is a great opportunity to demonstrate Belarus to the whole world. Foreign guests can see and appreciate with their own eyes how our country lives. And they certainly will tell about it in their homeland. By Dmitry Kamashka

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Interview with tournament participants The 15th Christmas International Tournament of Hockey Amateur for the Prize of the President of Belarus is a sporting event. However, people are still in the center of plots of the battles unfolding on the ice. We can find a lot of valuable awards and big victories in the track record of almost every guest who came to Minsk. But at the same time, every match in Minsk was called special.

he former captain of Dinamo Minsk, Slovak Jozef Stümpel, was glad to be back in the thick of things: — For me participation in the Christmas tournament is a new experience: in Slovakia I have never played in such competitions. In previous years, I wanted to fly for the Christmas tournament in Minsk, but circumstances did not allow. I am glad that this year I managed to come here. Organization of the tournament is amazing, and I also really liked Chizhovka Arena. I haven’t been in Minsk for eight years, so I’ll say that the whole city has changed, became better. ergey Varlamov, who flew to Belarus as part of the debutant team — International Ice Hockey Federation team –before played in the NHL for Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues. After that, he was noticed in Dynamo Minsk. However, he aims for the Christmas tournament very seriously, not as an amateur. In my opinion, it is obvious that such competitions contribute to the popularization of hockey. People say, that tribunes here are always full. So, there is a chance that some of the guys

will be interested in hockey, and, perhaps, in the future will become great hockey players. I think this tournament is very interesting for fans: there are a lot of famous athletes in the teams! And what about the participants? — For us, the main thing is to have a good time, establish contacts, meet old friends. Yes, official meetings are important — almost all the leaders of the International Federation gather here. But I saw the composition of the Belarusian team — Sergey Stas, Oleg Antonenko… A lot of those with whom I once met on the ice! It was a pleasure to meet them. Including meeting on the ice. After all, the result itself is not the goal of such competitions. It is much more im-

portant to show beautiful hockey, to create a small show for the audience. So, by the way, when I was offered to join the IIHF national team, I immediately agreed. I’ve never had such opportunity before. I wasn’t invited. Although I play in the Ukrainian amateur league all the time, our team is regularly among the winners. Of course, here is a slightly different entourage and level. беларусь. belarus 2019

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Meetings that are remembered for long Participants of the Christmas Tournament of Hockey Amateurs for the Prize of the President of Belarus held a charity event in the orphanage “Family”

Such meetings are more important than any score on the board. Already for their sake, it was worth organizing a Christmas tournament 15 years ago, although the idea to combine a hockey festival with charity appeared only seven years ago. Since then, hockey players and organizers from the Presidential Sports Club and the Belarus Hockey Federation have visited more than 700 unparented boys and girls from Minsk, Radoshkovichi and Molodechno. This time the teams went to orphanage No. 7 “Family” in the capital. The day before participants of the event donated 32 thousand rubles. The director of the orphanage, Anzhelika Tuzova, enthusiastically tells us that they will equip a sensory room in the orphanage with these funds. This is a place where children can stay alone with their thoughts and hobbies. In the meantime, together with famous hockey players, who, in a cozy atmosphere, suddenly turned out to be quite homely and open, the children plunged into the plots of prepared fabulous quests. Representatives of the Baltic States and China, together with Alice, went to the Looking Glass, Finns and Slovaks became pirates of the Caribbean, the Balkans and guests from the United Arab Emirates turned into heroes of the “Red Riding Hood”, and the Swiss and the IIHF team enthusiastically helped the children to make Christmas decorations. According to the director of the ice hockey sector of the Italian Ice Sports Federation Tomaso Teofoli, none of the guests had expected such an adventure, but in the end, the surprise was a success.

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— I had no idea what was waiting for me at this tournament, but what I saw exceeded all expectations. You have a very beautiful country, everything is organized in the best way, and the tournament has an incredible atmosphere. We have already discussed with colleagues in the national team how well the fans support us during matches. And today’s event is just fantastic! Belarusian hockey players from the President’s team, their friends from Russia got “Harry Potter”. Sergey Stas, Maxim Slysh and their teammates studied the basics of magic with interest, and after that, they themselves answered a barrage of questions from little fans during tea drinking. How many laps should you run to start a warm-up? Did you get straight to the jaw? And with a puck? And who is the best in hockey? And how fast are you running? The guests, who played dozens of matches at the highest level, gladly indulged themselves in the memories: “It was so long ago …It seems that in another life.” Getting out from the table, Maxim Slysh explained: — For each of us, such meetings mean a lot. Believe me, when we chose who would go to the orphanage, everyone in our team volunteered. Many Belarusian hockey players and clubs are engaged in charity work without any special reason. Playing in various clubs, I myself have repeatedly been in orphanages and I know how important it is. I am sure both the children and we will also remember this meeting for a long time. By Dmitry Kamashka

Aleksey stolyarov

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Holiday comes to every heart “Our children” campaign brought together about 2400 children from all parts of the country for the New Year holiday. Chicly dressed girls and boys danced in a ring and watched a festive performance. The head of the state Alexander Lukashenko came to congratulate them. actively involved in the activities related to the Year of Small Motherland, did a lot of good things in their towns, villages, small villages to improve them, said Alexander Lukashenko. “You still have a lot of interesting and exciting life ahead of you,” — said the President to the little spectators. — There will always be people close to you, ready to lend a shoulder, to surround you with warmth and attention. And I really want you to understand the value of everything that fate gave you — life itself and independent country,

peaceful sky, good people who at the right time met and will meet constantly on your long journey”. Alexander Lukashenko wished everyone happy winter holidays and a happy New Year. In total, more than 15 thousand children are involved in “Our Children” holiday campaign. Orphaned children, cadets, children from refugee families, winners of Olympiads, creative competitions, sports competitions and others were invited to the main tree party. By Nadezhda Anisovich

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he President said that it is exciting to attend such events: “Nothing in life brings such joy as opportunity to give children a fairy tale, to see a smile and joy after what has been done in the eyes of children. For me, as President, this happiness is in the millions of children who live in our country”. Addressing the guys, the head of the state said: “You are the main asset of our Belarus. These aren’t just beautiful words. Behind those words there are sincere love, desire to care, desire to protect. These are natural emotions that our little and older children bring. Nothing is more important to me than your peaceful and happy childhood”. The President believes that child hood is lost when children live and see explosions from bombs and shells because of adult confusion. “So the main thing is a peaceful and happy childhood. And we, adults, should do everything to ensure that you have a peaceful childhood, then your children will have the same peaceful and happy childhood”, said the head of the state. It was pleasant to learn that small citizens of the country were

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osaic of holidays

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Chic dresses, strict costumes — so much beauty saw the Palace of Independence at the New Year’s ball for young people! They were preparing for a long time: rehearsed and picked up dresses, admitted students and senior pupils, who were invited to this social event. They have achieved outstanding progress in studies, creativity and sports, so they can already relax dancing and listening to music. The head of the state Alexander Lukashenko also took part in the ball. He congratulated girls and boys on New Year’s holidays and waltzed with Miss Belarus-2018, Miss Europe-2018 Maria Vasilevich under accompaniment of the Presidential Orchestra.

ball as a gift

lexander Lukashenko welcomed the participants of the ball: “I am happy to see you here — such young, inspired, very beautiful people. Thanks to you, this always strict hall of the Palace of Independence has become unofficial today, so beautiful and solemn.” He emphasized that such New Year’s ball in the classic representation took place for the first time. “In the old days, such social events were almost the only place for young people to communicate. Today there are enough such places”, the President said, referring to the social networks as well. But he pointed out that it is possible to

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truly recognize a person only by looking into his eyes. “I hope very much that you will find good reliable friends here, and it will be the beginning of a good tradition of sovereign and independent Belarus”, concluded the President. Girls and boys were gathered at the Palace not by chance or luck: this ball is a gift for diligence, hard work and initiative. “You are the most active and progressive part of our population. We don’t always understand each other, I mean, we — power and you — young people. It is understandable. I’d say it’s in the classic style of interaction between elders and juniors, fathers and children, and so on. In general, and this is the main thing, we are looking in one direction — future of our Belarus. I say it with absolute confidence, because this year I

talked a lot with young people”, said Alexander Lukashenko and added that all meetings with young people met his expectations. “You understand that success is, first of all, a job, knowledge of what you want from life”, said the head of the state. He wished all those who were present and their counterparts to put before themselves the most ambitious goals. “And you will definitely achieve them”, said Alexander Lukashenko. He noted that everything is open to young people, but he reminded that they are not expected anywhere more than at home. The President congratulated everyone on the New Year. Traditionally, the ball was opened with a polonaise. By Nadezhda Anisovich

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Minsk Christmas Tree is one of the best in Europe

The original Christmas tree, which was installed next to the capital’s Sports Palace last year, was appreciated by citizens and tourists of the city alike. Euronews TV included it in the list of the most beautiful Christmas trees in all of Europe. The highly ranked tree is made of rings covered with silver garlands and flashlights. Other Christmas trees to be ranked among the best alongside the one in Minsk include trees in Berlin, Paris, Prague, Budapest, and Dortmund!

osaic of holidays

In a bright holiday atmosphere

The residence of Ded Moroz (Father Frost) in Belovezhskaya Pushcha became a real New Year brand of Belarus The residence of Belarusian Ded Moroz (Father Frost) in Belovezhskaya Pushcha has become a real New Year brand of our country. About six-seven thousand tourists came here every day expecting the most beloved and long-awaited holidays. In total, over the winter there up to 100 thousand people visit the residence. Nina Bogush, Deputy Director General for Tourism of the National Park “Belovezhskaya Pushcha”, told about this in the press center of BelTA. People come to visit Ded Moroz for a good mood and with faith in a miracle. This year 330 thousand tourists visited the national park, more than 33 thousand of which were foreigners from more than a hundred states. The leaders are tourists from Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Latvia, and Lithuania. Also, people come to visit Ded Moroz from more exotic countries. — Burkina Faso was the 100th country, the 101th country — Myanmar, — clarified Nina Bogush. — Many guests from far abroad come to Belarus for the first time, it is interesting for them to see how we live. Meanwhile, the owner of the residence, Belarusian Ded Moroz, told how to celebrate the New Year in a right way: — This is a family holiday. The more relatives and friends at the table will be gathered on New Year’s Eve, the more joy there will be, the holiday will be remembered more, and there will be more opportunities to wish each other everything good, happi ne ss

and health. I think this is the most important thing. Kindness, mutual understanding, a feeling of joy are needed, and the rest will follow by itself. You should think about the good and believe in the good — this is the first thing for the New Year holidays to be held at a high level. Each year, Belarusian Ded Moroz gets about 17 thousand letters. — Their flow increases on the New Year eve. Both adults and children write letters to Ded Moroz. Letters are sent from neighboring countries and from far abroad. There are letters in Chinese, Japanese, — said our Ded Moroz. Of course, our Ded Moroz meets with his colleagues from other countries — Ded Moroz from Veliky Ustyug, Finnish Joulupukki. He visited Karelian Pakkaine, Buryat Sagan Ubugun, and Tatar Kysh Babai. Last year, a memorial sign to the New Year was opened in the residence of Belarusian Ded Moroz. The forged composition was installed next to the main tree of the estate. The memorial sign is a clock face, showing two minutes before the New Year. Nearby are the main attributes of Ded Moroz — boots, staff, mitten, and the bag with gifts. The opening of the new art object is timed to the 15th anniversary of the residence of the winter wizard.

By Natalya Lubnevskaya

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estival

What are they talking about on “The Heveans”? Love, kindness and mercy. This is the keynote idea of the 5th International Christmas Festival of Batleyka and Puppet Theaters “The Heavens”, which took place in the educational center of the capital St. Elisabeth Convent. Its guests and participants are theatre groups from different countries of the world, spectators are children and adults who have kept the warm light of childhood inside.

Alexander Zhdanovich, theater and film actor, artdirector of the festival "The Heavens"

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nd to those who, for compelling reasons, did not come to the festival, the actors, funny clowns and puppet characters, and even those who did not participate in the competition program, came themselves — to hospitals, boarding schools, nursing homes — and brought along with fairytale performances feeling of a holiday… Theatres from five countries — Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia and Lithuania — presented their performances to the jury and public. On the Belarusian side, for example, were Minsk Puppet Theatre “Divo”, Children’s Drama Group “Zharontsy” from Rakovsky center of folk art and Family Theater of Alexander and Larisa Bytsko from the village of Stoyla of the Brest region. By the way, this creative family participated in the competition not for the first time. This year it brought the play “Carols in Polesie” in the Western-Palessian dialect. Literary salons and creative meetings, master classes on Belarusian dances and games, straw weaving, Christmas angels making and many other entertainments were also in the program. In total, the organizers received 40 applications from those wishing to present their vision of batleyka traditions and puppet art. Among the appli-

F cants were representatives of Finland, Italy, Spain, UK, Israel. “But we did not pursue quantity, — emphasized the artistic director of the festival “The Heavens”, theater and film actor Alexander Zhdanovich, — wanted to talk not about numbers, width of geography and other achievements, but about the fact that the festival has a special atmosphere of kindness, joy, feeling of Christmas, which we wanted to share with others, because the most important value in life is relationship between people. Our idea is to use little puppets to go a great way to God and glorify His birth”. It would seem that the plots of batleyka performances have well-defined frames — strict, and even canonical, they do not leave room for creative imagination. “Nevertheless, the participants from year to year find new perspectives in the classic theme”, — said the constant member of the jury of the festival theatrologist Ekaterina Eremina, junior researcher of the theatrical art department of the Center for Research of Belarusian Culture, Language and Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. — “Each performance was special in its own way, interesting in its artistic solution and even unique. And at the same time, they were all united by the common idea of how important it was to keep faith and kindness in their hearts, love to people. And

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regardless of whether the performance was in Russian, Belarusian or Ukrainian, the main thing is that all of them communicated the most important spiritual values to the audience in the language of art”. Dina Tytyuk, another member of the panel of judges, associate professor of the Variety Department of the University of Culture and Arts, professor of speech culture, added: “It would seem that today the crèche, such an anachronism, is very far from us, but it turned out that in some villages there are people who, without knowing the laws and canons of batleyka, comprehend it themselves”. In the same year “The Heavens” received many congratulations both official from the Ministry of Culture, Minsk City Executive Committee, and friendly from old and new partners and colleagues. Thus, actress Irina Vinogradova came from Germany and brought as a gift to the festival the puppet Felix, which, by the way, was born five years ago in St. Petersburg Puppet Fairytale Theater. Also, congratulations and gifts for the fifth anniversary of “The Heavens” were made by pupils of the kindergarten and school “Ikhvis” of St. Elisabeth Convent, participants of the public initiative “Inclusive House”, actress of the Belarusian State Puppet Theatre Yana Ageenko and many others. By Viktoriya Teleshuk

Each performance was remarkable

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More than books This is the main motto of the 26th Minsk International Book Exhibition Fair, which will be held in Minsk on February 6-10

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the exhibition discussed what kind of literature lacks reading public in different countries. It turned out that, Russians are waiting for new translations of works of Vladimir Korotkevich, and in Germany, they are ready to buy works of Vasil Bykov, and the diplomats would like to read “Pan Tadeush” by Adam Mickiewicz in English. International cooperation which was one of the main topics of the last year’s book forum is still the topic of the day. Thanks to such cooperation, we move forward in development of important moments that expand and enrich the cultural book space. — Please name the main figures to show the level of the exhibition, which has long become traditional.

