Such an attractive, mysterious world

Rhythmic gymnastics is love. In the case of Belarusian gymnastics we can say that it is also Lyubov Cherkashina. In 2012 she was an Olympic bronze medalist, and now she is a judge, a coach, and the head of the athletes’ commission of the International Gymnastics Federation. Lyubov Cherkashina has let correspondents of “Zviazda” into the attractive and mysterious world of rhythmic gymnastics, as well as into her own.

— Lyubov, rhythmic gymnastics is a sport where every year counts. How did the girls gymnasts spend the year with‑ out competing?

— For the gymnasts who were planning to finish their careers with the Olympics in Tokyo, the postponement was a big blow, while for the young girls it was a good opportunity to improve their physical and psychological fitness. We tried to look for the pluses as much as possible. For example, I was finally able to spend a lot of time with my daughter, who is growing up so quickly, and do the things I love. Irina Yuryevna Leparskaya, the team’s head coach, figured out an ingenious way for the girls not to lose their form and their love of gymnastics during the enforced quarantine. First, they made up their own exercises, and then watched previous years’ performances and repeated them at improvised competitions. This project has proved that any generation of gymnasts should have a passion for gymnastics, because champions do not just become the ones, there are always unique elements and a lot of hard work behind them.

— Is the rhythmic gymnastics you performed in 2012 sig‑ nificantly different from the today’s one?

— Rhythmic gymnastics evolves in cycles and there have always been different requirements. At one time more beauty was required and there was a time when physical training prevailed. Nowadays, more emphasis is placed on the complexity of the accessory. In my days a gymnast would appear on the floor and no one knew her set of elements. Now we can roughly predict what elements she repeatedly uses in her performances. Before, gymnasts were more plastic and graceful, there was incredible harmony between the body and the accessory. The complexity of the accessory is super, for one and a half minutes of a solo’s performance, people constantly admire, but they get tired of it, they need to relax their minds.

— What, in your opinion, is the reason for such a change?

— Rhythmic gymnastics is a whole world where everything is interconnected: the athletes, the federation, the audience. There is something new with every cycle. Margarita Mamun and Yana Kudryavtseva from Russia showed incredible technique, which gave a big boost to the sport. In the 2000s, when Alina Kabaeva “made a hit”, she showed the limitless possibilities of her body, and everyone started to repeat after her, to continue… So rhythmic gymnastics is changing and developing.

— How difficult is it for you, as a judge, to evaluate perfor‑ mances with changing requirements?

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— Everyone, including the judge, must be professional, regardless of the circumstances. A gymnast performs a huge number of elements, while a judge is not a computer and a human factor cannot be completely ruled out. Therefore, the subjectivity of judging depends on the conscience of each person. When I sit at the judge’s table, I simply watch the performance and give my grade.

— Lyubov, what were the most pressing issues the Interna‑ tional Gymnastics Federation athletes’ committee had to deal with this year?

— The commission includes representatives from all gymnastics disciplines. First of all, we had to decide how to change our work, we sorted it out and now work online. The most popular question from athletes was the postponement of the Olympic Games. The gymnasts still have time to be selected for the Olympics at the qualifying events. But one country has completely closed all the gyms, while in others they were open and the athletes trained in the usual conditions. And this is wrong, the sporting principle is violated, people are not in equal circumstances.

— Are the Olympic licenses of the Belarusian team wait‑ ing in the wings?

— Yes, the girls won a full set of licenses. In total there are two single licenses and one group license for the country. Due to the fact that the licenses are not named, we will have to choose who will go to Tokyo the whole next season. Our legendary trio — Ekaterina Galkina, Alina Gornosko and Anastasiya Salas — will compete among themselves for a place under the sun in Tokyo. “The Groupers” will also have to fight. There are six of them, while a group of five girls competes at the Olympics. But training with five is almost suicidal, there must be a substitute.

— How is Ekaterina Galkina, the prima of our rhythmic gymnastics?

— A gymnast as a woman, as a person grows rapidly, her body changes. It is very difficult to keep yourself within rigid limits all the time. Unfortunately, Katya has problems with her legs. One leg is OK, we are now working on the other one. We hope that Katya has enough time to rehabilitate and return to Olympic racing. Her career deserves a beautiful ending. Of course it is difficult to go through surgeries and almost to be born again. But I think it will make her stronger and build her character even more.

— Since 2000 Russian gymnasts have invariably become Olympic champions in rhythmic gymnastics. What can the Belarusian school learn from the Russian one?

