Belarus (magazine #03 2020) by BELARUS Magazine

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No. 3 (1038), 2020 Беларусь. Belarus

belarus Politics. Economy. Culture

ISSN 2415-394X

Maslenitsa is a multi-faceted 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 1

ГАЗЕТА З БЕЛАРУСІ

ГОЛАС РАДЗІМЫ

Голас Радзімы чацвер, 12 сакавіка, 2020

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Іа, ц пхр Кнабншамвао рту на буду -са эсазўгісцнээнцте ых а ы ты Во ла: г іх зо вайштвіі. адст а ра вы я т к п р П ы ы ў а т а зн й Н надзею, у што у на ы заккон п і б а сакая, авы жы ал рн У в аноў р м скрыццёмсталатое,што най малв адой нр лад,ад аўшы дзяржаве дзейнічаў У Міжнародны дзень род р а р най мо мпрык а кўазп ув,ы,заш Ра ы лагіч тэхн овен кар я вы ні з і др рые шацц ва ікаажыбтніацкаўм? зАРаькёнрахлі:зтуа лвьенкБ. ела культ сваю ульт вігаі.ж і Тртэ апяр аў эт ярод м Кр к С оўн ае лі 3 шор ўнік от, да н нн мЦкпа ала ваў ь індтоар эствы ўсіх во які м рыннбаан ўлатгаальсэкагабук ларускія аб адукацтыі, дзе У 21лютага,ДаўгаўпілскіЦэнтрбе а неншто а гадоврай традыцкы э а неілста н квараёсцьбе тл оў па ым жу 0 Фё ы а кXачІV —ларёус рч насцўліч а т на, ор яго. аўнін ства а а е Кпіатвыя лічўыдычаелпад а ранзауес,і,епра івае акннале ных п бы с дадн ічны аў да ва б асцжы клаі- , даяй эй шыноюзла м” чадс,зіўі ь агрічоў. з б льн выб йкі. сім ры й рабо іст чадзе Н ы адсМіж п ларі ускібукўварка алёава род ны ўУ д Т ка ы лісьцідру а 1925 го дрГод рс у ж рані,абе дзень айвмовы. этнічных груп кайкультуры(ЦБК)упер м анто ч ыАш ан тае ,рн вал вы т, ь. х— іер пэваа х маты гафр сці: а к ў з к дябсці рааздення н ам н алі рацэс атрэб ўзнікх і па няй ло а га елар іча л ары жж ны аўлаябарый- рас эўчпы,орм а сяльш та 4дд стар янсяўЛат ам зн з Л хап а ваў л ру цыйпаў д ляльна ўЛатвііпрацавал➔ яі ўдгыааў лсіскай ыанівмілДаў пйіл віі.Пратоеза і37бе рус дш правёў канфер эн сцвн,го п кіхшколі л гаіц ка зац ата цэ ам 1ік а іл па м ф ес якой т:ыз .рш роцыю, у і Л боку. уск і мед тал С прлаа сстдзель ыя роануч- На буд а р ён чы ват б ы ў х: як іся ненн ітыч ітвы ным к ра вуелс у ныы наы таўя аў яряд 70зя к з алчюы чыснцкойду м ааярад еп ра пр щвіі тае ка нр экт, ара На я ды ызаўпнамеснік ў ген м.ыЯнісДук гімназій!➔ Стар. 5 тар. тычн цэсаў,ыі, м ы. Т лю нічалі наву но рас ілАа іен,ац птаршын тныа скіад га на атвія Бо ага, ыйн ісма зе а ях знабчыыў пкаоўцы,лда авеслед акх і ызяЛат м ў яго ару свед тых ВКЛ ых п ад эв 2 ну и руг ай до аклаалсяыжвабюцумднааслоемсі амкумльпо івВагіль у а еха ам тусі.