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e talked to Igor Buzovsky, the Deputy Minister of Information, about the e x h i bit i on program, its guests and the main events of the large international book forum. — Igor Ivanovich, let’s start with personal impressions. We have seen how actively and enthusiastically creative teams of the Ukrainian diaspora participated in exhibitions in the past years. They performed on a large stand presented by our neighbours from Ukraine. Was the image of Belarus as a multinational country taken into account at drawing up of the program of the book exhibition fair? — Certainly! Historically Belarus is a hospitable country. Here one can get acquainted with culture and customs of many nations. Representatives of many nationalities live in peace and friendship. Their cultural diversity serves mutual enrichment. Program of the Minsk International Book Exhibition Fair is drawn up taking into account these messages. The Book Exhibition Fair opens the international calendar of book exhibitions and is a kind of report on the work of Belarusian book publishers over the past year. It is also as they say a time check for the future. For example, the previous year guests of

— Traditionally the Minsk International Book Exhibition Fair‑2019 will be held in the Administrative Complex at 14, Pobediteley Avenue. On the area of about 3,000 square meters over 300 exhibitors will present their exhibits. It is expected that this year the exhibition will be visited by about 59 thousand residents and guests of the capital. We also expect that interesting expositions will be presented by the USA, Russia, Kazakhstan, Germany, Poland, China. Of course, national exposition of the Republic of Belarus will also be a landmark. Representatives of more than 25 neighboring and far-abroad countries are expected to attend the event. These countries are Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, France, Sweden, and Egypt. — What do you think the main exhibition motto means: “More than a book”? — In order to solve the exhibition’s tasks of reading popularization, promotion of national book publishing and book sales, one needs to understand that time dictates new requirements for the organization of the book sphere. It is important not only to find the author, to print and put up for sale a book but also to ensure effective marketing in accordance with time requirements. That is why in 2019, a group of interested people was invited to work both at the exhibition site and beyond it: a gastronomic festival, cinemas and theatres thematic work, a poetry bus, book-

F stores, libraries, museums, even a special site in the All Saints Memorial Church. — What other innovations should we expect this year? — As is known, innovations are an indicator of development. The organizers actively work on the increase of the number of exhibition sites, which I told you about. There will be activity zones all over Minsk. The possibility of showing films and plays based on well-known works of Belarusian writers is being worked out. For example, play “Pinsk gentry” by Vincent DuninMartsinkevich, which can be viewed on the stage of the Yanka Kupala Theater, or film “In the Fog” by Vasil Bykov in ”Dom Kino” cinema centre. We negotiate with TV channels the idea of showing national television films in the days of the exhibition. We would like to screen both feature films and documentary, included in the “golden fund” of Belarusian television. Before they start, it is also planned to focus on the fact that the book exhibition fair takes place in Minsk. Besides, to popularize the exhibition we want to realize the idea of selling in cafes and restaurants the dishes which were described in Belarusian novels and stories.. It will become a kind of invitation to visit it, as well as an illustration of benefit from reading books. It will be a specific gastronomic festival. The emphasis on creative “literary” dishes can be made on the menu. For example, in “King Stakh’s Wild Hunt” by Vladimir Korotkevich at the feast they ate pampushki (dumplings) with garlic or a turkey with apples. So, the guests and residents of Minsk will have an opportunity to order these dishes in a restaurant of Belarusian cuisine in the days of the exhibition. We have another interesting idea. We want to launch a so-called route poetic bus along Pobediteley Avenue. The bus will be decorated in the exhibition spirit: with its program and other advertising information. A living word will be heard inside the bus. These can be poems read by the authors themselves or even better the readers, winners of “Living Classics” competition. There are works of both Belarusian and other poets in their repertoire. It is important that this bus will get directly to

the main exhibition site. Geographically, this is not very convenient, but we also think in this direction. — Apparently, there will be also a big and various program in Minsk libraries, won’t it? — Yes, there will be held book festivals, autograph sessions, meetings of readers with Belarusian writers and guests from other countries. We have also invented a creative program and quests that will attract children to reading. It may be theatrical performances based on the books of children’s writers. — Is it planned to open any children’s playgrounds in the main exhibition area? — Yes, it is planned. It is important for us to involve children in reading. Perhaps we will create an activity zone, an art object in the center of the exhibition. We are discussing what it will be. I can give specific examples. A comic quiz “Return the animals to words” is being prepared, which will be held at the Belarus National Stand. Using the clues, children together with EXPIRImENTUS Museum of Entertaining Sciences will guess the words and names of those animals that “ran away” from them. The organizer is the publishing house “Narodnaya asveta”. The quest “Children’s Day: Craft together”, which is being prepared by the German Embassy in Belarus, will be held on the stand of Germany. — How to cover the topic of European Games 2019 at the exhibition? — There will be held presentation of books dedicated to the 2nd European Games. Representatives of the National Olympic Committee and famous Belarusian athletes will take part in the presentation. On the same days we will offer the guests of the exhibition to visit the museum of the National Olympic Committee. Other activities will be held there. — Surely music will also sound in the days of the exhibition. What ensembles are invited? — We can’t do without music: everything is more solemn with it. Thus, the “Belarusian Encyclopedia named after Peter Brovka” with the participation of the Belarusian State Academy of Music in the build- page

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The main topics of the exhibition are the Year of the Small Motherland and the 2nd European Games. The anniversary dates of the Belarusian literature classics, significant dates in the history of our country will be also reflected.

The exhibition will take place in the Administrative complex at 14 Pobediteley Avenue.

You can find information on the 26th Minsk International Book Exhibition Fair at the following websites: mininform.gov.by, makbel. by, belkniga.by, www. книжная–ярмарка.бел.

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ing of Academy will present its publishing project — the book “Organs of Belarus”. The presentation will be accompanied by speeches of students of the Academy. The other day popular ensemble “Stary Olsa” will play and sing at the exhibition. Both bards and drama actors will perform… — Will bloggers be involved in the exhibition? — It is a timely question. But the main site is planned to work not only with books publishers and distributors but also with people who have gone beyond its usual understanding — the bloggers. After all, today they affect the concept of e‑book, its distribution on the Internet. During the exhibition we will organize several discussions, in particular, we plan a cultural and commercial project with the information support of the newspaper “Arguments and Facts in Belarus”. First, we will hold a discussion among bloggers in the press center, and then we’ll act depending on the situation. Perhaps this is a slightly distant topic from the exhibition, but today it is important not only to write and publish a book, but also to promote it. — It seems to me that this exactly reflects the exhibition motto — “More than books” … — You can say so. If earlier the book was a part of collection and stood on shelf, today it needs to be sold. And so that people need it. It is necessary to create a fashion for a book so that the book is both useful and necessary. We know that a book is

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a holiday, an element of leisure time. But at the same time, it is a nurturing element, so we should provide people with this element. This is the task of the state and society. At the exhibition, we will also discuss how to do it in a right way. — Do you plan any conferences with bloggers? — Yes, we plan to hold mini-conferences with them: “New Technologies and books”, “NeoBook and a modern book”. I would like to talk to children about techniques and methods of reading, about emotional component of texts, about creating the perception of new book formats, including books with augmented reality, that have already been released. For example, the book “Alice in Wonderland.” It would also be an interesting dialogue about the language and trends of modern books illustrations, about interrelationship of text and illustration, neurophysiology of reading. And how the formation of a child’s brain depends on what a child reads. — How popular are Belarusian authors who will take part in the exhibition? — We invite the authors whose works resonates with readers. By the way, the controversial question about local authors and how bright they are is often debated in social networks and on other sites. There is always a moment of subjectivism in such disputes. For example, when our authors present their books in shopping centers, there

are queues behind them. So we would like to study these forms of books and authors promotion in order to improve the mechanisms of presentation. — Is it planned to hold International Writers’ Symposium “Writer and Time” as it was in 2018? And who is the organizer? — The International Writers’ Symposium is obligatory. The Ministry of Information, Writers Union of Belarus, Zviazda Publishing House, Mastatskaya Literatura Publishing House, as well as the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation of the CIS Member States are the organizers. Participants of the symposium will come from 25 countries: not only writers but also those who promote the Belarusian books abroad and the best foreign literature in Belarus, as well as those who contribute to the development and strengthening of cooperation with far and near abroad. These people are our like-minded practitioners who have been working for more than one year to develop the book industry in our country. The seminar of young translators, the Belarusian-Kazakh forum “Literary dialogue in space and time”, literary evenings will be held on the days of the symposium. It will be meeting and communication time. As is known, such meetings enrich. Druzhba bookstore will be opened. There will be presented books of authors from different countries of the near and far abroad, both in the original language and in translation into Russian and Belarusian. Dur-

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During the 26th Minsk International Book Fair-2018

ing the days of the exhibition, a number of presentations and meetings with representatives of the countries participating in the exhibition are scheduled at the store. Undoubtedly, the 5th International Writers’ Symposium “Writer and Time” is the largest event of the exhibition. For years it rightfully became the intellectual platform for discussing pressing problems of humanitarian and cultural cooperation, a landmark international project aimed at preserving the spiritual and moral foundations of the development of the society and the state, strengthening humanitarian links between writers. The solemn ceremony of awarding the winners of the 58th National Competition “The Art of the Book”, the award ceremony of the winners of the competition of young writers “Pershatsvet” will also be held there. — Which popular Russian authors will visit the exhibition? — We expect that both young and famous authors will participate in the exhibition. For example, Maksim Makarychev, Leonid Mlechin, Mikhail Veller, Sergey Lukyanenko. — How Belarus will be presented? — The main topics of the national stand of our country at the exhibition will be the Year of the Small Motherland, the anniversary of Belarusian literature classics, significant dates in the country history. A wide sale of national production books will be organized. We will also pre-

sent the project “In Search of the Lost” of a well-known collector, winner of the prize “For Spiritual Revival” Vladimir Likhodedov. There will be the 15th anniversary of the project in 2019. At the national stand guests and exhibitors will be able to see the original of the unique edition — the “Small Road Book” by Francysk Skaryna, published in 1522. The book was acquired by Belgazprombank. At the stand, you can also see the books — winners of international and national competitions “The Art of the Book”. Numerous meetings with authors, publishers, artists, presentations of new books will take place in the presentation area, an award ceremony will be held for the winners of the republican campaign organized jointly with the Ministry of Education, “We write a book together. Belarus that we want to see in 10 years. ” Within the event framework, the students were asked to describe in 10 sentences what our country will look like in 10 years. The winners of the republican competition for the best book-selling chain Belkniga OJSC, “Robim pa-lyudsku?!”, will also be awarded. — How will be organized the work with social networks writing about the exhibition? — This year, the personal website of the Minsk International Book Exhibition Fair www.book-fair.bel was created. On the website one can find all information for participants and visitors of the exhibi-

tion — conditions of participation, application form, program of events, exhibition scheme, photo archive. In addition, it is planned to create exhibition pages in social networks on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Vkontakte and others. — What do you think: will the printed book hold its position? — There is still a lot of controversy about the expediency of the printed word — both in Belarus and in other countries. After all, the interest in electronic products is still predominant, and in relation to the paper book it is declining. And in some countries, on the contrary, the interest to the paper book is growing. Recently we participated in many large international book exhibitions: in Beijing, Germany (Frankfurt am Main) and other countries, where we saw how vividly this interest manifests itself, which is what the analysts say. I think it will grow with us over time. And the answer to this burning question will be given by the life itself. After all, the book is a social phenomenon that man has created and which has been living and transforming for more than one millennium. Today the emergence of the Internet (and this is just a different way of communicating the same text, information) influences, changes, transforms complex systems of social relationships. We cannot deny its benefits, as well as the benefits of the book. Interviewed Valentina Zhdanovich

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Knowledge on shelf This is not the first time that the publishing house “Mastatskaya litaratura” participated in the 26th Minsk International Exhibition Fair. As always, it will present its best books published last year. The publishing house has one more important mission at the exhibition: to announce the winners of the competition “Pershatsvet”. This festive event traditionally takes place during the book forum.

M Modern “Mastatskaya litaratura” works at a high professional level. This is evident from numerous awards received in different years. For example, the prize “Gold of Paris” (2006), the Grand Prix of the International Competition for artist’s book of Leonid Nesterchuk “Napoleon Orda. The Way to the Motherland” (2009). The publishing house also has awards received at international and republican exhibitions-fairs for successes in the artistic and technical design and printing. And such well-known series of books as “Life of Famous People of Belarus”, “My Land”, “Our Heroes”, “Belarusian Author’s Tale”, “Tales of the 21st Century” have gained popularity and even became the hallmark of “Fine literature”. It publishes original works of Belarusian writers, books on literature

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studies and criticism, the best works of foreign writers, literature for children and teenagers, popular-scientific literature, publicist and juridical literature, art and sound electronic editions, educational and methodical literature … The publishing house “Hudozhestvennaya literatura” exists since 1972, at that time it was almost the only one. Therefore, only through it the author had the opportunity to get a pass to the society of the best writers and poets, to become famous. Today, much has changed in the world and, accordingly, in the field of literature. New publishing houses appeared — it is easier to be published. There have been changes in “Mastatskaya litaratura”. But the editors still have high demands to the quality of works

or translations, and also they desire to capture readers’ attention for a long time and enforce them a taste for “serious” literature. What it means and what kind of literature should be read today we discussed with the chief editor of the publishing house Ales Badak.

Books sector — Ales Nikolayevich, this is the 26th International Exhibition and you participate in it again. What are you going to present at the exhibition this time? — Indeed, we participate in exhibition as long as it exists. For us, publishers, this is a holiday. What are we going to present? There are novelties that have been published just for the book exhibition: new series, new authors… For

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Alisa Gyunger

Ales Badak has been heading the publishing house “Mastatskaya litaratura” since 2015

example, the almanac “Dalyaglyady” will be published. A regular reader of Belarusian-language literature probably remembers that in the 80s this almanac was quite popular. In “Dalyaglyady” were published the best world literature samples. Now we’re reviving this, let’s just say, tradition. The first number we are going to present at the book exhibition. Last year, an agreement was signed with the Chinese side to publish a series of books under the general title “Key concepts in Chinese thought and culture”. So, the book “Lotus and Chrysanthemums Petals. One hundred poets of China of the 20th century” was published. Also in the series “Bright Signs: Chinese Poetry” in 2018 were published a book of the Chinese poet Su Shi “Breath of the Eastern Slope” and a collection of selected translations by Grigory Borodulin of Chinese poets of different eras “Temple on the Top of the Mountain”. In general, the Chinese fiction is published very actively. — Tell us about the competition “Pershatsvet”. — We hold it for the third time together with the Zviazda publishing

house. During the year, we receive texts from hundreds of different authors of poems or stories, from which we select 10 poets and 10 prose writers. One of them is the best among the best and becomes the winner. The results are announced at the international exhibition. We present diplomas, support some of them: issue individual books. So was, for example, with the authors Margarita Latyshkevich, Stanislava Umets… — What issues are discussed at the round tables during the book forum? — Questions of translation of fine literatureare always interesting, because it is one of the leading directions of our activity. For example, we have a Russian-language collection “Sozvuchie (Consonance)”, where works of foreign writers are published, a new series “Library of Foreign Literature”. Will be published the novel “Madam” by the Polish writer Antony Lieber, as well as works by Finnish authors who write for children… But we try to ensure that this international dialogue is not one-sided to make it good for the Belarusians, too. Thanks to our reliable contacts, we try

to ensure our authors to be published abroad. The closest historical ties are with the CIS countries. Belarusian literature of the 20th century is well known there: Vasil Bykov, Ivan Shamyakin, Vladimir Korotkevich. These ares certainly the pride of our literature, but today the task is to open new names for foreign readers. Of course, at the round tables it is always a pleasure to communicate with world-famous writers. Last year, Goran Petrovich, a world-famous person and one of our authors of the 20th-century collection of Serbian prose, came on the initiative of “Mastatskaya litaratura”. It was interesting to talk to him about trends in the world literature.

A lot to read — And what’s on the trend now? Which literature is more interesting to the reader? — Any national literature is always diverse. There are more chamber genres in it, there are popular ones. Fantastic, detective or a woman’s novel is always in page

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bestbelarus.by

The last year's exhibition fair draw in the crowds

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so they are more 19 demand, often translated. And

adventure literature, for example, is less popular. But it plays its role in the development of world literature. Not everyone has an interest in serious literature… — What’s serious literature for you? — Which you’re rereading. I think that 90 percent of readers and 80 percent of authors of “light” genres do not reread what they have written. Such works are usually based on some kind of intrigue. The main thing for the reader is to find out how it ends: will the heroes get married, divorced? But serious literature you can reread every time

enough for me to take a novel off the shelf, read 5 pages and put it in its place. Then go back to it in a year and read 10 more pages. It’s just the nature of classics, it’s like a good wine: you can’t take it and drink it all at once. You need to savor it. — What are the authors writing about today? — Unfortunately, literature has become the book business. People try to make money on it, putting aside emotions and feelings, spiritual search on the background. Now there are so many different things, and in this sea it is very difficult to catch something single, new.