— It’s no secret that the Russian team is traditionally very strong. It’s a huge country with a lot of talents and each champion is a unique personality who sets certain trends in gymnastics. It’s great that we have such rivals, who help us to constantly raise our level. Yes, we have a smaller scale of the country but this does not prevent the Belarusian school from maintaining its reputation. Everyone knows that Olympic champion

The Olympics 2012 will remain in Lyubov's memory forever

Marina Lobach grew up in Belarus. And now our aspiration to go forward is not diminished. An athlete who does not strive for the first place is a bad one.

— Rhythmic gymnastics is a kind of show where appear‑ ance matters a lot. Can we say that there is a gymnastics fash‑ ion industry?

— To call it industry would be an exaggeration. But there are certain trends in swimwear. They are often patterned after dresses in fashion magazines. And on a gymnast a cut may look more spectacular than on the catwalk. I like it when they add skirts to swimming costumes, it looks very feminine and, if necessary, hides the figure’s nuances. Some people create paintings on swimming costumes. For example, there is a panther’s muzzle on Alina Gornosko’s leotard. The best leotards are always those of leading gymnasts or those who can afford it, because it’s not cheap. But sometimes a girl, especially a little one, gets lost in a leotard. A gymnast under ten years old should learn and show her physique, not the financial capacity of her parents.

— How does the choice of music for gymnastics programs go?

— First of all, the composition should be suitable for the age of the gymnast. When a girl wants a song with words in a foreign language, Irina Yuryevna requires translation and un-

derstanding of its meaning. During the quarantine, the girls themselves chose the music for their exercises. Moreover, they wrote a libretto to it, a story which they then showed in the performance. It’s one thing when you explain where and how to smile and what look to show, and another thing when a gymnast feels it herself.

— Does the choice of music relate to the specifics of the ac‑ cessory with which you have to perform?

— Most choose slow music for balls and fast ones for ropes. There are almost no “slow” clubs. Katya Galkina once had “slow” clubs and everyone was skeptical about it, but it turned out well. A ribbon is something sublime, like a waltz. The hoop is a fairly universal accessory. Some try to have rhythmic, disco music and the judges are sometimes unsure of how to judge such a performance. A gymnast must be able to listen to and understand music, which, like literature, is perceived differently at each age. — One needs lessons in acting to successfully develop an image during a performance… — At one time, Irina Yuryevna implemented almost an entire acting project. Stage speech teachers came to the girls. The athletes were taught how to behave in front of the camera, in public, how to give interviews. There were classes in makeup. But the girls were taught acting skills not much; each of them puts something into their performances. The athletes are constantly working on their callisthenic. They have a choreographer with whom they learn different types of dances — from lyrical to hip-hop. They can practice the same moves but use them to express different emotions and states. It is also a kind of acting skill.

Lyubov Cherkashina trains future Olympic stars

— Can a gymnast perform excellently with all four acces‑ sories, or is there still a preference for a one?

— Performance at the Olympics is judged on individual allaround, so you have to perform the maximum in all disciplines. But if you look at international competitions, our women’s singles athletes have the most medals with the ball. During my sports career I was best at balls and clubs. The hardest part is always the ribbon — it may be wet, get tangled, fly in the wrong

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Relay race of the 2nd European Games "Flame of Peace". Minsk, 2019

direction… Modern gymnastics has become much younger. And female athletes of 16–19 years are very brave. They are not afraid to do things that previously seemed impossible.

— In one of the interviews you were compared with Ekat‑ erina Galkina and you said that she is a talented gymnast and you are a “made” one. What does that mean?

— Katya has a natural sense of music, body, beauty, cat-like dorsal spine mobility. I often joke at her, I say: “No matter what happens, you always fall on your four legs”. I, on the other hand, had a lot to learn. I am a hardy Capricorn, so my talent lies in hard work, obstinacy and patience of coaches. If you ask what helped Lyubov Cherkashina, everyone would say she is hardworking but not naturally talented.

— According to your social media, it looks that your daughter Vera will follow in her mother’s footsteps…

— She loves to spend time in the gym, repeats after the girls and dances at home. Vera hears music very well and she has good coordination — I didn’t have that, it’s my husband’s genes. Vitya and I have no aim for her to take up gymnastics. For me the most important thing is to see my child happy.

— Lyubov, in rhythmic gymnastics you know all the roles. Which one is the most comfortable and which one is the most difficult for you?