Тобы ўад сіццы хак прав ат , як в так і ыя а на п члаіцят эк ра Вбіб лы ь н я: н“аль ьн овар ігДа ак т ыў ЦБК й Бе р ус к а г а та в н ай і Бе дыБела рсу уць,доў ар ершж йлнпасць л ур лжа Ча лра,якка га б в к н гі . б з а е л ь Н р К л т “ р ач ы я ы н н ы е Д а р д с я : с а з , е м а р а ід Рад а,з К дочы вава , кн аў азв а в за Л к ь д та ы в зад со і іх м п ўв ар , т -ы, ік м” у м еі н сц ым до ла об ў іі аяйлёг і і цізб ькмазроб язя лла т дым” ак ры й кавых ж л думаа м ш ы ка вяднзенн сн вас“Уз у м ча , а тыв ряу пра н а(Мінск). іенаяспра ход кая М орыст м о ва,івы я руусіАлесьСу 7 аі 2 а Га і чэм алі п ма, Б твій ы як філ гэта ады ыя лов 1937 алі ужж ннік ваадВс ц,ысяв энўяс,кп і даў ага Р ліц егу а Літо ны за Зам сокім ак, у язю уме чна на кая ясц соў, днак ак м янлж юі адааўкан ,ліўсеча нне квавёўпрафар пжрэ іперца нау бст Ёнрас о заўіпа н а фенр энцыіпос Т н кан я а мТаван ду па 2 017гдавы піян рав елар ска дні ілсіяг ов ўс мапа хто ай пе енс і. ыў лек з р ьмеім м к т мурр. а3 га зам і у з а па дной рабу ты, ел я. ніў эн у чы Ген вю ць п 3 ма а. 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Ау сзкІт ріа ёс япер ь ста м Га су годз аз лміс іцыс ічна а ў іх бу каж бы на ку. заюйцмь ой дзіл бар ўа а ся мі- і ді іхдсабаё ны ц“язо я жр ооддупя лдізяк рігіус“і.Ж лоты ліла дземецьпрацяг. сызаў до ыда га а пр .А бл айць ппаммаа н іцц льн сш рэ П уэ ло о ся фона мікіш цна ціка калам а зла аим теаго г , ’і к ь х т у н П а д о к л й л эх б шк о т у ц , ц м я ў ы у л ы н іх ц а п Д а о о р о а вкоа ек тяы зікншам,ала р шыбе е— н ы ў дшзя скнеаабы х ам ларусмаму Е я ь, МіжЛатвіяйіБеларрус лі д вйя унюассюздаў а : тв арт які мо і,к ба то ексА ка-п ”…Т а ко Глаб аушс лпяислн ніяС на аль 2 кім лес ”ыс ц зямл а“,М ама цячы стеыр вацеей накўаБ зя, гўар-оп ы бвя л ац ам лів і, ш і Сларкні рауй п хто хасм яваў, а, як амам айды яй… жвае а я В а . в ы і а р м ч а д а А я е ад л а д жа н ыцес н ыясу з і,утымлі к г а д ру к а в ан н і. 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АЗо, ш аша “ры тэ ка ск дў. ы іы. рэльшпкаа л ь чьы с мшмат э у к а т зей Тое .— м д ы: ла вывучанды. впалісяйпе я равмыда“ е ац л улаі і ігіс ла лікнеія лаікгдыдру т тр п се ым ыб ав й тал гр асц рдакузна леў ад х ю бпыхаодцськ гроагаадтдонраын іраўн сьянакзАвзаліхі анысяк анм еж кик”ія сной : з ім мы соцвіыд смубеях ьаўн хМін овіч ашы кус . 6 не оссы сац гож мі,р ознаг броя піс таў, рут яй у ны скіхц ўдзельанеіклі канфде о ч а нідыПо ноыі, Вік бС асме ра - р эн рма сёалгпет ла нія р жятэ пол вал гаску., я го -дар лац оаўрісяўВіль Зр йты, пры етка і,р са з вых ама аю к бро ульт , е еншлаюяяе, Зорьваіж рам і н ф ар а бя’яадкгоукў Т мал па і ўшч ектта“ аркаслі адгнеік ніз ааўлл гарсаопзаммна ўв ладааўла з “ўваВ алчы кл з навы аГ ал кі, Ст Я ытвс мыіхдак эу р аАсаб гуйАлесь - огі Су ўсвсі,ую тіпад са дзіз і,кв стам тва маса , аўт ь св са з д. 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Беларусь. Belarus

Social and political magazine № 3 (1038), March, 2020 Published since 1930 Founders: Zviazda Publishing House editorialand-publishing establishment Editor-in-Chief: Viktor Kharkov Executive Secretary: Valentina Zhdanovich Editorial office address: 220013 Minsk, Belarus, 10a Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street Tel.: +375 (17) 287-19-19, +375 (17) 292-66-92 Тel./fax: +375 (17) 287-15-26.