If you feel that you want to say something important, but in your own way, not in a popular genre, write in your own. How you want. The reader will be found. and find something new for yourself. It never gets old or gets old very slowly. For example, I have read Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita five times at different ages. And every time this novel is like new to me. For ten years I regularly open the book “Crime and Punishment” by Dostoevsky. It is

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I remember Michel Louyax, a French writer, who came to us. I asked which contemporaries to read. Michel sadly answered: there are, of course, names of widely promoted authors of business literature. But writers who can be advised are published in small circulations in private printing houses. On the other

hand, all the literature revolves around several main themes: love, life, human relations… And every generation tends to talk about it in their own way. Why not? Maybe it’s easier for someone to find answers to their questions by reading modern literature. But the classics is eternal. — I got acquainted on the Internet with the opinion that the classics gradually ceases to be a classic, ceases to be necessary: they say that mankind has gone too far ahead in its development, and the excitement of Dostoevsky or Tolstoy is no longer relevant… What do you think of that? — I disagree. Yes, classical literature has always had fewer readers than modern literature. But some of today’s idols will be forgotten tomorrow. And those who are not very popular among contemporaries, may be in demand in the future. Look: if we collect the authors’ circulations while they were popular and compare them with the total number of circulations of those who are read in 10, 20 or even 100 years, you will see that the influence of Dostoevsky is greater today than of super-promoted contemporaries. They have a short flash of success: it blinds and then goes out. And the classic “stars” don’t shine so brightly for someone, but for a long time.

F — What’s the secret here? How does a work become a classic? — Nobody knows that! I have heard people say, “I haven’t read “War and Peace”. You know, in literature there is a magic feature: the very fact of the existence of the novel “War and Peace” already affects humanity. You still feel its energy it transmits… There is no such thing in modern works. That’s why — I’m sure — Dostoevsky and Tolstoy will live and French, American and English classical authors will live… And it doesn’t matter how many times they’re read. — If you observe the changes taking place in modern cinema, it seems as if the writers do not have enough time to reflect the deep meaning of events, relationships between people. And in modern literature, I guess the same thing is happening… — The thing is that from the very moment of its existence it is adapted to time — this is normal. Otherwise, there would be a terrible stagnation, and the literature wouldn’t be interested at all. Let’s take, for example, the era of Dunin-Martsinkevich, who — I will note! — wasn’t popular at his time, and we’ll compare it to Yanka Kupala dramaturgy. You can see the difference at once! I’m not talking about the theme, but in general about the literary phenomenon. Andrey Makayenok and Aleksey Dudarev — here it is also clear that the Belarusian dramaturgy was developing. Next, Frantishek Bogushevich and Yanka Kupala are completely different epochs! Yanka Kupala and Maksim Tank… And modern poetry also differs from 20th century poetry.

New word in literature — Tell us about the state of modern Belarusian poetry. It seems to me that this genre continues to live actively only in virtual space: I mean social networks, personal blogs… Are poets published? — They’re published everywhere! It’s not hard today if you have the money. But if we are talking about quality, and “Mastatskaya litaratura” works only with

high-quality authors, here I see a problem. A lot of names, a lot of works, but few personalities. And this is not only about the Belarusians — in general, it is a global trend… We somehow wanted to revive the series “The First Book of a Poet”. You know how strange it is to talk about it, but we did not find the authors! Some had already published on their own, others we did not want to publish: not a good level. Meanwhile, if you remember 70s‑80s, to get into this series was an honor for any poet, the dream

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to write for that? Maybe a trilogy like “50 Shades of Grey”? — It’s hard to say a new word — time is running very fast. One time in the past, I was thinking of writing an autobiographical story about my high school years. But first I asked myself: how interesting would it be for modern readers to learn about my school years? Then I decided to combine two different epochs in one small work: the Soviet era and the present era. But while I was writing, time had changed again. And those

Classic literature is above time. The work lives and outlives us. of his/her life. And now, having money, you can even go to London, to a private printing house. A lot of people use it: an editor, a proofreader, a salesman… This is alarming, because in this way the quality of narration is lost. Including the author’s requirements to himself. When I meet young poets, I ask them: whose modern poems can you call ontological, symbolic? And I cite the example of poets of the last century: Evgeniya Yanischits, Maksim Tank, Ales Ryazanov… Their works were written at young age. And now which of your peers, poets of the 21st century, will be added to the cultural heritage, in your opinion? And in return, silence. Because the number of poems does not always indicate quality. Nevertheless, I love young poetry for its diversity. I remember when in my young years, it was very difficult to publish Ales Ryazanov’s book “The Way — 360” — a new word in Belarusian poetry, where reality is interspersed with fantasy. It was difficult because it was believed that national literature should be with certain boundaries that cannot be exceeded. And today write about what you want, how you want. Everything is for selfrealization! — Do you think the Belarusian authors are able to say “a new word” in the world literature? What do they have

eighth-graders from my story, who admired the first mobile phone, now do not know their lives without it. So, my new became outdated. Nevertheless, the task of any writer is still to say a word in literature. If you do not set an ambitious goal — such an author and such a work cost nothing. But don’t cave in to the changing world. If you see that you do not like the currently popular genre, do not write in it for the sake of profit. Real literature will always find its reader. There are many examples, we can remember Stendhal. Today, perhaps, he is not entirely known to young readers. But in the second half of the 20th century almost everyone in Belarus knew Stendhal, who was not read during his lifetime! He stepped from his century to the next and remained in the future. Therefore, I say: if they don’t talk about you today, it doesn’t mean they won’t talk about you tomorrow. The main thing is not to adapt to time, to be yourself. — What will you advise to read? — Literature is very diverse, so I will not advise you anything. Everyone will easily find what is close to him. I can say what I have been reading recently: Milorad Pavic “Khazar Dictionary”, among the Belarusian prose writers — works by Andrey Fedorenko. By Alisa Gyunger

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iterary connections

Valery Turgay,

guest from Chuvashia Once having visited the International Writers’ Symposium “Writer and Time” in February–March 2018, this Chuvash poet and translator, who had previously translated the passage from the preface of Francis Skaryna to the book “Judith”, was so encouraged by Belarusian poetry that he had already prepared translation into the native language of a book with works of the best in his view masters of Belarusian belles-lettres.

Turgay and eighteen works more. And the famous Kupala cycle “Sonnets”! This is a separate Kupala book of poems in fact! Looking into the encyclopedia “Yanka Kupala”, we can find out that the poem “And who goes there?” was first translated into Chuvash more than half a century

Liubou Malyshava

hat unites Valery Turgay with Belarus and Belarusian literature? Here I leaf through the manuscript of his future book. Francis Skaryna, Yakub Kolas, Yanka Kupala... So, the poem of Y. Kupala “And who goes there?” is also translated by Valery

Authors translated by Valery Turgay

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L ago by the Chuvash poet Eskhel. The poem was included in Kupala book “Dream” (Cheboksary, 1957). Many Chuvash writers were involved in the literary work of Yanka Kupala as translators. The fact that Belarusian classic stopped in Cheboksary on the way to Kazan at the beginning of World War II also contributed to this. He lived in the apartment of Semen Elger from October 27 to November 3, 1941, and in the House of the peasant from 3 to 11 days of November. Memories and works of art have been written about the meeting of the Chuvash writers with Kupala, including the verse novel of Peter Khuzangay “Aptraman family”. His poem “Kupala in Cheboksary” is also dedicated to Kupala. In addition to the poems of the national poet of Belarus, to his “Sonnets”, the collection of Belarusian poetry translations of Turgay includes works of Maksim B ogdanovich, Arkady Kuleshov, Pimen Panchenko, Grigory Borodulin, Nikolay Kupreev, Anatoly Grachannikov, Gennady Buravkin, Naum Galperovich, Eevgenia Yanischits, Mikhail Pozdnyakov, Anatoly Sys, Viktor Shnip, Ales Badak, Maria Kobets, Tatyana Sivets, Valeria R adun (S orotnik), Yulia Aleychenka. And the third thing, which is typical for “Belarusianness” of Chuvash poet and translator, is that Valery Turgay actively organizes meetings, evenings related to Belarusian theme, Belarusian literature. He is on friendly terms, in correspondence with the Minsk Museum of Yanka Kupala. He gathers everyone who is interested in Belarusian literature, Belarusian poetry at one of cultural sites of Cheboksary on Kupala birthday. This is how such meeting took place on July 10, 2018 in the National Library of the Chuvash Republic. Among the organizers of Kupala evening were the Chuvash Republican Foundation named after Mikhail Sespel and the National Library of

the Chuvash Republic. At meeting of fans of the Belarusian poet’s talent first were voiced welcoming telegrams from Belarus: from the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus, from the Union of Writers of Belarus, and from the State Literary Museum of Yanka Kupala... Then Valery Turgay spoke. He shared his impressions of today’s Belarus, spoke about reception in Minsk during the 4th International Symposium of Writers “Writer and Time”, which was held in the framework of the 25th Minsk International Book Fair. Valery Turgay read his translations of works of Belarusian poets into the Chuvash language. And, of course, translations of Yanka Kupala’s poems. Memories of the Days of Literature and Music of Belarus and Chuvashia, which took place in 1973, were shared by the folk poets of Chuvashia Yury Semender and Porfiry Ivanov, writers Viktor Ovcharov and Raisa Sorbi, literary critic Dr. Yury Artemiev. Just shortly before the evening, an article by Galina Voronovay, a researcher of the State Literary Museum of Yanka Kupala, dedicated to contacts of the national poet of Belarus with Chuvashia, was published in the magazine “Halakhe Shkule. People’s School”, which is published in Cheboksary. Speakers at one voice spoke about the immortality of Kupala art, compared it with the classic of Chuvash national literature, Mikhail Sespel. We paid attention to the role of Kupala in formation of the modern Belarusian language... They also reminded that works of the Belarusian poet were translated into more than 100 languages of the world... Let’s hope that such evenings of Belarusian poetry, such events dedicated to work of Yanka Kupala, will become systemic. And now Valery Turgay also plans to establish a friendship society with Belarus in Chuvashia. I am sure that he will succeed.

iterary connections

To the topic

In Cheboksary, Chuvashia, the poet and translator Valery Turgay is well known. He is a bright and extraordinary person; he pays a lot of attention in his life and work to organizing of relations of Chuvash national literature with world literatures. He published a separate book of translations of the poetry of Chinese masters Du Fu and Li Bo. Valery Turgay translates a lot from Russian poetry. He also translated into Chuvash works of Mustai Karim, Gabdula Tukai, Rasul Gamzatov, Kaisyn Kuliev, Alim Keshokov... Valery Turgay (born in 1961, Pochinok-Ineli village, Komsomolsk district, Chuvashia) is an Honored Worker of Culture of the Chuvash Republic, winner of Mikhail Sespel, Ivan Yakovlev, Fatikh Karim Prizes, the national poet of the Chuvash Republic, Honored Worker of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, honorary freeman of Oster city, Chernigov region of Ukraine. He is the author of many original poetry collections in the Chuvash language – “Source light” (1989), “White porcelain cup” (1994), “Let us live!” (Since 1999), “My soul, soul...” (2003), “Nightmelody” (2004)... Valery Turgay headed the board of the Union of Professional Writers of Chuvashia in 2000–2008, he is the chairman of the Chuvash Republican Public Charity Foundation of Mikhail Sespel.

By Ales Karlyukevich

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ultural space

raditionally, the exhibition will be visited by the authors who cooperate with the publisher fruitfully and for a long time as well as by some heroes. In the past few years, for example, the well-known biographical series “ZhZL” (Life of Wonderful People) was slightly modernized. Since 2005, the publisher began to publish books about contemporaries with the note “Biography to be continued”.

Publication of biographical collections has become an interesting trend since there are not so many bright personalities to whom a separate study can be devoted and because stories about the heroes who were involved in important historical events helps to understand the context of those events better. The work of the Belarusian author, television and radio host, historian, screenwriter, journalist Vyacheslav Bondarenko titled “Heroes of the First World War” is called the canon and is a sample of the kind of books in “Molodaya Gvardiya”. The au-

thor himself admits that it took almost seven years to collect facts for the book but the result exceeded all expectations. The book received the All-Russian Historical and Literary Prize “Alexander Nevsky”, and for the first time, this prize was awarded to a non-Russian writer. Last year “Molodaya Gvardiya” released a new work by our compatriot (a book from ZHZL series) about the “confessor of all Russia,” whose name is known throughout the Christian world as Father John Krestiankin. By the way, representatives of the publishing house strongly believe that one of the goals of the trip to Belarus is to search for new authors. “We are open to cooperation and are very interested in stories of Belarusian dignitaries, the Belarusian heroes of the Great Patriotic War (including the Battle of Stalingrad) and biographies of other prominent personalities. In our opinion, it is better if books on Belarusian topics are written by people who live here and who deeply know and love this land and its history,” says the first deputy director of the publishing house, Vladislav Badyakin. Therefore, representatives of “Molodaya Gvardiya” met in Minsk not only with journalists but also with readers and writers who could take up certain Belarusian topics. By Viktoriya Teleshuk

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ultural space

The Holy Scriptures

The humankind still continues to open the Bible; no wonder that it was called a “living book”. “The practice of other countries where the Holy Scriptures are translated regularly shows that the more quality translations, the greater the opportunity for the consumer of the language to come closer to understanding of the Bible. Each new translation will be different, and this is another treasure, says the doctor of sacred theology, biblical scholar Irina Dubenetskaya. — The Bible does not need to be rewritten, it should be re-read. In my opinion, the perfect translation for the XXI century should explain to the modern reader what people could understand in ancient times. For this you need a comment, it is important to try to update the text, which was written in the first millennium BC.” Many researchers believe that the Holy Scriptures need to be translated from the original, especially since people who know ancient languages can discover new words and their meanings. But, unfortunately, today the ancient languages are not in demand, Hebrew is no longer taught not only in Belarus, but also in many foreign universities. If in creation of the Bible in Belarusian to use already existing translations, one can not only copy other people’s mistakes, but also make its own. Moreover, translators faced with a number of problems. For example, they had to decide how to reflect names of plants, musical instruments, everyday objects, which are mentioned in the “living book”, but today it is difficult or even impossible to imagine how they looked. At creation of the Belarusian Bible it is important to convey not only its content. Each evangelist has a unique style, his own style of storytelling. Undoubtedly, in order to preserve the genre signs, to translate poems from the “Book of Books”, it is necessary to involve writers and poets to work on modern editions. “Everything in the Bible, including its poetic magnificence, should be conveyed as much as possible. The word of God does not reach the heart, if it is not expressed as in the Bible, in the only possible form,” says Galina Sinila, Candidate of Philological Sciences, Professor of the Department of Cultural Studies of the Faculty of Social and Cultural Communications, BSU.

Unequal use of religious vocabulary in the practice of confessions in our country has led to the fact that today even geographic names and personal names are given differently. Are such discrepancies good for the literary Belarusian language? The need to create a single translation has been raised more than once, especially since the Bible is older than religion and confession. “If we took translations made 30 years ago, we would have talked about “different languages”, because not only different vocabulary was used there, but also various spelling and grammatical traditions. Now we are no longer talking about the differences in spelling and grammar, yet an approximation in this regard is underway. We have a normative Belarusian language, says the candidate of philological sciences, the leading researcher at the Institute of Linguistics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Irina Budko. — Today we are talking only about the difference in the use of lexemes, words. But variability in some terminological group is normal, especially for languages that are developing. Just fixation is important here”. It is necessary to solve the question how to apply sacred vocabulary in modern lexicographical publications. For example, the work on a large definition dictionary of the Belarusian language is in progress. Scientists of the Institute of Linguistics offered to submit various versions of biblical text translations in it, but at the same time to develop a system of marks (such as “Orthodox”, “Catholic”, “Protestant”) so that it could be seen which form is used in which church. “Translation of the Word of God, which is not intended for use in the temple, cannot be considered full-fledged in missionary meaning,” said Ivan Charota, doctor of philological sciences, professor, member of the group of authors who worked on translation of the books of the Bible into Belarusian. But the Bible will not become a “living book” if it does not reach the reader outside the temple. And here it is important that the Belarusian translation of the Bible could be available, since, for example, a couple of years ago it was quite problematic to get a Bible in native language. By Elena Dedyulya

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onest conversation Ivan Zhdanovich

Alexander Konyuk:

“Culture is a vital need for each of us” What is there in the life of the Prosecutor General of Belarus besides the main job? And at what moments is he distracted from solving the problems associated with high public office? Alexander Vladimirovich tells about this and many other things in the exclusive interview to the magazine.