— The best is to be an athlete, the centre of the universe, for whom everyone works. The only thing is that it is unpleasant to lose. And then it gets harder, because it’s not just about your life, you have to take responsibility for other people’s fates. Working as a coach, I have realized how hard it is. I admire the wisdom, stamina and patience of the coaches who have dedicated their lives to this cause. By Valeriya Stsetsko

Our readers are already familiar with the Belarusian writer Lyudmila Rublevskaya. We wrote about an adaptation of one of her novels, The Adventures of Prantish Vyrvich. In the last issue of the magazine we published an interview with her “My characters manage me.” Now we propose to get acquainted with the fairy tale of Lyudmila Rublevskaya, which she wrote for adults. In the cycle “The Crown at the Bottom of a Pool, or Tales from the Farm of Grandmother Yustyna”, each fairy tale is a legend about the origin of a plant listed in the Red Book of Belarus. Herbalist Yustyna explains why a living flower is more important than gold jewelry, and for happiness it is not necessary to have a throne, and why you need to love your land and respect the memory of your ancestors.

SWORDSMAN ERMOL, OR SWORD-GRASS

You say you were running near strength — but a courageous heart. Ermol prince died with an enemy arrow in his the lake and cut yourself on led his squad in battles more than once. He neck, and there was no hope of salvation. such a nasty, sharp grass … saved the life of his prince more than once. The swordsman fought like a dozen

Well, first of all, you are Love also knows no titles. No one sus- soldiers. Feelings of guilt multiplied his already big enough, and pected why the swordsman Ermol so of- strength, but also deprived him of discreyou shouldn’t cry because ten asked to be on the night watch. They tion. After all, in battle, discretion is also of a scratch. Now we put a plantain leaf on thought he wanted to show how faith- needed — unless, of course, you want to the cut, and everything will heal. The grass fully he served. Only the moon, which die. Ermol missed a strong blow, and fell that cut you is not bad at all. The truth is looked into the room of the only princely against the castle wall, on the shore of that it is sharp as a blade. Once on the daughter Galena, knew the secret. Ermol the lake, just from the side that he was shores of our blue lakes only soft, delicate and Galena met as often as they could, but supposed to guard at night — and overgrasses and flowers used to grow. It was seldom enough to make the thirst for a new looked. so pleasant to run straight from the for- meeting burn brighter than the brightest No, he did not die. But was there any joy est path into the cool, clear, as glass waves. torch on the walls of the watchtowers. for him, when, having come to his senses, Do you know that our Belarusian lakes are There is, of course, great power in he saw the walls of the castle black from the most beautiful in the world? Is it not love, as well as big weakness. the fire, the dead comrades… When in debecause of this that money-grubbing in- The prince received news that again the spair he looked back, he noticed something vaders were constantly drawn to our land? enemies were going to go through our for- bright on the waves of the lake, just under

There was a castle on the shore of this est to the capital of the Grand Duchy. So the window of the princess, it was her veil… lake. Past it, between the lake and the for- far, there was no dust on the roads, the at- Well, the clear waters of the lake are est, there was a road to the rich and beau- tack was expected in a few days. As always, better than captivity and shame… tiful Belarusian cities. The prince and his Ermol volunteered to guard from midnight Then Ermol, together with his battle soldiers, who lived in the castle, guarded to dawn on the tower, which rose above the sword, went into the waves, in which the the road from enemies. On the one hand, lake, in which the princess’ rooms were sit- rising sun was already reflecting and in they were helped by the waters of the lake, uated. He sent other soldiers to those tow- despair he prayed: on the other — by the wall of an impen- ers from which the road was viewed. — There is no excuse for me… etrable forest. The warriors themselves This time, the enemies did not go ei- There is no measure of my guilt… So, were as strong as carvel pines, and unstop- ther along the road or through the forest. Lord, in redemption, I will forever propable as the waves. The most powerful At midnight they sailed on canoes to the tect this shore, the waters of this lake from among them was the princely swordsman, walls of the castle and threw strong ropes enemies, and I will not rest either day or a mighty knight named Ermol. with steel hooks on the walls chipped night, not in heat, or in cold…

In fact, he was not of a knight’s origin during numerous sieges. The best knight Words spoken with the fullness of at all, but was born in the very village in of the prince Ermol heard nothing. He despair do not disappear in vain. Swordswhich your grandparents now live. But looked into the bottomless eyes of his be- man Ermol turned into tall dark grass that Ermol grew up so intelligent and strong loved, in which the moon was reflected, cuts like a real blade. Try to run through that he joined the service of the princely and he heard one gentle music of feeling. such thickets — you will feel the power army, at first — as a simple soldier, and Only when, instead of the moon, he saw of the guard. No wonder, this plant was then his bravery earned the prince’s af- the reflections of a fire in the eyes of his called sword-grass. fection and, in the end, the knighthood. beloved, he realized that the irreparable But don’t fear either herbs or enemies. After all, a knight can be born in a simple had happened. If you happen to choose between pleasure hut, and it is not a sword, even forged by When Ermol rushed into battle, half and heavy duty, remember the swordsthe best craftsmen, that gives a warrior of the knights were already killed, the man Ermol and the sword-grass.