When will the Belarusian electric buses appear in Spain?

belta

Prospect has a solid foundation

www.zviazda.by E-mail: belarus.mag@mail.ru Registration Certificate No. 8 issued on 16.07.2018, by the Information Ministry of the Republic of Belarus Design and Layout by Tatiana Storozhenko Liubov Malysheva Proof-reader Alisa Gungor

We welcome life! A new tradition to welcome noon appeared in Brest

The Belarusian flag in the Kingdom of Spain was first hoisted in 2015 on a building in the city of Alicante, where the first Honorary Consulate of our country is located. In fact, three years passed and the Belarusian embassy, accredited back in 2016, received its office in Madrid

“Smart” lighting for Novogrudok

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

18 25

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 18.03.2020 Offset printing. Coated paper. Format 60х84 1⁄8. Conventional printed sheets 6,51 Accounting published sheets 7,90 Total circulation — 1638

It’s time to buy green

The universities will make friends Belarusian State University develops fruitful cooperation with Dalian Polytechnic University of China

copies (791— in English)

Order Republican unitary enterprise "BudMedyyaPrayekt" Licence No. 02330/71 on 23.01.2014 220123 Minsk, Belarus, 13/61 V. Khoruzhey Street

Is it easy to be young? Olga Shatyko at the age of 69 first went out on catwalk

Improvisation on a pancake theme

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UNDP project releases first in Belarus guideline on “green” procurement

Crown and roots

Subscription index — 74977

On the front page of the cover picture by BelTA

беларусь. belarus 2020

30 34

Nikolay Pinigin: Belarusian features are delicacy and poetry The director and art director of the Kupalauski Theatre Nikolay Pinigin has more than seventy performances to his name, and some of them are worth seeing in Engels Street right now. Although, of course, buying a ticket will not be so simple: Yanka Kupala National Theatre plays its hundredth season. Today it is one of the most popular theatres in the country and the tickets are sold out immediately

42 nikolya luchi

more in the issue 1

From Uralsk to home

Passion and perseverance of Alla Zmieva

Expanding our membership geography Kupalauski and Daugavpils Theatres have signed the cooperation agreement

беларусь. belarus 2020

Everybody dance! Thoughts about how the revival of world cultural traditions is becoming a good alternative to the modern way of spending time — online

What Vika kept silent about At all times, girls loved dolls. I am not going to search for an answer to the question why it is so, leaving this interesting topic for psychologists. I’ll just tell you what this love led my acquaintance to

From suprematist compositions to futuristic city projects

Editor’s note

Man-made image of fate

Viktor Kharkov,

chief Editor

f you, dear readers, see this issue of our magazine, I hope that spring has clearly demonstrated its authority. I can’t say that for all the recent absurdity of nature, it will be warm outside, but the calendar spring is in full swing. It’s the cycle of nature. Spring, however, has a woman’s face. The International Day of March 8 reminded us about it. As it turned out, the holiday has over one hundred years of biography. But this formal criterion is not attached too much importance to. March 8 is a holiday from the heart. Its pedigree is hardly kept in mind by any man. But a lot of spring flowers, which are given to women on this day are an established tradition. The holiday has organically entered our reality, and it is always present where there is love and respect for women. By the way, on behalf of the President of Belarus, a reception is usually held on the occasion of International Women’s Day. This time, too, was no exception. At the reception at the Independence Palace it was said that the role of women in society is constantly increasing. The state takes on the obligation to remember and care for those who can raise children and work well. In particular, there are a number of publications on this topic in the magazine, which tell about talented and successful Belarusian women. But the chronology of the first spring month highlights another date. March 15 — Constitution Day of the Republic of Belarus. Today the society lives according to this Basic Law. It contains fundamental truths that define the behavior of citizens, give them rights and specify their duties. The Constitution is an ideal of views in a democratic country, where opportunities for development are based on conceptual rules. When the peculiarities of the relationship between the citizen and the state make it possible to see future implemented. At first glance, dry legal constitutional norms become simple