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oldiers are made, not born. This proverb, which is even included in the chorus of one of the popular Soviet songs, is also true for people who hold senior government posts. Though our interlocutor didn’t dream of military service and life turned out in such a way, that now he has a rank of the Colonel General: it corresponds to his present rank of the State Adviser of Justice of the 1st Class. However, in a large and honest conversation with Alexander Konyuk, the topics related to the work of the Prosecutor General were not the main ones. After all, our colleagues, social networks (Prosecutor General’s Office of Belarus has its own page in Instagram) quite fully inform the public about it. Therefore, taking advantage of the opportunity, we asked the interlocutor about such details, which are considered superfluous and inappropriate in eventual, operational journalism. Nevertheless, we are sure that such format of conversation is best to go into the details the personality of an extraordinary person with whose activities in Belarus the triumph of law and order is identified. It is well known that “the tasks of the Prosecution Service are ensuring the rule of law, the law and order, protecting the rights and legitimate interests of the citizens and organizations, as well as interests of the public and the State”. Read more about these tasks here http://www.prokuratura.gov.by/by/. Let’s open a little secret to make it clear why we are talking to the Prosecutor General about cultural issues and issues indirectly related to them. From time to time Alexander Konyuk and his wife can be seen on places for honored guests at the premieres at the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus. We also agreed on the meeting and interview there during intermission of one of the performances of the recent 9th International Christmas Opera Forum. By the way, Alexander Vladimirovich reacted to the offer immediately and with a smile: “Yes, we can do it now!”, but in his working schedule time for meeting was only after Christmas. Previously, we also formulated the direction of the conversation in the following way: about culture of our life, in particular, moral and legal culture as components of spiritual culture. And, of course, we wanted to learn more about the personality of the Prosecutor General of the country — his life path, life principles, priorities, hobbies, musical and theatrical passions. And the conversation itself, although the questions were prepared in advance, went, as they say, in the form of a friendly conversation. — We meet with you, Alexander Vladimirovich, as with an old acquaintance: we often see each other at the premieres at the Bolshoi Theatre… — Yes, and your faces are familiar to me. Furthermore, I have read the magazine “Belarus” before — it is a significant edition for our country. — …And unique! The magazine, in fact, reflects the life of Belarus, its relations with world for almost 90 years: it has been published since 1930. For some time, the edition was a part of the media holding “Sovetskaya Belorussiya”, today it is

onest conversation

already the publishing house “Belarus Segodnya”. The magazine “Беларусь. Belarus” as well as the newspaper “Golas Radzіmy” were transferred six months ago to the publishing house “Zviazda”. These editions are now working in tandem. — Ivan Ivanovich, we once met in the editorial office of the newspaper “Sovetskaya Belorussiya”… Ivan: — I was the employee of “SB” at that time. A large discussion in the format of a round table was held in the editorial office on the theme “judicial protection”, and a colleague and I were preparing materials for printing. Then you chaired the Military Court. Later, we started to see each other at the Bolshoi Theatre, where we have a mutual acquaintance — General Director of the Theatre Vladimir Gridyushko. We know him from our previous work together, we made a big interview with him, we wrote about the Bolshoi Theatre. Vladimir Pavlovich and I met long ago. His son defended his candidate’s dissertation, and I, working in the Military Court, reviewed the dissertation. Furthermore, we both are “veterans of Afghan war”. We were in Afghanistan during the Soviet period, we met at our events in Minsk and got to know each other better. — It’s a kind of brothers in arms. I remember he was working on a Komsomol youth unit in Afghanistan… — This for many men was a good school of life. By the way, we are preparing with Viktor Vladimirovich Sheiman the event for February 15: for the 30th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. (Viktor Sheiman — the Head of the Belarus President Property Management Directorate — Auth.). This is a great holiday: 30 years ago our guys stopped dying away from their homeland, and this is very important. — Events will be held all over Belarus? — Yes, because thousands of Belarusian military men went through Afghanistan. We are invited to Moscow, to the Kremlin Palace, but we will have our own program. It is important for us to be here with our guys. — In which troops did you serve there? — At the Military Tribunal of the 40th Army. I am a lawyer by education, for the same legal path was in a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan. (The limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan — group of the USSR Armed Forces on the territory of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan during the Afghan conflict 1979–1989 — Auth.). — Alexander Vladimirovich, how would it be more convenient for you to continue the conversation: on issues that are before you, or in a free style? — I will follow a sample scenario, but I don’t have any home preparations (smiling). Honestly, even when I speak in front of people, I try to do it without papers. I am teaching at some universities, and I like this kind of communication with people. And if you start to read off a piece of paper — they do not perceive. You can immediately feel there is no feedback, but feedback is the most important thing. стар.

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Now — on questions about childhood, parents …I am from a simple working family. Mother was working at the factory, father, Vladimir Alexandrovich, was a long-distance driver. He died early: I was 14, my sister was 12, and he was only 42 years old. Mother, Nadezhda Konstantinovna, died in 2011. She raised us both. By the way, I have the best memories of my childhood from summer holidays, which I spent in my small motherland — at my aunt’s home, Sofya Alexandrovna, in the village of Khanevichi. This is Svisloch district of Grodno region. There, I was fully involved in the hard work of peasants. I learned how to mow with a scythe, chop wood, and now I can and like to do it. There I tended cows and sheep — even followed a plow on potato field, a horse with a harness, plowed round — it means hilled up, covered sprouted seeds, forming rows. — Such summer holidays in the village, probably, were important to feel deep connection with native land, with blood relatives… And your mother, apparently, had time to feel the sense of satisfaction from the fact that you have succeeded, got ahead in the world, as people say? — Yes, I became Prosecutor General on September 20 the same year she died on December 28. She asked: Sasha, and who are you by rank? You were the General of the Armed Forces. I comforted her, mom it’s okay, it’s a promotion. I mean, it was important to her, like any mother, probably. They always worry about us… — From where did her ancestral roots come? — From Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine (since 2016, the city of Dnipro — Auth.). But my grandmother, her mother, moved

to Belarus. And her father was from Svislochsky district, from the village of Khanevichi. He is a pure Belarusian. That’s why I have Belarusian-Ukrainian roots. And my wife’s roots are from Kuban in Russia. We go there periodically. — Three Slavic nations are now in your family, clan became woven together… — Well, we can say its typical for Belarusians …When I finished school in Grodno, I entered the law faculty of the Belarusian State University. It was hard to do then but I was a good student. I passed all exams on five, but I was not a medalist. At school I played chess and was engaged in boxing at the same time. — I mean, both the mind and the body were trained… Nothing surprising about that. By the way, Moscow already has a chessboxing federation. This kind of sport is developing: three rounds on a boxing ring and three rounds at a chessboard. Haven’t you heard about it? — Just a biathlon for real men!.. — I’ve seen these matches, though they’re not very common yet. But sport is developing, and that’s normal. I think there’s a contradiction, eclecticism… — It’s not either or, but both and… — Yes, that’s right. I was serious about chess: I did my second senior degree. And that helped me get into university, I’m not hiding it. At the interview, they asked me: What can you do? We have a lot of excellent pupils… And then I’ve been playing for the faculty for five years. — Belarus has strong chess traditions — to remember at least such grandmasters as Boris Gelfand, Viktor Kupreychik… There is a mass interest in chess. And, apparently, it’s no accident that the World Chess Olympiad will be held in Minsk in 2022 for the first time… — We are waiting for this Olympiad: it will be a unique event. I was seriously engaged in chess at school, I even thought of devoting myself to chess. But I understood: if my father, as people say now, was an oligarch, or mother — maybe I would have done so. I like this game so much! — If the rear… — Yes, well, I should have defended myself in life. And a sister — Alla Vladimirovna, who is two years younger than me, graduated from BSU Faculty of History, she lives in Vitebsk. When I graduated the university in 82nd, there was a system: two years in the army. I served two years as platoon leader. But as I am the lawyer by education, I acted as an investigator of the Military Prosecutor’s Office for a year and a half — it’s in the so-called Borisov army. (In the troops located near the Belarusian city of Borisov — Auth.). This preAlexander Konyuk is a keen philatelist Ivan Zhdanovich

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This stamp album contains postage stamps of Belarus

determined the further life path. After the university I planned to study science, work at the Academy of Sciences of Belarus. I liked it very much. But existence influences the consciousness: old man Marx was right… If I had a material “rear” — I would have done so. However, when I finished my military service, I was already married, so I stayed in the army, in military justice. Firstly, officers earned twice more than young civil specialists. For example, a young prosecutor or judge earned 130–140 rubles, and a platoon leader, i. e. I earned 260. There’s a difference. I had a wife, and we were planning children by that time. When I came to the military justice system, I joined the Military Tribunal. Judicial work attracted me. And it was the Soviet Union, the Department of Military Tribunals of the Ministry of Justice of the USSR. The military courts were allied. And I, senior lieutenant in 1984, was ordered to go to Kazakhstan after my report. It was Baykonur, space forces — then they were called missile forces. I served in the Missile Forces Tribunal. On August 19, 1985 I was ordered to go to serve in Afghanistan. I was there for two years, until August 19, 1987. Everything ended well, although we had to travel around the country: service territory was large. I still remember Afghan cities well. The memory is clear. The Afghan names. Recently I met with the Prosecutor General of Afghanistan in Tajikistan. They are now members of the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization — Auth.). We’re there the observers. I remembered how we went on an armored transport vehicle to Bagram, flew a helicopter to Kandagar and other cities. — Did you ever put your memories on paper? — No, and I never really thought about it. Interesting thought, of course, for the future. By the way, I would like to note that some events of modern daily life are not so vividly postponed in the memory — and what was 32 years ago, I remember clearly, up to elements. Other veterans of Afghan war are also serving in our Prosecutor’s Office. We plan to gather officers, generals, common soldiers, sergeants on the 15th to

talk to them. Those two years were very important in my life. I was lucky, I returned to Minsk. After Afghanistan, I was offered to serve in the Far East, and I was attracted to it. But I thought: “Later”. And on January of 1985, my son was born, so I decided to return to Minsk first. The situation was so tha an officer couldn’t have served at the same place for long. Five years and then rotation. Now, by the way, the law on public service is being prepared. And this is a normal phenomenon: rotation, one of the fundamental principles of military and public service. — Well, figuratively speaking, it’s like a constant flow of fresh blood. To the government in this case… — Absolutely right. It wasn’t a problem for me to go to Baykonur or Afghanistan, and all the officers in the huge country also served in such a way. We are a small country, so it will be easier for us to rotate, including prosecutors. Of course, a district procurator may have personal circumstances, but we are officers, we have straps on our shoulders. The President calls us military men. That’s right, I am. As for me, I was a judge of the Minsk Garrison Court, then went to the second instance — the Belarusian Military Court. I returned to the Minsk Garrison as chairman. After a while, I became the Chairman of the Belarusian Military Court, then the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court, at Valentin Olegovich Sukalo — and has been in current position for seven years. Before me there was already Miklashevich Petr Petrovich, he passed the same way: he was the Deputy at Sukalo, then he became the Prosecutor General, now he is at the Constitutional Court. — Also military? — No, he’s a former civilian judge. And when I was offered the position of the Procurator General, it was a surprise. At the same time, I understood: the path is trodden. Other countries have similar practices: judges go to prosecutors and vice versa. It’s a normal assimilation process. I am a civilian by profession, but obtained in the service in the стар.

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Armed Forces the rank of Major General, then the rank of Colonel General in this position. — We see that there is another process where former military personnel hold key positions in our country… — Yes, the Minister of Sport and Tourism, Sergey Kovalchuk, is a military man… — Information Minister Alexander Karlyukevich is a former military journalist… — And the new Deputy Prime Minister Igor Petrishenko is a former military lawyer. He graduated from a military institute in Moscow. The Prime Minister Sergey Rumas is a senior lieutenant in the past. There are many such examples. — In the Russian Empire, as we know, there was an institute of governor-generals: these people probably combined management of provinces with military service. — And it had and has its own implacable logic. Now our President has awarded the heads of the regions — they are sometimes called governors — military ranks. It’s normal: according to the law on territorial defense in the worst case, you understand, they head local defense of a region — so they need the rank of a general. There is nothing surprising and illogical. — By the fact, we note that military people, officers at all times show an interest in music, theater, literature … — Of course, this is an important part of the personality formation, spiritual life of officers. As for our meetings with you at the Bolshoi Theatre, first of all, my wife works there, in one of the departments. In the past, my Svetlana Dmitriyevna is a pianist, violinist, and although she did not follow this path, she loves very much music, opera and ballet. By the way, she also influenced my taste. I wasn’t a big fan of opera and ballet at first. Living in my childhood, youth in the western Soviet city of Grodno, I was very fond of Western music. Nearby is Poland, and in the VHF radio receiver “Okean” perfectly caught foreign musical programs. I was recording them on bobbins of a tape recorder “Mayak”. — Of course, we remember: it was the time of Marylya Radovich (by the way, she had ancestral roots from Vilnya — it is quite possible that the Belarusian ones), Cheslav Nemen (he came from the village of Starye Vasilishki, today Shchuchinsky district of Grodno region), Eva Demarchik… — And “Chervony gitary”… Thanks to my passion for music, by the way, I learned Polish: I speak it quite fluently. When I’m in Poland, I’ve got 24 hours to switch to it. Once I was at the exhibition of a famous collector Vladimir Likhodedov, where I met the Ambassador of Poland. I talked to him, so he was a little surprised that I spoke to him in Polish. Well, I wasn’t just interested in Western music at school, I recorded it, I knew all new things. Long playing records (LPs) were very expensive: for example, LP of “Pink Floyd” was more expensive than jeans “Levis”, “Montana” or “Wrangler”… Also “ABBA” albums were very popular. I’ve recorded a lot of things on the air, and even run discos: I had good music materials for this. To hold a two-three-hour disco with such music was not a problem. — There was a lot of different music. Which did you prefer?

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— I wasn’t a “headbanger”, I liked all the genres: disco, folk and all the others. My favorite bands are, of course, “Deep Purple”, “Pink Floyd”, “Led Zeppelin”, “Day Street” and so on. And taking Chris Norman, the leader of the band “Smokie”- it’s music! Or “Bee Gees”. By the way, chords of the song “Soldier of Fortune” from the repertoire of “Deep Purple” is a ringtone on my mobile phone. — These bands have rhythmic, energetic, “male” music: that’s probably what you’re attracted to. And at the same time, it contributed to the development of musical taste… — Yes, sentimentality in music isn’t mine. That’s why, having such a musical upbringing, I consider opera to be a logical continuation on this path. Hegel’s spiral development, or something (smiling). It might be: when you’re young, you get the basics, then you move on… Now I can tell the difference between, let’s say, Bach and Mozart, I understand what Vivaldi, Haydn is… I’m curious about that. — Is your wife playing at home? — Not anymore. We had a piano, then we had to sell it. But my wife and I live in music. And if before I recognized any western band by the first chords, now I can probably guess whose classical music sounds. Although it’s more difficult. It attracts me. I even catch myself sometimes thinking that listening to music is a kind of therapy. I mean, I need it. Not because I want to mention in my personal calendar that I went to the opera “The Tsar’s Bride”, for example, although the plot is also attractive. But I’m talking about something else: that beneficial processes are taking place at the subconscious level. Probably at the neuron level. It’s just as exciting and necessary for me as playing chess. Sometimes I meet Professor Yury Gildyuk, the artistic director of the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society, who is my countryman, he is also from Grodno, and a very strong chess player. He has a higher degree than me. We meet periodically, even hold chess tournaments right in the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society. — Are these unofficial tournaments? — Well, friendly tournaments, it can be said, amateur tournaments. By the way, we are going to hold an open chess championship of the Prosecutor General’s Office soon. I’m going to invite good chess players. In our “philharmonic” company plays Alexander Garbar, the General Director of the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society, very good played the composer Dmitry Smolskiy. There are other worthy individuals from the world of music, theatre. — Apparently, you need both music and chess for some balance, taking into consideration specifics of your main activities… — Indeed, the work of the prosecutor, which I perform, you know, far from colour and smell of roses. Sometimes I feel psycho-emotional emptiness. Not the brain, but probably the soul is empty. By the way, I notice how filling of soul, supplementing of forces occurs due to good music. I often go to the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society I really enjoy listening to the organ — really, but I don’t like modern works. I think they are artificial, lowenergy, not positively charged: instead of the expected polyphony

H there is a cacophony. And when I listen to Bach’s works played by Kshishtof Penderetsky, a professor from Krakow, I get a big charge of energy. By the way, I know him, we stayin touch. He’s going to visit Minsk soon. He visits our country regularly, once he said: a unique country! I walk in the evening and at night, and it’s always quiet. He also told me with a smile, that he is always walking on foot to see beautiful Belarusian women… — Beauty in all its forms is pleasant for a person with a very delicate constitution… — I still like to visit the performances of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Belarus, where Alexander Anisimov is the principal conductor. I get a special pleasure from classical organ music. It’s something outrageous. I was convinced more than once that at our age, with intensive work requires restoration of lost psycho-emotional forces. This can be done in many ways, but music is one of the most effective. — And also nature… — I guess so, yes… But I’m not inclined to sentimental contemplativeness. I see that it’s beautiful, but I can’t get as much emotion as some people say. Maybe they’re showing off. Maybe they’re pleasure. I prefer to analyse a chess opening, which I find, or chess game with a clever opponent… — And what about billiards? — Love it!.. Oh, and this is chess, too! By the way, I’ve got a billiard in my rest room here, just a little one. We are now playing on a permanent basis: we have a so-called elite club. Tournaments are held regularly within the Dynamo Sports Society: all law enforcement authorities, including Prosecutor’s Office take part in them. And at the same time there is a VIP-tournament — for generals — heads hold their own tournament. On this basis, we have formed an informal club. Tomorrow we have another training. Billiards is both a pleasure and a sport — on pedometers you walk 15 kilometers during the game. I play with all kinds of people. Billiards is a good activity for people working at the table — back muscles are strengthened. Besides, I’m a boxer in the past, and all sudden movements of body, jumps over the years are felt. Even in small tennis I don’t play much, though I love this game very much: we started boxing training with it. Now I prefer billiards. It’s an intellectual game. Like snooker, which I do not play, but I love to watch. (Snooker — a kind of billiard pocket game — Auth.). Billiards isn’t just hitting balls, it’s more complicated. Tactics, payback, strategy… It’s like chess, and it’s probably even harder somewhere. To bend over 1200–1500 times per game — muscles of the back strengthen. Training is a complex: both intellectual and physical. It’s a very hard thing. We had a Christmas tournament from 9:00 a. m. to 10:00 p. m. Vladimir Vashchenko came up to me, and he is a master of applied military sports — and said: this is no less stressful than what I do. (Vladimir Vashchenko — Minister of Emergency Situations, Lieutenant General of Internal Services — Auth.). And we also go skiing with him. By the way, on February 9 the national competition “Minsk Ski Track‑2019” will be held. We’re getting ready, too. That’s how we feed, or the body will fall apart. We have to get our heads straight.