“THE GREY LEGEND” BECOMES MODERNITY

Kirill Zadvorny, a student of the Belarusian Academy of Arts, has illustrated one of Vladimir Korotkevich’s novels

“The Grey Legend” (there is another title — “Roman Rakuta”) is a historical story that Vladimir Korotkevich first published in the magazine “Plamya” in 1961. It tells the story of Konrad Tskhaken, commander of a unit of Swiss mercenaries, who received an urgent order to come to the estate of his master, Alekhno Kizgayla. An hour later Tskhaken learnt that a peasant rebellion had broken out in the area. It was led by local nobleman Roman Rakutovich. The Swiss were surprised that the reason for Roman’s hatred was the fact that Kizgayla had not released Rakutovich’s sweetheart, a simple peasant.

Page after page I return to the familiar artistic space of the legendary tale of the classic of Belarusian literature. On the coated paper I find black and white images of ancient walls, of battle armour… And an image of a pitchfork, which was probably the weapon of many, many of our ancestors. Foreign warriors, invaders — they were always equipped, always had the upper hand. And what was left for the locals?! Just to take axes, scythes, pitchforks in their hands, in their hard, powerful, strong hands, and win…

The man by the ladder huddled, but did not run away. They threw down the ladder, however, but did not run away. Silently, they stood on the slope in a formation of three platoons. The others turned the abandoned ladder into a pile of splinters. The light shattered suspiciously in them, and I suspected something was wrong even at that moment.

The riders, portrayed by Kirill Zadvorny, give the well-known and from an artistic point of view very tense text even more “speed”. One gets the feeling that it is not just artistic empathy, the unity of word and image, but a sense of extraordinary dynamism and even a certain presence in the events described in the work. The young book designer (Kirill has an artistic background, having designed about a dozen books for PH “Zviazda”) had time to read and comprehend “The Grey Legend”. He wants to be precise, but he is also guided by the emotional nature of his perception of the work. Looking at Kirill Zadvorny’s artistic reading of the works by Vladimir Korotkevich, it is impossible not to mention the works of such “book designers of Korotkevich” as Mikhail Basalyga (his design of the novel “Christ Has Landed in Grodno”) and Pyotr Drachov (“Black Castle Olshansky”). No, the young creator is by no means repeating the solutions found by his predecessors! He is looking for his own way. At the same time, there is a clear tradition behind Kirill Zadvorny’s work.

The last illustration that completes Kirill Zadvorny’s layout (it’s a pity that no book publisher managed to publish “The Grey Legend” with the young artist’s design before the 90th anniversary of Vladimir Korotkevich!) is handcuffs thrown on the bloody ground or floor… We read in the story by Vladimir Korotkevich:

“The Grey Legend” was filmed. The main roles in the joint Soviet-Polish film were played by Ivars Kalniņš, Alla Murina and Lembit Ulfsak. The story was translated into Russian. The composer Dmitry Smolsky wrote an opera based on the tale.

There is a reason for the publication of “The Grey Legend” in illustrations by Kirill Zadvorny as in 2021 it will be 60 years since the publication (April issue of “Plamya” in 1961) of the legendary work of the Belarusian classic. By Nikolay Berlezh

VOICE IN COMMUNICATION SPACE

The new “Explanatory Dictionary of the Belarusian Language” will have 250 thousand words. The previous dictionary had 97 thousand words

Works of modern authors and classic literary heritage consolidate society, influence the formation and development of individuals. Literature teaches critical thinking, enriches the Belarusian language, and helps to preserve it. These thoughts were expressed by the participants of the recent press con-

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ference “Language of the Belarusian classics and the web.4.0 society: interaction and transformation, popularization in mass media”. — Culture, language, literature, humanitarian sphere, science and education have always been the core of the existence and functioning of the state and development of the society.