and understandable if they are thoughtfully considered. And, of course, useful for life. And publications in the magazine “Беларусь.Belarus” are always about life. And almost every material is its reflection. Let us visit, for example, Novogrudok — one of the oldest Belarusian cities. Here, by the way, Adam Mickiewicz spent his childhood in the first half of the 19th century. Now Novogrudok has a wonderful house-museum, dedicated to the famous poet. However, there are many other sights in the city, telling about the rich historical and cultural heritage of local places. It is not without reason that they attract the attention of many tourists. But today Novogrudok is also actively living its modern life. It is important to note that the city and its administration promptly respond to the latest proposals in urban planning. Such innovations easily find their place in the urban infrastructure, and the publication in our magazine called “Smart” lighting for Novogrudok is a good proof of it. Yes, it’s spring outside. And it, as we said, has a female face. Not so long ago specialists of the National Statistical Committee made a generalized portrait of a Belarusian woman. The picture turned out to be interesting, though without unexpected surprises. According to Belstat experts, an average female resident of the country is a 42‑year-old married woman with children, who has a higher or secondary special education. One can only envy a woman’s desire for knowledge. As before, the number of women who are studying prevails over the number of men in this field. In particular, the proportion of girls among students in higher education remains consistently high. Specific fates usually stand behind statistics. This confirms the thesis that everything comes from life. In spring, life is filled with a special mood — expectations of hope. And this is its special content.

беларусь. belarus 2020

Cooperation

Prospect has a solid foundation The official visit of the President of Belarus to Egypt in February underscored its significance not only in terms of the prospects of concrete cooperation between the two countries. The issues of international interaction, security in the region and in the world, as well as the agreements reached in the Egyptian capital go far beyond the purely bilateral relations between Minsk and Cairo.

oday, Egypt holds a leading position on the African continent, which is due to the size of the country and its economic opportunities. That is proved by the fact that the headquarters of the League of Arab States is located in Cairo, while Egyptian President Abdel Fattah elSisi currently holds the presidency of the African Union. The State is actively developing its international contacts.

беларусь. belarus 2020

After a period of uncertainty in Egypt’s history under President Mubarak, with the arrival of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as head of the country, the domestic situation has stabilized and the State has strengthened its presence on the external contours as well. A referendum was held there in 2019, which allowed the incumbent President to remain in office until 2030. Therefore, we can say that Minsk’s contact with Cairo,

with its current leader, is a contribution to a long-term perspective. And Egypt is also part of the “far arc” with which we are actively developing relations. In addition, it is the Middle East with its strategic position. Finally, it is one of the seven countries that have formed a new regional energy organization, the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF). And wherever energy is dealt with, there are other projects. That is

Cooperation why Belarus is developing relations with Egypt in a complex way — from technical cooperation programs (joint production of the drones) to the projects in humanitarian sphere, particularly, in education. Egypt has the largest universities, at the same time Belarus can offer its achievements in the sphere of educational technologies and digital education. In other words, we can complement each other to a great extent. Education is the basis that allows countries to understand each other and further establish concrete contacts at interdepartmental and regional levels. It should be noted that the basis of our cooperation and expansion of fo reign trade turnover with North African countries are primarily the issues related to military and technical cooperation. For those countries, in the context of the instability in which they currently find themselves, ensuring national security and improving its level is of paramount importance. For Egypt, which has a fairly large base of Sovietmade military and technical equipment, it is important to expand cooperation with post-Soviet countries that have retained the capacity to upgrade such equipment and develop new elements. That is why Belarus, as a unique country that has preserved and developed its military and technical potential after the collapse of the Soviet Union, is and will continue to be one of Egypt’s key partners in modernizing its military equipment and creating modern joint productions with our scientific, technical and military industrial complex. Cooperation with Egypt gives Belarus many advantages. First of all, this state provides a springboard from which our products can be exported to the African continent. Therefore, Belarus should step up its “push”, especially by participating in the creation of the Suez Canal Special Economic Zone. During the talks between the President and the Head of State of Egypt, important issues were specified. The African Republic has inherited a heavy legacy of outdated enterprises and technologi-