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— Tell me: if you transfer billiards techniques to life tactics — does it help you to know the power of a blow? I mean, work in the Prosecutor’s Office, as you said, isn’t roses. And always, we think, you have to consider the power of the prosecutor’s “blow” with the problem that needs to be solved… — The original question, the train of thought… We’ve got people’s fates under prosecutor’s blow, as you say. For example, if we are talking the Article 139, Part 1 of the Criminal Code — it is up to 20 years of imprisonment, and Part 2 — death penalty. We really need to consider things. The main thing in billiards, as well as in making such difficult decisions — is not to hit balls, and not the power of a blow. I’ve been paying attention on the fact: sometimes you come and play very good. I have good playing skills. Sometimes the game goes wrong. I see everything, I understand at the neuron level — and hands are wrong, I feel. The blow is wrong: although everything seems to be the same, but something a little bit wrong. And it all starts in your head! My hands are healthy, I’m physically strong: I swim, I ski. But it’s all in my head. If there are “other programs” that you don’t even notice, the game goes differently. Once I had especially strong tension period of — I came to play to relieve this tension, and played badly. My head was filled with something completely different. I couldn’t restart, clean up unnecessary files. — In fact, your game is also a kind of meditation, which is used in some spiritual practices… — I don’t not think about whether it is meditation or not, but I understand intuitively — I am Cancer on horoscope, July 11 — that I need such kind of feeding. Among other things, I just like sport. Sometimes I want to wear boxing gloves — but watch vertebras, want to keep healthy for my son, granddaughter and wife. To support them. That’s why billiards is my priority now. Besides, I’ve been assigned by the President to supervise skiing. Before I was head of the Belarusian Federation of стар.

Alexander Kоnyuk at the billiards open tournament of the Prosecutor's Office of Belarus

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Alexander Kоnyuk give gifts to pupils of Junior Sports School No.10 in Polotsk

ski races, then they decided: it shouldn’t be done by an official, but a sportsman. And my task is to organize the process, including creation of material conditions for development of skiing. By the way, Vakulchik Valery Pavlovich, the Chairman of the State Security Committee, supervises biathlon, we work together. The President say correct: you should walk with arms round each other because these are close sports. — There is little information about the new skis that the President ordered to be produced in Telekhany (Ski factory “Telekhany” is located in Gantsevichi district, Brest region). Have they already come off the assembly line? — Yes, they have already come off. But there are skis for mass sports. I am skiing a good “Fischer”. Although, probably, I can ski on home-produced ones — I’m not a sportsman, I’m not required to have a high result, and our skis should be popularized. Of course, when you’re on good skis, skates, skiing is in joy. On February 9, Sergey Kovalchuk (Minister of Sports and Tourism — Auth.) announced the theme of the President Ski Track. And I’ve already picked up my team, we’re preparing on a very serious level. Competition is outrageous: Imagine: Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Committee for State Security, Border Committee. And nevertheless, last year we were 4th, in the year before last — 3rd place. I regularly go on the fourth stage of the relay race. And the skis are my third feed. I’m also a philatelist. I understand that this is also a very important hobby, and I think psychologists could find a reason why I need it. — You’ve been doing this since school, haven’t you? Usually such a hobby, if any, goes from childhood to adulthood. — Yes, I’ve had this since school. But we all went through a materially difficult period in the 90s, when the Soviet Union collapsed, we had to feed our families. Then I couldn’t buy stamps. Now there are many interesting sites, there are shops in Moscow — it’s all developed. And Vladimir Putin, in my opin-

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ion, is a philatelist: I heard about it from some collectors. I met with Anatoly Karpov a few years ago (to include in the foreign versions: a famous Russian chess player, former world chess champion) — he is also a philatelist, and of the highest class. His collection, I hear, is even insured in a Swiss bank. However, I’m attracted to the intellectual process itself. Because this is very interesting thing. I was brought stamps from France, Russian, edition 1898. I have questions about them. I’ll consult specialists in Sankt Petersburg. Usually there’s information on the sites, but I can’t find anything about these stamps. I also consult with Valery Borisovich Zagorsky, a well-known Russian philatelist, who publishes books and catalogues. — Do you have priority philatelic themes? — Yes, of course. The USSR, the current Belarus is obvious. Although I do not refuse stamps on chronology of any country. I was in Cuba, bought stamps dedicated to the whole Cuban period. It’s all cheap there: I bought two valuable albums. Then I was brought pre-revolutionary Cuba. Another priority is Germany: until the 20th century and the 20th century, until 1945, i. e. the 2nd and 3rd Reich. That’s very interesting. I’m just analyzing the development of a famous story. Also German colonies, as well as French and English ones. — And the period of Hitler’s occupation of Belarus was reflected in the German stamps? — Yes, and I have such unique things in my collection. Actually, as you know, a stamp is a cultural phenomenon. We’ve already began to capture history in stamps. When the Belarusian Prosecutor’s Office was 95 years old, we made our marks — and thus left our mark on this layer of information for a long time. If we’re talking about war, I’ll tell you a fact from the philately world. There was such a general Vlasov in the military history, there was the Russian Liberation Army of General Vlasov — a traitor, who went over to the side of the fascists. Well, he made his stamps. I have them too — 5 pieces in total. The RLA existed for less than two years — but it captured itself in the history of mankind thanks to the stamps. This fact is not very positive, but we need to know the history. — We know that during the war in Belarus were so-called Rodionovtsy — also former Soviet prisoners of war, who were forced by the fascists to fight against their own under threat of death. Larisa Korotkaya, a former partisan, told us about them. She taught at the philological faculty of the BSU after the war. According to her words, the Rodionovtsy were going over to our side, to the partisans. However, since they fought on the enemy’s side for some time, they have not been rehabilitated yet. — These things are very subtle: now try to interview those witnesses, gather evidences… But I’m talking about stamps. And what’s the point: if a person is engaged in it: it’s all due to something, there are reasons for it. This is both human psychology and need to develop himself as an individual. I am, in particular, fed by such things. Interviewed Ivan and Valentina Zhdanovich

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Ni hao, friends! “Ni hao” means “good afternoon” in Chinese. This sincere greeting is heard throughout the classrooms of the Zhodino Women’s Gymnasium daily. Teachers from different schools and gymnasiums gathered there to learn more about the history and culture of China and to exchange experiences in learning the Chinese language. Of course, the native speakers themselves were the most vocal in the classes as they were the cultural authority of the distant country. Students from Maxim Tank Belarusian State Pedagogical University in the city of Lanzhou were invited to represent China. They brought books, local goods, and national clothes for exhibit at the meeting.

The interesting conversations about Chinese museums and innovations, Belarusian schoolchildren learning Chinese, and the growth of Chinese studies in Belarus were engaging and informative. Zhodino teachers conducted a master class in making Chinese lanterns and souvenirs decorated with hieroglyphs. I attended the seminar “China and the Republic of Belarus” thanks to an invitation from its organizers, Minsk Regional Institute for Education Development and the Department of Education, Sport and Tourism of Zhodino City Executive Committee. By Evgeny Pesetsky

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“Red” tourism, nature and chocolate

Tourists from the Celestial Empire do not listen much and take a lot of pictures. They are interested in our nature, communist past, flax and chocolate. The Chinese are used to have channels in their native language and at least one person in a hotel who speaks Chinese in the country they visit. How during the Year of Tourism of Belarus in China representatives of the domestic tourism industry learned to understand what the Celestial Empire is and how to host groups of travelers from there, said the experts.

We are just beginning to develop the Chinese tourism sector, although the recognition of our country and the interest of consumers from the PRC to it have increased significantly, said Oleg Mikhailov, director of the enterprise “Center Kurort”: We started to host tourists according to the schedules agreed with China. First of all, they are interested in Minsk, Brest, Belovezhskaya Pushcha. On the way from the capital to Brest we nec-

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essarily show them Mir and Nesvizh castles. Within “red” tourism travelers are taken to the Museum of the Great Patriotic War and the House of the 1st Congress of RSDLP. During the year, we met 28 organized groups and have already received order schedules for 2019. Among such applications is a request to allow Chinese experts to visit one of our collective farms, so that such an object may be included in their fullfledged programs later on.

Last year, at the initiative of the Chinese Embassy, a group of representatives of the domestic tourism industry spent in the Celestial Empire two weeks in order to understand the surroundings and how to work with the Chinese, said Vitaly Gritsevich, Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism of the Ministry of Sports and Tourism of Belarus: This is better than lectures has allowed to understand the mentality of the Chinese and to understand how to welcome

uests

year is the signing of the agreement on a visa-free visit of the Chinese and Belarusians of both countries within 30 days. The Chinese already come to us and they’re interested in absolutely different things. It’s not only a communist past and history, but also our nature, hunt. If an agreement between Russia and Belarus on mutual recognition of visas had been signed, it would have become a good point for completion of the Year of Tourism of Belarus in China and would have allowed to make combined tours and increase the flow of Chinese tourists.

them in Belarus. Hotel “Minsk” already has a received a certificate of a China Friendly Programm — a program that the whole world relies on, accepting Chinese tourists, and which imposes certain requirements on the tourist infrastructure familiar to the Chinese.The hotel chain “Victoria”, “Europe”, “Sputnik” comply with the same system, however, without a certificate. The analogue of such a certificate — VELCOM Chinese has been issued to “Crown Plaza” by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China.

Chinese-style domestic infrastructure Belarusian infrastructure is also “learning” to meet the expectations of the Chinese tourists in other directions. Three banks of the country — Belgazprombank, Belarusbank and BPSBank — have already accepted plastic cards from China. 18 guide-interpret-

ers have certificates that allow them to conduct excursions for the Chinese in their native language. Names of the main tourist attractions are translated into Chinese.Of course, mainly in the capital, although there are signs in Chinese language in the regions. The Chinese audioguide is available in large museums and castles of Belarus. There are more and more objects with a QR code applied to them, thanks which the eastern tourist can get information about the sights in their native language. The brochure “50 things to do in Belarus” is published in a total of eight languages, including Chinese. — The video “Belarus beyond expectations” won first place in nomination for the most beautiful tourist video at the contest in Shanghai in November. At the regional level, agreements have been signed on twinning relations with Chinese regions,” said Vitaly Gritsevich. — A striking phenomenon of this

Shot glasses, shoes and milk powder At the beginning of 2018 the Chinese knew little about Belarus. Dense work and advertising have led to the fact that the tourists from the Celestial Empire, coming to us, know what they want to see, and even demand to take them to a certain shop, where they have found the product. Focusing on the needs of Chinese travelers, their groups are given extra time for taking pictures against the background of historical objects, and information is presented more modestly. Besides, the Chinese enjoy shopping. They carefully study the assortment before they come to us. Often they ask to take them to the shop where “Neman” glass is sold. They buy a lot of shot glasses, wine glasses. No less the Chinese tourists are interested in Belarusian flax, milk powder and chocolate. By Irina Sidorok

беларусь. belarus 2019

urogames-2019

Tickets for Lesik Ticketpro official ticket operator of the Games, started offline ticket sales

F BELTA

ox Lesik, the mascot of the 2nd European games, became the first buyer of paper tickets. The organizers note that one of the main directions of the ticketing program of the 2nd European Games was the protection against counterfeiting. In addition to the fact that each ticket — both electronic and paper — will be protected by a unique bar-

code, additional security elements will be used at manufacture of paper versions: 3D hologram, special UV ink and others. Let’s remind, that starting from the 1st day of December everyone can buy tickets to the 2nd European Games via the website www.minsk2019.ticketpro.by, and in Europe — through official resellers. Tickets in the Russian Federation have already been available for sale from December 15 on the website of the official ticket agent www.ponominalu.ru. Also remind, that ticket price for sporting events varies from 5 Br or 2 € (for foreigners) and 50 Br or 20 €, respectively. Tickets price for the Opening ceremony is from 150 to 300 Br, depending on the category of a seat. Tickets price for the Closing ceremony is a little bit lower, their cost varies from 70 to 150 Br. The total number of seats during the 2nd European Games will be 381K with the possibility of increase up to 535K depending on demand and popularity of the sport. By Darya Lobazhevich

беларусь. belarus 2019

ord in science

The Miracle “stem” of the Tree of Life

Cellular technologies can revolutionize the treatment of serious diseases When the world first heard about successful medical experiments with stem cells, it became not just a sensation, but a miracle that can only be compared with the discovery of the fountain of youth. There were even some radical circles that began seriously discussing the birth of an era of the immortal man. They believe that with the current laboratory conditions they could now grow any organ of homo sapiens from hair to heel. But it quickly became clear that these were only dreams. Hope was not lost though. Biological science has indeed made such a significant step forward that it gives us more and more grounds for the most optimistic of hopes. It is a matter of great pride that Belarus is among the countries that have managed to master the most complicated technologies of treatment of people based on the characteristics of the cell. We talked

about it with Andrey Goncharov, Director of the Institute of Biophysics and Cell Engineering at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus. — Andrey Evgenyevich, despite the fact that cellular technologies have been used in our country for a while, there are a lot of different stories and fantasies about the topic. Some believe this is a charlatanism while others believe that we are dealing with a fundamentally new world in science in which the most serious and even untreatable diseases can be cured. Most of these disputes concern stem cells (SC). They are supposedly miracles. Where is the truth here? — There are over 200 cell types in the human body. Each type has its own specialization. Some build up the nervous system, others the blood system, others form bone tissue, and so on. Stems don't have any “specialization”. But they can

turn into any type of cell. And they do it throughout a person's life depending on the needs of certain organs. In fact, the SC are priceless spare parts, without which the body would not be able to renew itself and would age very quickly and die. In the womb of mother, each of us was a single stem cell after conception. It shared, giving life not only to its relatives, but also to other types of cells, from which all parts of the body were gradually built. This process resembles a family tree with a strong stem, branches and leaves. Hence the name — stem cells. The older the man, the fewer cells he has. Am I clear? — Yes, thank you for not “drowning” me in professional terminology from the very beginning. It is necessary to understand that it is this characteristic of stem cells — to page turn into any sort of

беларусь. belarus 2019

ord in science

Stem cells help treat many diseases

page

b u i l d i ng m at e rial of our body — that gave scientists the idea to use them in treatment of various diseases. How does this look in practice? — Well, for example, imagine a man who had a complicated trachea surgery. It happens that the scar is skinned over very badly, causing various complications. Sometimes it is necessary to repeat surgery more than once or twice. But we can go the other way needle the wound with stem cells. And in a few days, acquiring the necessary specialization, they will help to heal the place where the surgeon’s scalpel worked. SC differentiate not only into the right type of cells, but also make them divide and repair tissue quickly in such emergency situations. In the same way are treated various injuries, burns, ulcers that occur on the skin. Thanks to this method blood, heart, liver, lung, gastrointestinal and urinary tract diseases are successfully cured. I will say even more, there is an opportunity to fight those diseases, which modern medicine has been practically powerless against so far. For example, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, infantile cerebral paralysis, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. In short, a number of autoimmune pathologies of the body, which are characterized by the immune system acting against its own healthy cells and albumi-