I want to say that our classical heritage is not limited only to the classical heritage proper, with the works by Yakub Kolas, Yanka Kupala, Bogdanovich and others. Classical traditions are very actively followed in our modern Belarusian literature. Both in the Belarusian-language and Russian-language literature,— said director of the Yanka Kupala Institute of Literature, Doctor of Philological Sciences Ivan Saverchenko.— If we take modern authors, I observe their civic position, and see that they are aimed at consolidating the society, at creative labor. That is the writer’s mission. We sometimes do not notice it, but it is literature, belles-lettres, that has an impact on a person’s maturity, on the shaping of their world view. Finally, we live in such a global world, where literature is an important factor for international dialogue. One can visit another country, but many learn about their neighbours precisely through literary works. People from other countries learn about the life, problems, and achievements of Belarus through our works. Literature is the foundation on which people can and should be united into one family. In turn, Director of the Yakub Kolas Institute of Linguistics, Igor Kopylov, said that today the popularization of the language of the classics and language preservation are very topical issues not only for our country, but for the entire world community. This is evidenced by numerous forums, con-

ferences, where scientists from around the world are trying to find solutions. Why is this so important? — The language of every nation is a unique instrument for understanding and describing its environment, an important means of communication and transfer of knowledge. It is a repository of the historical and social experience of a nation. It acts as a centralizing factor and a means of selfidentification. In general, no nation or state can exist without the national language. Despite this, almost half of the world’s languages are in danger of extinction today, according to UNESCO. Many languages are IML.BASNET.BY losing their meaning in various spheres of public life, including science, culture, media, politics, business and tourism,— said Igor Kopylov.— 600 languages disappeared during the 20th century. And unfortunately, these processes are going on. If they continue, according to pessimistic UNESCO forecasts, about 90 per cent of existing languages may disappear.

According to the scientist, the main challenges of today that have a significant impact on the language situation include the processes of globalization, the blurring of cultural boundaries and the loss of cultural differences. The liberalization of education, the development of social networks and public information space have also had a negative impact on the norms of literary language at different levels. Today, a fundamentally new information environment has emerged. But there are no authorities, no norms and no boundaries of self-expression.

And here it is important to remember that the loss of national languages leads not only to the loss of traditional spiritual heritage and the continuity of knowledge, but also to the loss of global cultural diversity. It is the work of writers and the popularization of their work in the media that play an extremely important role in the development of the Belarusian language and the formation of its norms. Publicistic writing has no less influence on the replenishment of the lexical composition and the definition of linguistic norms. — Neologisation and borrowing of words are still a topical issue. For instance, the new explanatory dictionary, the first volume of which is scheduled to be published by the Institute of Linguistics next year, will be about 250 thousand words, which is a good proof of that,

since the previous five-volume dictionary contains over 97 thousand words. By comparison, even the Oxford dictionary has 190 thousand words of the literary English language with a history of thousand years. So our language is not poorer, but even richer in terms of vocabulary,— says Igor Leonovich.— I would also like to draw attention to a very important aspect. Today it is very important to use the language in cyberspace. Because the presence on the Internet is one of the main conditions for the preservation and popularization of the language.

In the researcher’s opinion, the Belarusian language has good prospects in this direction, as it is present in Wikipedia, in social networks, and online libraries.

Linguists also make their contribution, e.g. they create electronic versions of dictionaries. The Institute of Linguistics is also preparing a consolidated collection of Belarusian accents. — Studying classical examples of the literary word is one of the most important stages in literary education. Nevertheless, from time to time we hear the question: why should we study classic literature? And in response to it I have several arguments. Firstly, the study of classical literature is one of the most effective ways to develop linguistic intelligence. Reading classical literature develops both active and passive vocabulary and helps to develop erudition, communication skills and self-actualization of the personality in the future. Secondly, classical literature is an effective means of learning about one’s environment. The works by Kolas,

Kupala, Bogdanovich, Goretsky and other Belarusian classics help students understand that there is no absolute truth in the world. Their works which are discussed at school develop critical thinking. Classical literature provides models of behaviour in various situations. Through classical literature the cultural codes of understanding the inner world of Belarusians are laid down. This is an important moment to preserve oneself in the global world,— said Vyacheslav Korotkevich, head of the department for monitoring the quality of education of the National Institute of Education during the discussion.— The authors of curricula and teaching aids do their utmost to ensure that our future generation learns to think critically, to have a taste for beauty, to enjoy the style of a writer through classical literature.

As we can see, although there are problems, they can be solved by joint efforts. And thus, contribute to the preservation and development of the Belarusian language and its presence in the global cultural and information space. By Elena Drapko