cal base. It is important to level up this economic and technological base, and Belarus is ready to help in this regard. We can participate in the modernization of Egyptian factories, offer effective management solutions. In the opinion of experts, the main sphere for Belarusian-Egyptian coope ration is engineering. Our tractors are an excellent product for African farmers. There are prospects in construction, electronics, communications, tourism. In its turn, Egypt is rich in natural resources, which Belarus needs. Accordingly, this is an example of mutually beneficial relations that give impetus to the development of both countries. This is the foreign policy and fo reign economic reality behind the visit of the President of Belarus to Egypt. The details of the visit confirm its constructive nature. Negotiations between the leaders of the two countries took place at Al Ittihadia Palace. They talked first in a narrow and then in an extended format, as they should have done according to protocol. And then they told the journalists what they managed to agree on and how the relations between the two countries would continue to be built. Alexander Lukashenko gave them such an assessment: — Belarus and Egypt are important partners. We have great prospects. We have made considerable progress in our cooperation lately. The constant dialogue between Minsk and Cairo contributes to it. We have no closed topics, we discuss all the issues with the President in detail and frankly. Today’s talks have been exactly like that. Within two years, the Presidents have already met three times. The dynamics of political contacts has a full impact on economic cooperation. Mutually beneficial projects are becom ing more and more numerous. And then the trade turnover is growing as well. Last year it increased by one third and exceeded 140 million US$. It is a solid figure, but not a limit. Alexander Lukashenko sees the reserves of growth in

the expansion of industrial cooperation and development of joint production: — We started with projects to establish assembly facilities in Egypt. We have organized the assembly of equipment at the Minsk Automobile and Minsk Tractor Plants. I am convinced that the development of industrial cooperation fully meets the interests of the two countries and allows us to enter the markets of neighboring African countries, which is very important for us. May God grant us to enter a hundred-million market of Egypt. From Cairo, we are, actually, working together throughout North Africa and are considering options for further joint progress on the continent. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi did not object, especially since Cairo, of course, has an interest in developing such cooperation: — The location of Egypt and Belarus on the international map will open new markets for Egyptian and Belarusian products in the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Arab world and African countries. The creation of a free trade zone in Africa and the signing of the same agreement between Egypt and the EAEC countries will contribute to this. The Suez Canal Special Economic Zone will also be established. Egypt plans to modernize 4,500 enterprises. Belarus can take an active part in solving this challenging task. However, this is not the only ambitious project that the Egyptian leadership intends to implement. Back in 2015 they started building a new administrative capital. According to the plan of the authorities, it will be an ultramodern city with advanced smart technologies. So, the premium on promotion of high-tech products in Egypt with the subsequent establishment of joint ventures, was rightly placed, as the President of Belarus said. Alexander Lukashenko noted that experts are searching for new points of growth: — There is potential for a breakthrough in innovations and high technologies, science and education. Cooperation in the field of security and information technologies, including беларусь. belarus 2020