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nous compounds. SC in this case, on the one hand, suppress super-aggressive immunity, and on the other hand — restore destroyed nervous tissue. — Well, if this technology is such a miracle, why don't we use it on a large scale? — First, this is a new technology and, despite the positive results, it still causes some skepticism among many. Second, such innovations are not cheap. I’ll explain the scheme of work with a patient. To inject stem cells to the patient, you need to have enough cells. There are few of them in the human body, although they are present in almost every organ. The task is to find a small part of SC (usu-

ally they are taken from fatty tissue on the abdomen) and to build their biomass in a special laboratory environment. It takes about three weeks. Certainly, a strict analysis of the quality of selected material is carried out. And when we have required number of cells we can start treatment. All this is happening in the branch of our institute — Republican Scientific and Medical Center of "cellular technologies". There the patient must be examined. I'm telling you very schematically, but the process is not simple and costs a lot of money. — How many patients undergo such “surgeries” in Belarus? There is no exact number — maybe several hundred patients a year. By the way, today cellular technologies are used not only in our center, but also in several other institutions of Minsk. For example, they’re in the Belarusian Research Center for Pediatric Oncology, Hematology and Immunology and in the Minsk Scientific and Practical Center of Surgery, Transplantation and Hematology. Therefore, if all the facilities are used to their full capacity then up to 20–30 thousand people could be treated by stem cells annually. And this is not the limit, as such centers could be organized outside the capital. — I must bring up this next topic: There is a lot of talk in mass media about the fact that cellular technologies are not compatible with moral

Science and technology are developing at a fantastic rate

W norms, and furthermore, they conflict with people's religious beliefs. What's the matter here? — It's about the difference in principles. It is proven that the most active and flexible stem cells, which can transform into all types of cells, are located in the embryo. That's what they're called — embryonic. But we work only with biological material of adults, without causing them any harm. As we’ve discussed, there are different types of SC. We mainly use mesenchymal stem cells, which are taken from bone marrow, nasal mucosa, or, most often, from fatty tissue. These "biological units" are distinguished by having a very high efficiency and can treat many diseases that I have already mentioned. So, morally justified. — We’ve often heard about blood cord banks in connection with cellular technology in recent years. What kind of phenomenon is this? — This is a service offered in Minsk. The essence of it is as follows: during the birth of a child, the umbilical cord is cut and disposed of later. This has been happening for centuries but only until recently did scientists discover that blood within this organ contains a large number of stem cells. If kept, it becomes a good insurance for the newborn. The cultivated cells could be used for his/her treatment in a difficult situation. The greatest value of cord blood stem cells is that, in addition to high activity, they have an absolute genetic match with other tissues of the native body. Therefore, many parents sign an agreement with a maternity hospital so that an experienced obstetrician takes the blood from their child's umbilical cord and takes it to a blood cord bank. Their stem cells are extracted from the biomaterial, placed in a separate box, and then frozen in liquid nitrogen. I think that such an asset, which in a frozen state can preserve its qualities for many decades, is useful to anyone. Even today, umbilical cord blood stem cells can effectively treat dozens of diseases of their "owners". And what if after a while medical workers can do something incredible with their help? Science and technology are now developing at a fantastic rate.

— Interesting. Maybe thanks to stem cells, we can finally beat cancer too, right? — Unfortunately, no. Not yet, anyway. The thing is, they have one negative aspect — they suppress immunity. And in a fight against a malignant tumor, that’s unacceptable. But don't despair. There is another innovative technology in the fight against cancer that uses characteristics of so-called dendritic cells. Their role is to recognize all the “enemies” that get into our body and provide reliable information about them to other cells. After the signal is received, they begin to destroy the “aliens”. The same war should be waged against cancer cells. Stem cells act so insidious that the immune system doesn't work and so far, biologists have not been able to teach them how to distinguish between healthy tissue and the cancer tissue. So, with the help of dendritic cells this problem can be solved. There are already encouraging results in treatment of some types of oncology with this method. Some examples are found in breast and pancreatic cancer treatments. Let's hope for success. — And what should we expect from cellular technologies for those who want to rejuvenate or stay youthful forever? — If any clinic promises to return you to the days of your youth — do not believe it. There are no such opportunities yet. What we can guarantee is to restore significant portions of skin on any part of the body. If, for example, a woman wants to get rid of wrinkles on her face with the help of fibroblasts, then, after appropriate procedures of course, she will look five or even ten years younger. — Andrey Evgenyevich, what are the prospects of cellular technologies that you see? — Grandiose. We are glad that the state finances work of our institute quite well. So there's an understanding that cell therapy is the future. Unfortunately, so far nobody is engaged in the training of personnel for this direction of scien-

ord in science

We are glad that the state finances work of our institute quite well. So there's an understanding that cell therapy is the future. tific and practical activity. By the way, not only medical personnel, but biologists can also work in this sphere. However, today in Belarus there are no more than two dozen specialists who can treat a patient with stem cells from beginning to end. — If tomorrow it is announced that a human organ has been grown in some country from stem cells, would you believe it? — I would believe it. On a 3D printer it can be done even today. However, I will not believe that such creation will work. The human organ is not a piece of wood. There are so many cells, tissues, various biological elements that it is still unreal to create them artificially and make them interact with each other without any failures. Maybe in several decades. By Mikhail Kovalev

беларусь. belarus 2019

cology

living in harmony with nature 2500 disposable cups and 5000 sheets of printing paper are used in the office with 30 employees. And if the doors and windows are badly insulated, 70 percent of heat goes through them. How to make work places more eco-friendly? Students of BSU thought about this problem and created a consulting service bCool to help offices to spend less resources and live in harmony with nature.

lesya Lukashevich, Evgeniya Khyuppenen and Viktoriya Karsyuk are first-year students of the biological faculty. They have been acquainted with each other since their school years: they studied together in the capital lyceum No. 1 on the chemical and biological profile. They were fond of ecology when in the 11th class they wrote scien-

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tific and practical work under the guidance of the teacher. “How to make disposable cutlery more eco-friendly” was the research topic, chosen by Alesya, Zhenya and Vika. Replace plastic cups with paper cups? But the latter are also covered with plastic inside. The girls decided to try the variant with edible cutlery. They bought tartlets and started testing various coatings. The one that holds water was obtained by mixing certain food chemicals (the technology was borrowed from the molecular cuisine).

With this idea, the students participated in various contests for schoolchildren, but it did not work out. They were either told that all of this had been invented long ago (however, no one could confirm the words with specific examples and references), or they did not believe that teenagers were able to invent such a thing. In September the girls decided to try their hand at the hackathon Sосiаl Wееkеnd, where different teams presented ways of solving social problems.

Alesya, Evgeniya and Viktoriya invented an eco-friendly technology of nature protection

And unexpectedly for themselves, they got money for development of their project. They began to test the technology on larger cutlery: ordered wafer cups for ice cream from the factory and manually applied a special coating to them at home in the kitchen. However, the miracle composition turned out to be capricious, and another variant was found to replace it — wax and food paraffin. — It’s safe. These cups are suitable for cold drinks. Water in them will surely stay half an hour — to drink from a cooler, it is more than enough, — the students say. — Such cutlery can be disposed of without damaging nature. Or it just can be eaten. Waffle cups from girls have already appeared in a private library in Minsk, they were also ordered for the event. But Zhenya, Vika and Alesya decided to go further: to offer companies not only to replace plastic cutlery, but in general to make offices more ecofriendly. And some enterprises are already interested in this service. We will visit the office, examine it carefully, find out the number of em-

ployees, estimate the costs of various materials, water and electricity. And then will offer detailed recommendations, which will help the company not only to become more ecofriendly, but also to save their own money. Depending on the customer’s wishes and budget, we can offer both small steps and global changes. We will negotiate with suppliers on necessary equipment and implement these novelties in the office, — the girls explain. The easiest thing to do is to use reusable cutlery, organize a separate waste collection, buy recycled paper (for example, paper produced by Borisovskaya factory), replace fluorescent bulbs with LED ones, install lamps with motion sensor in entrance rooms. What concerns more advanced solutions, organic waste can be recycled in the office. For this purpose there are shredders built in under the sink or room punch (it is similar to usual garbage cans and when used properly there is no unpleasant smell). Won’t companies find such solutions in the Internet themselves?

cology

The students’ answer: first of all, not all information is available on the network. And secondly, busy people often just don’t have enough time to do it, so taking care of work places is a secondary concern. We also try to find “hipster” ideas, — the girls add. — For example, there is an eco-startup for analyzing electricity consumption. A special sensor is connected to the network and with the help of a mobile program tells the owner how much power each device consumes. One can find weak places: where the equipment is not turned off in time, which device is faulty or inefficient. The main goal of the project is to bring the idea of responsible consumption to the employees, so that they take care of the environment even outside the office. The girls are going to hold master classes and meetings with other environmental initiatives at the invitation of the companies. One of the best examples of “green” offices is the building World Wildlife Fund in Moscow. It was built taking into account all environmental innovations. Only natural materials were used and there is a rain collection system. But we understand that many Belarusian offices are located in old premises and such drastic solutions are impossible there. Therefore, our goal is to do simple things and promote ecoideology. Small steps also have an effect. By Natalya Lubnevskaya

беларусь. belarus 2019

enter is open

Sculptural composition "Dedication to the poet." (Author — Vladimir Slobodchikov)

COME IN,

YOU ARE TALENTED At the end of 2018 there was opened one more cultural space in Minsk. At the point of the 15th anniversary creative team and students of the production center “Spamash” received a new multifunctional house — a modern four-story building in the historical part of Minsk.

беларусь. belarus 2019

sb.by

enter is open

lready in September the new building received the first guests — artists of the children’s art studio Malinovka by Spamash. However, the center invited guests to the housewarming only yesterday — all this time it was brushed up. Minister of Culture Yury Bondar congratulated those who were among the first to participate in the big holiday: — Opening of a cultural center of such level is not only an important stage in the development of the Spamash production center, but also the starting point from which its reformatting begins. A great future and high flight are ahead. Today, almost six dozen children are engaged in Malinovka by Spamash. Talented followers of star dynasties are among them. The youngest student of the studio, Sofia, is only 4 years old. The girl is a granddaughter of the master Vladimir Mulyavin. Together with her, the children of the soloists of Chisty golos group, the daughter of singer Olga Plotnikova and composer Gennady Markevich, the son of Bolshoi Theater soloist Ilya Silchukov and many others, perfect their vocals. — But you should not think that the studio’s doors are closed for children from ordinary families. We accept absolutely all children. The main thing is the voice, the desire to work on the stage and to learn. The cost of classes is average for Minsk — 110 rubles per month. This amount includes 8 vocal lessons, 4 lessons on choreography, as well as 2 masterclasses from leading artists. Besides, we provide an opportunity to be engaged in for free to children with difficult fates, from families where there are all sorts of problems, — Angelina Mikulskaya, director of the center, controls all stages of the children’s creative studio. Choreographic hall with special flooring, modern showers and changing rooms, a class for practicing solfeggio and vocal are at the disposal of young and older artists now. There is a spacious “meeting room”, administrative premises and own mini-kitchen for the administration and creative team. But a special pride of the center is a recording studio located on the ground floor with all the necessary equipment. Artistic director of the centre, composer Leonid Shirin says that there in no such studio anywhere in Belarus: — There are several rooms here. Including a separate studio where arrangements are made, and a separate one for recording and mixing sound. There is also a special room for loud instruments — there are still old drums standing there, but before long a new installation will be brought to us. The studio has already been evaluated by world-class musicians: for example, German rockers from Rammstein and ex-singer of Rainbow and Deep Purple Joe Lynn Turner. Now we are writing here a musical theme for the 2nd European Games and the ceremony celebrating the 1000th anniversary of Brest. What concerns the production studio, so far only Alena Lanskaya, the most famous student of Spamash, works here. But Angelina Mikulskaya is already actively looking for new artists: — There were several live auditions. Whom are we waiting for? First of all, only brilliant singers.We do not agree for less.

Guests were greeted by so far young, but already stars — pupils of the children's studio Malinovka by Spamash

Angelina Mikulskaya is betting on talent

By Yuliana Leonovich

беларусь. belarus 2019

inter photoetudes

Patterns on white Only when you get to the Minsk ring road, you understand: this is the Belarusian winter. White fields, snow-covered forests, smooth gray sky and dark lines of roads, and colorful cars on them. Everything makes you happy in this December idyll: a skier running across a white field, and smoke rising melancholically from the pipes of village huts or modern country cottages... Beauty!

беларусь. belarus 2019

sb.by

ogoyshchyna is beautiful at any time of the year: both in autumn and in summer. It is often called Belarusian Switzerland for an amazing relief, for steep, wooded hills. Of course, if you want to prove something to someone, you can fly to the Alps, to some famous ski resort. But in this case, you need a lot of free time and extra money. Moving, flights, customs, inspections, visas, etc.... And you can without any bothering get into the car, put equipment in the trunk and start to Logoyshchyna. From Minsk only half an hour on a good road, a couple of turns, and you’re on the spot. You walk with skis on your shoulder, even with colleagues, with your family or in proud solitude. You buy a ticket, and you are provided with tracks with a lift, and in rental centers you can choose what you will ride today. The funicular will get you to the top of the mountain, you will admire the snowcovered beauty, and there, putting your glasses down, having checked the fixture, start the down-run, slide and fly down. Why did I remember Switzerland? On the roller coaster I met a couple of familiar lovers of rapid descents. So they said that in good weather, good skiing in Belarus is no worse than in the famous Courchevel, and much more accessible in addition. They know for sure, they have been to those advertised resorts... No best photos can convey the beauty of Logoyshchyna. All these mountains, forests, roads, jumps, descents, ski lifts, the colorfulness of skiers, the joy of flying through the sparkling snow and a happy sigh when the down-run was successful. We came to Raubichi, to the Republican Center for Olympic Winter Sports Training. Tribunes are empty, the forest is silent. You can hear the skis whistling around the corners in the white stadium, how young athletes breathe, how loudly they hit bullet targets. “Snow cannons” are buzzing, scattering fine and dry, like thick smoke, snow. Multicolored young biathlonists methodically cut around the stadium round and round. Stop at the shooting range, focused shooting... Trainers wrapped up with collars raised, fall to the tube eyepiece, assessing the results of a series of shots, give advice to the wards, and those, throwing a heavy rifle behind their back, run under the snow dust... I

inter photoetudes

am sure that many of these Belarusian boys and girls want to become champions, dream of being as invincible and glorified as Daria Domracheva. In “Silichy” and “Logoysk”, experienced people advised us: if you like noise, crowds and bustle, then you should come here not on a weekday, but on Saturday and Sunday. All this will be here: children’s laughter, hundreds of skiers, loud music, new acquaintances and all that happens in all such resorts, both famous and not so. On weekends and holidays, the entire sports recreation infrastructure is open until late at night. Trails and descents are brightly lit, cafes, restaurants and hotels are open, the mood is festive. A small but ancient city of Logoysk lives its quiet peaceful life. At the springlet of the St. Nicholas Church, people get water. People buy trees and decorate them. Schoolchildren enjoy life, snowy winter and quick vacations. Fishermen, getting to the ice Gayna, try to catch a fish. Light snow falls from the sky. I don’t want to leave the quiet Logoysk for noisy Minsk, and the photographer tries to capture the beauty of the quiet Belarusian winter around us. You know, I am sure: no best photos can convey the beauty of Logoyshchyna. All these mountains, forests, roads, springboards, descents, ski lifts, many-colored skiers, the joy of flying through the sparkling snow and a happy sigh when the down-run was successful. Get in the car, minibus and go to one of the three centers of mountain skiing. Give yourself and your loved ones an unforgettable day. By Vladimir Stepan

беларусь. belarus 2019

emory

Poet, colleague, citizen

Mikhail Kolochinsky headed the magazine “Belarus” almost 20 years and also participated in the work of the XXVI session of the UN as the chief editor Where does the motherland begin? For everyone, of course, it is personal… For the classic of Belarusian literature, Honored Worker of Culture of Belarus, a famous poet, author of more than ten collections of poetry Mikhail Kolochinsky, the Little Homeland began not only “from the birch growing in the field”, but also from the Bobr River flowing through the small town Krupki, where the future poet was born, from those hogs and groves that surrounded the town with green kings, from the remnants of the old Smolensk road on the outskirts of the village, along which the troops of Napoleon, mysterious Stoyachee Lake also within modern town Krupki, where according to legend, Napoleon threw the stolen treasures escaping from Russia. All this and much more connected with the small Motherland sounded with special force in the verses of Kolochinsky — “Spring in Krupki”, “Names and essence”, “Zmitrovsky Forest”, “Blue-eyed districts” and many other works. The big road to the literature of Mikhas began in Krupki. Kolochinsky was called Mikhas in childhood and this name remained his poetic name for the rest of his life. From here began his Great Motherland — Belarus, which Mikhail Kolochinsky praised in his verses and poems. He defended Belarus on the front lines of the Great Patriotic War, passed

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as a war correspondent. These paths are marked by many martial awards. Mikhail Ivanovich Kolochinsky, already a recognized authority in literary circles and a famous poet, headed the magazine “Belarus” for almost 20 years. Prior to joining this magazine, Kolochinsky already had some management experience: in 1953–1954. He worked as chief editor of the literary and social magazine “Neman”. This experience was useful at the new place of work. In a relatively short time, under the leadership of Kolochinsky, the magazine “Belarus” became one of the most famous and authoritative periodicals not only in the expanses of Belarus but also in the entire Soviet Union, and even beyond it. Its content has significantly deepened, the range of topics has become wider. Kolochinsky sought out and supported in every possible way talented authors who published works on the pages of the magazine in politics, economics, culture, and also in matters of art. The portrait or image of today’s magazine, which is now printed in Belarusian, English, Chinese, was laid precisely in those years when the directions were worked out and implemented with the participation of Mikhail Kolochinsky. Not only state awards to the magazine, but also those that were awarded personally to Kolochinsky — the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, Order of Peoples’

Friendship, Honour Badge testify to authority of the magazine and the contribution of the chief editor to his activities and Belarusian literature. And also the fact that in 1971 the poet and chief editor of the magazine participated in the work of the 26th session of the United Nations as the delegation member of the BSSR. Simultaneously with the management work, Mikhail Kolochinsky continued to work fruitfully in the literary field. It was in 1960–1970, when he headed the magazine “Belarus”, five collections of his poetry were published. But the foundation of all this was laid precisely in the pre-war years, when the poet lived and worked in his small motherland. Mikhail Kolochinsky can be attributed to the generation of people who are figuratively called “the mirror of their time.” Complicated time, where the pathos of creative labor, the pathos of enthusiasm and sincere patriotism, pride in belonging to one’s motherland, regardless of whether “small” or “big” were welcomed; and at the same time saturated with complexities, contradictions, difficulties of both the subjective and objective plan. Kolochinsky rightfully belongs to the category of classics of Belarusian literature. In many collections of verses, poems, the poet depicted both the crea-

emory

Mikhail Kolochinsky in different years of life

tive work of his contemporaries, the poetic images of his native land, and the most important milestones of the social life of human communities, events that took place not only in his motherland, but throughout the world. A special place in works of Mikhail Kalachinsky is occupied by the theme of the Great Patriotic War, the roads of which he went through as a war correspondent. But not all his works have reached the modern reader. In the collections published in different years, there are quite a few poems of a young poet, created in the prewar period. But some of those that were printed in Kolochinsky’s motherland, in the Krupki district newspaper “Golos Kolkhoznika” in 1938–1940, were considered lost, because all these newspapers, which were edited or in libraries of Belarus, were destroyed during the war years. Only recently, the author of the article managed to find them in Moscow, in the Russian National Library, where newspapers were sent, which were sent from the Union republics, including the pre-war ones. Most of these poems are devoted to the small Motherland, the people of Krupchina. They are different in subject and tonality… Mikhail Kolochinsky in the pre-war time worked as an employee of the district editorial office, often visited localities, collective farms, industrial enterprises, met people. His impressions of the meetings were revealed in poetic reports on the pages of the newspaper. Of course, in the foreground he had working people, foremost workers of production.

A kind of hymn to creative labor was the poem “Spring fragments”. It brings together the feeling of joy, because spring has come, nature awakens; and the feeling of youthful young plowmen, which very much corresponds to the spring, the heyday of nature; and hope for the best in the future. The poem also shows the author’s deep knowledge of all details of village work. But the perspective of the poet was not limited to his small motherland, native fields, countrymen life. As a real citizen, a patriot of his great Motherland, he passionately responds to events in the whole Union of that time, even internationally, sincerely, with youthful enthusiasm and maximalism, expresses his point of view. The work of Mikhail Kolochinsky reflects the worldview of that generation, among whom the poet lived. In the poem “My generation” he told what they lived with, what the young people of the same age as Mikhail Ivanovich felt. Mikhail Kolochinsky passed the roads of two wars. He fought as an ordinary soldier during the Soviet-Finnish war. At the same time he received for his fighting the first military award — the medal “For Courage”. At that time it was a rather rare reward. It was handed over to the young fighter in the Kremlin by Mikhail Kalinin himself. The poet portrayed his feelings about the events of this war in his first poetic collection “on the Vyborg road”. The book was already prepared for printing, but its galley burned in the flames of numerous fires when the buildings of the

capital were burning in the first days of the Great Patriotic War. From its beginning to the very end of the war Kolochynki was among the defenders of the motherland, fought as a war correspondent on the fronts of the Caucasus, Ukraine, Moldova, participated in the liberation of Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Austria from the Nazis, and was awarded with military awards. Everything that the warrior-poet saw, that he experienced, he reflected in his verses. After the war, they were printed in the collections “The Sun in the Blue”, “In a Great Expedition”, “Towards Life”. Later he wrote in his autobiography: “The editors drove cars through the war. Journalists were in front, with infantry, tanks, cavalry. Younger gunmen who had experienced, what misfortune is all about, were in the first echelon. And I had to be there …” All his life, Mikhail Kolochinsky was a soldier, whose main weapon was, in the figurative expression of one of the poets of the Soviet period, “a feather equivalent to a bayonet”. As a soldier who was always at the forefront, he fought both with a bayonet and with a pen, Mikhail Ivanovich was awarded both military and peaceful awards. These are two orders of the Red Star, Order of the Second World War of the second degree, Order of the Red Banner of Labor, Order of Peoples’ Friendship, Honour Badge, many medals. These and many other awards are the deserved epitome of the life of Mikhail Ivanovich Kolochinsky and his recognition by society. By Dmitry Khromchenko, Candidate of Historical Sciences.

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erritory of creativity Ivan Zhdanovich

At Home Among Friends 48

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Belarus is a multinational country. Representatives of 140 nationalities live here, and many have gotten along with each other since ancient times. Mikhail Pandzhavidze, the chief director of the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus is one of those for whom Belarus has become a “small” homeland. Over the years of his service to the Belarusian opera art, the Bolshoi repertoire has been enriched with bright, outstanding performances staged by Mikhail Pandzhavidze. They are sold out to this day.

Pandzhavidze never fails to amaze with his ability to live beyond hype and invoke sincere admiration. His character and successes are evident in his children, his spouse and colleagues, his beautifully staged performances and his talent. His work shows how good people should live and we admire that quality in Pandzhavidze as well as the breadth of his soul because it showcases a certain childlike character that eludes most of us. After all, over the years of our personal development we consciously and subconsciously look for qualities in people that are similar to our own. For this reason, psychologists say we are attracted to the people with which we share commonalities. We create good, friendly, or even familial relations regardless of the person’s nationality and we look into their talents, what they bring to the table, and whether they’re a good person or not instead. I was delighted when the President recently said: — Justice should be the foundation of our national idea. If there is no justice, there will be no state. It would collapse from here. It is impossible to break away from the people in no case. The people will not tolerate injustice and snobbery. That idea reminds us that Belarusian tolerance is the instrument through which justice is more easily achieved. I remember how it was in 2010 when the appointment of Mikhail Pandzhavidze to the position of the chief director of the Bolshoi Theater was announced. Many wondered why a foreign, Russian director with a Georgian surname native to Turkmenistan would be appointed. Fortunately, Vladimir Gridyushko, the Director General, showed flexibility and accepted a “stranger” into the theater whose service record spoke for itself. According to the theater website, he directed more than 60 perfor-

mances in opera and ballet theaters in Tatarstan, Novosibirsk, Magnitogorsk, and Eekaterinburg as well as the Astrakhan State Musical Theater and the National Theater of Morocco. Among those performances are “Boris Godunov” by M. P. Musorgsky, “Snow Maiden” and “The Tsar’s Bride” by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, “Eugene Onegin” and “Iolanta” by P. Tchaikovsky, “Theater Director” by W. A. Mozart, “Rigoletto”, “Nabucco” and “Aida” by G. Verdi, “Madame Butterfly” and “Tosca” by G. Puccini, “Pagliacci” by R. Leoncavallo and others. Neither the Ministry of Culture nor Gridyushko himself were mistaken. As a matter of fact: they won. Pandzhavidze staged play after play for a short period not caring about his own image or awards. Thanks to him, the national

during an unplanned moment immediately after a press conference shortly before the IX International Opera Forum. Leaving the Chamber Hall, Pandzhavidze thanked the journalists and casually said, “if you want — I can answer specific questions” We absolutely took advantage of this offer! We followed him behind the scenes, wondering what we would like to ask the chief director. We remembered how he once said during a meeting that his little daughter Sasha learns verses in Belarusian and he was surprised to discover how easily she is able to master the music of this language. We talked about many things including the premiere of the play “Don Pasquale” by Donizetti which is a funny comedy staged by the chief director that opened the opera forum. We also dis-

I was impressed by the story “The Gray Legend”. There is a big difference, by the way, between the story and the libretto for our opera. I immediately read the story in its original version in the Belarusian language. It’s the principle of it all. I experimented if I can understand the Belarusian language intuitively. Then I read it in the Russian translation. I was convinced that I understood everything in the right away. opera “The Gray Legend” by Dmitry Smolsky appeared in the programme of the theater for which Pandzhavidze was awarded the “For Spiritual Revival” prize by the President. Pandzhavidze was also awarded the National Theater Award for “Nabucco” by Giuseppe Verdi. All of this in only three years! We have often narrated on the personality of Mikhail Pandzhavidze and his creative achievements in the magazine but now we wanted to talk to him. The interview turned out to be spontaneous

cussed professionalism in the industry, the sensational premiere of “Salome”, and other important things. Before our eyes an international man of the world was revealed. One who is selfless, ready to serve, and whole-heartedly accepts those with conscience and talent. We came to understand that he is a professional. They say about such people: “the right man in the right place.” — Mikhail Aleksandrovich! Do you think the public enjoyed page “Salome”?

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Scene from the play “Don Pasquale”

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You saw the ovation 49 the —audience gave during

the opera forum. What do you think? — We believe the success lies in the unconventional reading of the biblical story and the deep idea it represents; not to mention the bright scenography, wonderful voices of our performers and music… — With all due respect to the public, I don’t think that the idea of this musical drama will be understood immediately. Because there is something in it that does not lie on the surface. It is more esoteric (esoteric is the area of specific views about the deep-mystical essence of human life — Auth.) So let’s look at “Salome” from this position. After all, John the Baptist was not as straightforward and foolish (in the play — Jokanaan) as he may seems. And Salome was not so nasty. She was just a girl who fell in love. That’s all. What turned out to be the tragedy in the end? She was brought up in such a way that it’s very clear! The girl demands — as a capricious child would — a favorite toy. How could someone disobey

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her? The child does not understand why Jokanaan does not love her. She’s a princess and she believes that Jokanaan is unjust. However, he feels attracted to her and hates himself for that. And thus, her as well. — It seems to us that a so-called “love of Salome” model prevails in the modern world. For example: if I really love you, then everything between us should be the way I want. And couples often communicate in their relationships at the sensually-possessive, selfish level of love. — Well, we all can fall very short of unconditional love — such as a mother’s love for her child — in a paired relationship. As for Salome, it seems to me that she most likely had “Tatyana’s love”: falling in love with a character. Anyway, I, as a production director, oriented and directed the performers to this. — But Jokanaan does not see it… — This is the point. Jokanaan is an ascetic who is not subject to temptation, who withstood temptation in the wilderness, and killed the sarx. Suddenly he meets a girl who is different from the others.

— As in the famous Hollywood film “The Fifth Element”… — Yes, yes, yes! She was from another world. So, he is from the more authentic, rigid life. It’s like his image was taken out from the picture of Valentin Serov. This little girl is so… lisle… — It means delicate, romantic … — Right. By the way, Katya Shimanovich designed great costumes and made Salome look so childish. When they meet, they look at each other and recognize this is something unusual. They’re different from each other and all the others. They stand out from all their surroundings and are alien to it. Thanks to these differences, they met each other but also lost each other. — Generally speaking, this performance is about the eternal problem of a great, all-consuming, boundless love, from which is one-step to hate… — Salome is drawn to Jokanaan as a character — she has only emotions, admiration, delight. But he is embarrassed that he is attracted to her. He hates himself for this and in turn hates her. As I

Т mentioned, Salome has a childish love. She wasn’t aware of the troubles of desire but she had already felt emotions like jealousy, hurt and the bitterness of a rejected woman. You know the saying, “becoming a widow without having time to become a wife.” It’s scary for a woman to be rejected. Usually, a man chooses a woman, fights for her, and she then decides yes or no. If not, the law of nature is violated and women do not forgive that. So Salome, when responding to her “I love you,” he declares, “damn you!” Salome perceives that as a terrible abuse. — You say that Salome is not inherent to the passions of an adult woman. Nevertheless you show them in the images of seven dancing girls in rainbow-colored costumes which, apparently symbolized the awakening of passions in Salome as well. — Exactly. They were dormant but then began to rage in her. This is how we chose the image of the seven colors to represent the seven sins of men. — That was great. The thought of sins and the multi-layered, human nature seemed clever. — Oh, this play still lacks a huge amount of money to become a masterpiece. It could be a masterpiece unlike anyone has ever done. I say it without any false modesty. So much could be done, but the story of the images — the whole image row — I am responsible for it and I am very proud of it. There are three points for which I am not ashamed. Firstly, we brought together Zarathustra and Salome, and it was musically precise. Second: everything was decided not in a head-on or illustrative, physiologically, or outrageous way but instead through the figurative-associative series. It was the icing on the cake for the director. I tell you honestly: it was very hard work because it was necessary to generate and “deliver” everything. We didn’t want to squeeze out anything or think speculatively. We wanted to generate in a way that everything worked out. I’m just so happy that we succeeded. Proud of it. Of course, it wasn’t only my effort. It took the help of my wife (Ekaterina Golovleva, performing the part of

Salome — Auth.), and all the other guys. I do not mention my wife and all the guys lightly. Katya successfully coped with this character. It was very risky. I can admit that I even thought during the process that Katya would be removed. Maybe she would slip for any number of reasons. The character is complicated and not everyone can try it on. They just can’t. It’s similar to how a child can draw or cannot. Or like someone having a tuneful ear or not. There is some kind of reality in life that cannot be denied. If you can lift 80 kilograms, you can lift that amount but nothing more. Farmers have such an indicator called the coefficient of natural fertility of land. In the area of Westphalia, it is equal to 76. In Krasnodar, the average is 52, and in Belarus — 28. In the best conditions, it will always be 28. — This phenomenon could be used in relation to the quality of talents. One could call it the coefficient of natural fertility of talent. In other words, the natural fertility ratio could be used as a business development strategy. — How else? A hectare of land can produce a certain yield and no more, no matter how much one would like. — You can also say, since we are dealing with voice, sound, and more broadly with some kind of spiritual vibration, this person lives, creates, expresses his/her inherent talent on another wavelength. Sometimes, we talk about why it is difficult to find mutual understanding when communicating with peo-

erritory of creativity ple; even with those to whom we’re close. Unfortunately, this is not a wavelength at all. Sometimes you even have to part and end long-term friendships. It’s not because someone is bad or someone is good but it’s due to different vibrations. We think that the opera, as in other high art, has to consider such phenomena and theories as the natural fertility coefficient of talents and with the range of wavelength of mental vibrations… — Yes, yes, yes …People’s mentalities are different, therefore, their opportunities, talents, and abilities are also different. — Is there shantrapa (lowlifes)? — Yes. I suppose, you mean the French word, which means “you will not sing” (chantera pas)? French teachers supposedly said this when selecting children for the landowner choir. But in terms of theatrical jargon, “shantrapa” means “supernumeraries”. During the performances, they said, “and now on the stage: nymphs, dryads and other shantrapa.” It means those who go into the crowd. The French term has nothing in common with the Russian concept of the beggar, scoundrel, or wanderer, known and used at the beginning of the XIX century in Voronezh, Smolensk and other dialects. (It was proven that the Russian “shantrapa” has nothing to do with the French “chantera pas” (rus. “You will not sing”). In our modern view, the term exposes the musical ignorance that was considered “mauvais ton” among French tutors. (Ushakov indi- page