Cooperation modern systems to ensure public safety, is seen as promising. We are ready to supply Egypt with the latest medical equipment as well as food. The Egyptian economy is gradually overcoming the crisis trends caused by the events of the “Arab Spring”. The process is long and arduous. But there is no other way. Agriculture and tourism are still the main sources of growth in the Egyptian economy. However, the country’s leadership is trying to eliminate this distortion and stimulate the economy by implementing major infrastructure projects. Hence the attraction of foreign investments in road construction, port modernization, energ y, mining and IT-sphere. It is impossible to do without qualified and trained personnel. Belarus is ready to lend its shoulder in it as well. Plus to increase the number of Egyptian students in our universities this year. Full understanding between our countries and on the world stage. — We stand up for the peaceful settlement of regional conflicts, against all kinds of hybrid wars and artificial destabilization of the situation in different countries, — Alexander Lukashenko said. — Belarus condemns any manifestations of terrorism and expresses its full support for Egypt’s efforts in combating this threat. We know what role Egypt plays in countering terrorism and what contribution this state has made to the fight against terrorism. Alexander Lukashenko is convinced that through joint efforts the countries will be able to take cooperation to a qualitatively new level: — We are always glad to see you in Belarus. The people of Belarus know you well, respect you, and you will always be a welcome guest in the centre of Euro pe — just as you welcome us here. The summit ended with the traditional exchange of gifts. Among them is a noteworthy souvenir, i. e.a joint photo of Alexander Lukashenko and an employee of the Svetlogorsk Pulp and Сardboard Mill, Egyptian Fedi Khalil, who has long been living with his fam-

беларусь. belarus 2020

President of Belarus visits new administrative capital of Egypt

ily in Belarus. The Head of State got acquainted with him while visiting this enterprise recently. Closer in the evening, after the talks with the Egyptian President, Alexander Lukashenko met with the Chairman of the Egyptian House of Representatives, Ali Abdel Aal Sayyed.

To the topic The negotiations in Cairo resulted in the signing of several bilateral documents. Among them is an intergovernmental executive programme on cooperation in higher education, an agreement on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs affairs. A memorandum of cooperation has been signed between the foreign ministries. It envisages the establishment of a high-level joint commission on bilateral cooperation and political dialogue between Belarus and Egypt at the level of foreign ministers. As the head of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei explained, the joint commission is aimed at making all the ministries and departments of both countries work closely together in order to avoid any bureaucratic obstacles and difficulties. Another memorandum on cooperation was signed between the National Bank of Belarus and the Central Bank of Egypt.

here are many examples in history when the states moved their capital or even built a new one. However, Egypt seems to have decided to outdo everyone in this respect. Not everyone will risk to build a super modern metropolis in the desert. On the second day of his official visit to Egypt, Alexander Lukashenko visited the new administrative capital of the country and got acquainted with the progress of its construction together with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The new administrative capital of Egypt is located 45 kilometres east of Cairo. The project has already been called “the construction of the century” by journalists. Such large-scale construction ancient Egyptian land has not seen, perhaps, since the construction of the pyramids. Judge for yourself, New Cairo (there is no other name yet) will spread over 700 square kilometers. In this way the Egyptian authorities want to solve the problem of overcrowding of the present capital. By the way, by 2050 the population of Cairo, according to forecasts, will double and reach 40 million people… As Alexander Lukashenko was told, the project is implemented on the principle of “smart city of the future”. Large state institutions, embassies, representative offices of international organizations and foreign companies will move there. Moreover, the government, parliament

Cooperation and ministries expect to hold a housewarming party this year. In addition, more than 20 residential areas for 6.5 million people, a large technology park and artificial lakes, about two thousand educational institutions, more than six hundred hospitals and medical centers, a new international airport and a high-speed railway to Cairo will be built in the city. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was personally guiding the President of Belarus. He met Alexander Lukashenko near the Al Masa Capital Complex. The largest congress centre in Africa is located there. After an hour and a half talk in an informal atmosphere, the heads of state exchanged gifts and went to inspect the facilities of the new administrative capital. The first stop was the so-called city of culture and arts. A library, several theatres, exhibition halls, museums and galleries are being built there. Alexander Lukashenko was shown a swimming-pool under construction. By the way, the Belarusian delegation were surprised by the ice palace in the city of sports. It is really unusual to see such facilities in Africa. However, the Belarusian head of state is confident in the right choice: — Egypt is in the area where ice hockey can be developed. We used to create the first ice hockey venue in the Emirates. The President of Belarus shared his experience in building similar sports centers in our country. According to Alexander Lukashenko, the sports complex can be equipped with a multifunctional collapsible ground so that the arena could be used for various game sports and entertainment events. Meanwhile, representatives of business circles of the two countries discussed new joint projects at the first session of the Belarusian-Egyptian Business Cooperation Council at Al Massa Capital. And during the break they were delighted to visit the exhibition “Belarus-Egypt: Partnership Turned to the Future”. A little later, the Presidents of the two countries also visited the exhibition. And Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, as befits a man of the military