One of the last premiers, directed by Mikhail Pandzhavidze — “Salome”. In the center — Ekaterina Golovleva (Salome)

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cated in his explanatory dictionary the second meaning of “shantrapa” as a generic term for “tag-rag and bobtail” — Auth.) — Someone reads cultural codes on-the-fly and the other one does not understand it at all. What is that all about? What kind of codes are these? Moreover, is it useless to try to convince someone that he is living and communicating “on the wrong wavelength”? For various reasons, there is one perspective, and there is another. — I agree, but let us get back to Salome. I would like to say that I am proud of Katya. She did not fall down in the process of drama practice. It was too difficult to make happen. First, everything was great vocally. The theatre-goer doesn’t notice, but I know what it costs. For many days there were practices, including classes with a German coach. At the same time, the voice did not spoil. The sound was pure. It wasn’t just her skill and it was clear that everything was embodied within her. I was just lucky with that. — It’s so nice to do a good thing, especially with a loved one who feels you. So, you live and breathe with her in the same spiritual way.. — Well, it coincided. Others suffer and groan but this one sings and sings, sings and sings, and sings and sings without problems. There’s already been 12 performances in a row. Well, she’s tough as iron they tell me. Yes, such a madam. Lucky. It was harder to act because “Salome” is a virtuoso acting story. Of course, the singer differs from Salome by age. Therefore, it is quite difficult for her to play a prig-up girl. But the biography helped. When we worked on the image she asked how should she communicate with Jokanaan and I suggested that she address everyone in the same tone as uncle Vanya or aunt Herodias. You should respect their age because they all are older than you. This is the first thing. The second thing was to build the logic of actions and look after our Sasha (the youngest daughter of Mikhail Pandzhavidze and Ekaterina

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Childlike innocence is a good lesson for adults

Golovleva — Auth.). I am writing everything off of her. This is such childlike ingenuousness! — And where does Ekaterina come from? — She comes from Moscow. Her father is from St. Petersburg. Ekaterina was born in Moscow, studied in Moscow, worked in Moscow. She married me even though I was not born in Moscow. I just studied there. They called me to Belarus so she left with me. — How many years have you been together? — For a long time. More than 20 years. — Let us return to the childlike ingenuousness, not of Salome, but of Sasha, from whom you write off… — You know what childlike ingenuousness is. Thanks to it, us grown-ups do not forget what it means to be natural… — Once, you told us about your respect for the Belarusian language, and the fact that your vocabulary was developing thanks to your daughter who went to a Minsk kindergarten and began to speak Belarusian easily. Apparently she already knows many words. Tell us how you study Belarusian with Sasha?

— No how. She learns it herself communicating with kids in the kindergarten. She also had a nanny named Lyuda until the age of three. She spoke trassyanka (mixed RussianBelarusian language — Auth.). Here Sasha absorbed different words. She has words in her vocabulary such as kiptsіki, teptsіkі (nails, slippers — Auth.)… When the little girl finished with Lyuda, she said these words with pleasure. Once her grandmother from Moscow stayed with us and heard that Sasha was babbling and asked, “what are these kiptsіki?” And my daughter explained it to her although at that time she didn’t speak very well. But she grasped everything in a single flash at the age of two and a half years. Including kiptsіki. — So she got the word “kiptsіki” from the nanny as you mentioned to us in conversation before. — Yes, it is from the nanny Lyuda. — And where is the nanny Lyuda from? — Well, Lyudmila Aleksandrovna is a person known in our theater circles. She is a senior obstetrician-gynecologist of the 2nd maternity hospital as well as the wife

Т the story and the libretto for our opera. I immediately read the story in its original version in the Belarusian language. It’s the principle of it all. I experimented if I can understand the Belarusian language intuitively. Then I read it in the Russian translation. I was convinced that I understood everything in the right away. — You know, Korotkevich also studied in Moscow. — He also studied in Kiev. He spoke Ukrainian and a few other languages.

It is difficult to train them. They say, we have Anna Motornaya (choirmaster and director of performances in the Musical Theater — Auth.). That’s a good start but is it enough? Under the Soviet regime, whole studios traveled to Moscow. They were not lazy. They returned and opened theaters. — But we have only one opera theater in all of Belarus. Apparently, they were afraid of overproduction of opera directors. Where would they work in that case?

Belarus is a singing nation! You can see it at the premiere of the play “Don Pasquale”. How amazingly they sing! And they are all graduates of the Belarusian Conservatory. There is a bass, two tenors, a baritone, and a soprano. Where did they come from? So we have talented singers! The works of Korotkevich should be read between the lines. He laid many different subtexts in them. — What do you think is necessary for the national opera art to evolve? — If you want to develop national art, you should take the best in the world. No matter what. If Russia has a powerful theatrical school of opera, it’s necessary to learn from it. There isn’t a balanced system in Belarus yet. I’m talking about the training of opera directors.

— Half would be eliminated before graduation. There were five of us in my class and only two graduated, and only I became a director. Ira Lychagina, my classmate, works in introductions in plays at the Stanislavsky Theater. — What is the reason, you think, that not everyone can sing here? And even more to stage opera … is it the energy of the land? Too little sun? Maybe it’s simply not a singpage ing nation?

mikhail nesterov

of a former ballet dancer. He is now a mimansa artist. Lyuda “gave birth” to half of the theater, as we say (laugh). And when Sasha was born, Lyuda became her nanny and did it for almost three years. I repeat, Grandma, asks, “what are kiptsіki?” and Sasha so seriously answered, “kiptsіki means nails.” We were very surprised by this. The child didn’t yet understand whether it was in Belarusian or in Russian when she was using the words. But she already understands what two languages are. Kamennaya Gorka is also in her vocabulary (the new microdistrict of Minsk was named after a suburban village. — Auth.). Well, the wrong stress in the words “da'la” (give), “vzya'la” (take), “pi'la” (drink) is understandable. “Ruku'” (hand), “nagu'” (lag), “galavu'” (head) — the same. I do not correct it. I let it be. There is a time for everything. When we are in a public transport, for example, Sasha mimics as they announce stations in Belarusian: “Nastupny prypynak — vulitsa Kamunistychnaya” (the next station is Kommunisticheskaya street)… — Does Sasha recite poetry? — Of course! Once she came home and started: “The Sunny Bunny runs on the wall/I think it runs from me/Behind the cloud the sun has fall/ — So as the Bunny has never been”. — You did great! — Well, thank you …When we arrived in Minsk our son also went to school and read in Belarusian as well without any problems. First, Katya analyzed how to read these letters, and he opened and read, and translated easily, although he went to the usual compulsory scchool. He also studied music — there is also the Belarusian language… In order to study the Belarusian language, I think it shouldn’t be forced. I was not made to study anything but I learned the same somehow. Let’s see whether or not I will learn better if I stay in Belarus. — Which Belarusian classic writers have you read? — Vladimir Korotkevich is my favorite. At one time I was impressed by the story “The Gray Legend”. There is a big difference, by the way, between

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Behind the scenes — another life

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Scene from the play "The Grey Legend"

— That’s not true! Belarus is a singing nation! You can see it at the premiere of the play “Don Pasquale”. How amazingly they sing! And they are all graduates of the Belarusian Conservatory. There is a bass, two tenors, a baritone, and a soprano. Where did they come from? So we have talented singers! Here’s the thing: we are just a small country. When Belarus was integrated into the Soviet space there was a system of personnel selection that was sending people to the center which was established from Brest to Vladivostok. Only the best remained there and the rest, who aren’t that bad, returned with a smart education. Students were brought up and sent to become teachers. This is how national schools grew. It was a great empire. Not in the sense of capturing foreign lands, but in the sense of building a vertical training system. The selection system was brilliant! Not recruitment, but selection. And there were 250 million people. By all accounts, this is a self-sufficient amount for reproduction. Plus, on 1/5 of the land you could find all the natural resources. An entire periodic table. A Self-contained system. Therefore, if there were not enough specialists in Belarus, they took them from where they were. And vice versa. The All-Union assembly shop was here where there was the most high-precision production.

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— Do you personally feel comfortable in Belarus? — Absolutely. Although, it is a tumultuous period all over the world. I was once even asked the provocative question of if there is ever a conflict between Russia and Belarus, who are you going to fight for? I said, “this is a good question, because, thank God, it is impossible!” But if it would happen suddenly, I would take an automatic rifle, step onto the front line, and would not allow either of them to hurt each other … — So it would be a peacekeeping act to keep the Russians and Belarusians from coming together in a direct confrontation? — You can say so. I’ll be killed, of course. However, then I will have nothing to lose - because there will be nothing to believe in. For me, as it happens in Ukraine, it’s like a personal tragedy. I shed tears every day. I also have relatives in Ukraine. My grandmother was from Crimea and she is buried in Yalta. M aunts are in the same place. Now I can’t even travel there. For men aged 16 to 60 years old, entry into the country is restricted. For example, Viktor Ploskina (main conductor of the Bolshoi Theater — Auth.) also loves Ukraine. He is from the Transcarpathia region. Not so long ago he went to Russia. A year and a half ago maybe. Before leaving, he said: “Mishko, if something will happen, I’ll call you.” “And what can happen?”, I asked. Viktor responded, “I have a Ukrainian pass-

port”. “Nobody thinks about you there, in Russia,” I said. “Stay calm.” He was invited to Cheboksary to conduct the festival. He called me in the middle of the night excitedly, “Mishko, we do something wrong...” “Who are we?” I said. I didn’t understand. “We, Ukraine…” He visited Moscow, Kazan, and Cheboksary and returned enthusiastic. He said: “I am shocked! What kind of people are there? Normal. All like family! They share with you on the train. You can help yourself. The shared with me! A stranger! Where can you see something like this now? And they live well there.” I traveled half the world myself and everywhere there are evil people and normal people. P. S. After the grand gala concert, which ended the International Opera Forum and the Young Vocalists’ Contest (by the way, the projects have arisen at the Pandzhavidze Theater) we saw him tired, in a gray sweater in the lobby. I thought, “apparently the tension of the holidays affected him.” The Christmas tree sparkled, joyful people took pictures and Pandzhavidze was in his thoughts. Maybe he was thinking about how his wife Ekaterina Golovleva sang the main part in Salome the day before, or about a little and important member of the family — the sick dog, he told us about before the concert. But when he saw us, he smiled and we came up with words of admiration. We talked about the creatively built program, and the quality duets in which soloists from different continents performed. For example, a Frenchwoman sang with a Korean, and an Italian with a Mexican. It was great! So, we thanked Pandzhavidze for the holiday and he, as a person with humor would, joked, “yes, it’s a holiday for theater-goers and I am like a farm horse.” Then he explained in response to our silent question that when the Brigadier gets married, everyone has fun but the horse works hard. Finally, he seriously added, “I just wanted everyone to be in a festive mood.” And so it was! Interviewed Valentina and Ivan Zhdanovich.

Т “Music has incredible magical power...” It is difficult to disagree with opinion of the French writer Gaston Leroux. And it was possible to make sure that these words are correct in the Big Ball at the Bolshoi Theater, which traditionally took place on the night of the Old New Year.

It wasN’t boring!

Live sculptures, a chess “machine” an d a p h ot o b o ot h , w h e re y ou could take snapshots as mementos; mime quizzes, dance battles and karaoke with a star, a candy zone with a chocolate fountain and snow show, astrologers, tarot masters, chiromancers and — for the first time! — bodigraphy specialists and artistic entertainment in the style of mehendi and glitter tattoo — all this pleased the audience during the night. A special mood was given to the audience by our wonderful musicians: the band A. M. A. D. I. S. Brass., string quartet Vivat Quartet!, string quintet “Serenade”, as well as the ensemble of trombonists and saxophonists. Seats in the Chamber Hall were traditionally occupied in advance: three incredible concerts took place on the small stage. Well, at midnight we were waiting for a surprise concert, which was prepared

by the chief director of the theater Mikhail Pandzhavidze on the large stage in a creative collaboration with the chief choirmaster Nina Lomanovich. It was an incredible musical firework of reincarnation. The Big New Year’s Ball at the Bolshoi ended at around 4:00 a.m. Let’s add that this amazing holiday was prepared for us by a big friendly team. Maestro conductors Andrey Galanov, Ivan Kostyakhin and Oleg Lesun were responsible for the musical component. For the dance — choreographer Olga Kostel. Stage directors Darya Potaturko, Natalya Baranovskaya, Elena Medyakova and Natalya Kuzmenkova thought about contests, games, music programs and other entertainment. Chief artist Aleksandr Kostyuchenko and Ekaterina Shimanovich worked on the decoration of the hall and foyer. By Mikhalina Cherkashina

pavel bas

— Don’t be surprised, told us on the eve of the ball Elena Balabanovich, the managing editor of information department of the Bolshoi Theatre, — if this time you notice in a crowd of dancing couples… The Phantom of the Opera or hear his charming voice. The romantic hero of Leroux’s gothic novel will stay at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus for one night from January 13 to 14. By the way, note that the theme of the ball will require you to come to the theater in masks. The owner of the most unusual, original mask after midnight will get a prize! And from all guests of the Bolshoi Theatre on this night we expect a good mood, positive energy and a desire to have fun! Everything went as expected! There were the Phantom of the Opera, masks and fun… In new year, the Big New Year’s Ball at the Bolshoi took place for the 10th time, and the theme of this night really was “The Phantom of the Opera” of Gaston Leroux. It became the source for interesting directing elements and theatrical solutions, based on mystification, illusion, mystery, a riddle…And miracles began to happen immediately at the ball, which solemnly opened this evening. Directors impressed the guests with the elements of immersive theater, when the artists as if from nowhere appeared in the crowd of spectators, involving them in their game. The second ball, which was opened after midnight, surprised us with its musical decision, which was more than democratic. Classical music was combined with jazz, swing and even rock-and-roll!

hat Old New Year

беларусь. belarus 2019

ongratulations!

Our Masha

Maria Vasilevich from Belarus was recognized as the most beautiful girl of Europe

he fact that Belarusians are the most b e aut i f u l g i r l s i n Europe has become more obvious these days than ever. And here’s the proof: the oldest and most prestigious beauty contest on the planet for the sixty-eighth time in December last year named the best of the best. And for the first time in the history our contestant — “Miss Belarus” Maria Vasilevich — got into the final five and won the title of “Miss Europe”. But the beauty queen of the world scale (by the way, also for the first time) was recognized a citizen of Mexico. For the next year, the title “Miss World 2018” will be born by a 26‑year-old Vanessa Ponce de Leon. What do you know about the most beautiful girl on the planet? In her native Mexico, everyone who has a TV knows the beauty: Va-

беларусь. belarus 2019

nessa is the winner of the fifth season of the TV reality show “Mexico’s Top Model”. After the victory, advertising contracts and offers fell on the girl, but some time ago, Vanessa withdrew from model business, focusing all her attention on charity: it is known, for example, that she is a member of the board of the rehabilitation center for migrant women. In addition, the Mexican has a degree in international business and a diploma in human rights. For a month people of the Chinese island of Hainan and its southernmost city of Sanya, watched the world triumph of beauty and grace. Exactly there 118 beauties from all over the world rehearsed defiles daily, tried on clothes and gave press conferences. Although Maria began to prepare for the final work in Minsk: she took etiquette lessons, studied scenic speech, English, and trained in the gym. But the most difficult, she said, was … to pack a bag:

But the defile in swimsuits, as an attentive viewer has already noticed, was not included in this year’s program of “Miss World”. Parameters 90–60–90, insist the organizers, are no longer in trend, in fashion are an active social position, compassion and a good heart. After all, the beauty queen is a standard in every sense. Therefore, some time ago, “Miss World” deliberately refused from defile in bikini to shift the focus to charity projects of participants. Masha’s project, for example, is associated with the creative realization of people with disabilities. Even the souvenirs that “Miss Belarus” brought to other participants as a gift were made by the pupils of the Kamensk special needs boarding school: — Many people think that charity is what beauty contest finalists have to do under contract. But that’s not true. Everything comes from the heart, no one makes us do anything. By Yuliana Leonovich

Anatoly Kleshchuk

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