(in his time he reached the rank of field marshal), began with the part of the exposition where the developments of the Goskomvoenprom were presented. Among them, in particular, the newest missile system “Polonez”. The Egyptian side was also interested in a cloudbased intelligent video surveillance platform from IT-company “Synesis”. It allows to search for people and vehicles in real time, recognize faces and vehicle numbers, detect traffic violations. The Presidents continued their joint inspection of the exhibition at the open area of the congress centre. Along the red carpet, equally as red MTZ tractors, snow-white MAZs, samples of Amkodor equipment, Bobruiskagromash and Minsk Motor Plant vehicles were lined up in even rows. Many exhibits, by the way, have been assembled in Egypt. And the heads of state agreed to expand industrial cooperation. New areas of cooperation in agriculture were also outlined during the visit. — Are Egyptian partners interes ted? — a question to our Minister of Agriculture and Food, Anatoly Khotko. — Yes, they are! We met with our colleagues from the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture, and the negotiations lasted several times longer than planned. In the near future, a working group will be established to implement the agreements. So far we have been supplying the Egyptian market with dried dairy products.

Last year, we increased their exports by almost 3.5 times compared to 2018. We plan to increase supplies of dairy and meat products. New areas of cooperation include seed production and biotechnology. We have invited colleagues to visit our forthcoming Belagro exhibition. The Minister of Agriculture of Egypt confirmed his participation in it. Mustafa Hadhud Kamel, chairman of the board of directors of the Egyptian agricultural company: — Over the past three years, Belarusian equipment has entered the Egyptian market with the first tractors. MTZ is already a brand here. “Belshina, Bobruiskagromash, Gomselmash, Amkodor have recently diversified their range of machines here. And now we are already talking about the assembly of almost all Belarusian machinery in Egypt. We plan to reach the localization of more than 40% to sell in Africa. The visit to the exhibition was the last item on the agenda of the official vi sit of the President of Belarus to Egypt. There is a remarkable fact. Apparently, bearing in mind the hospitality of the Belarusian leader last summer, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi arrived at the airport to personally see Alexander Lukashenko off. And this symbolic gesture should undoubtedly be regarded as a pledge of the Belarusian-Egyptian partnership getting stronger in the future. By Vasily Kharitonov. Photo by BelTA.

The technique presented at the Belarusian-Egyptian exhibition

беларусь. belarus 2020

atypical diplomacy

Belarusian electric buses on the streets of Barcelona... Why not? The Belarusian flag in the Kingdom of Spain was first hoisted in 2015 on a building in the city of Alicante, where the first Honorary Consulate of our country is located. In fact, three years passed and the Belarusian embassy, accredited back in 2016, received its office in Madrid. And since September 2018 one can find another part of Belarus in Spain in the original, marvelous Barcelona on Rambla de Catalunya Street. There is the office of the second Honorary Consulate of our country. It is headed by Cristian Balcells. The Honorary Consul is not a typical diplomatic position. These are citizens of Belarus or foreigners who occupy a significant social position in a certain country.

spektr.by

Our correspondent had a meeting with the Honorary Consul of Belarus in Barcelona, owner of a law firm, Mr. Cristian Balcells in Minsk. Christian was a member of the Spanish delegation, which visited the Belarusian capital last week. It was headed by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Catalonia, Isidre Gavin. The program of the visit was quite rich: meetings at the Development Bank, National Centre for Marketing, Minskstroy, Museum of History of the Great Patriotic War, Belavia, Belkommunmash and the government. Despite such a busy schedule, Cristian Balcells found time for an interview with our publishing house. — Mr. Balcells, how did you come to be the Honorary Consul? — I’m a lawyer by profession, I have an office in Barcelona that specializes in migration law. Due to my experience, I had many Belarusian clients whom we assisted in obtaining a residence permit in Spain. Thanks to these contacts we got to know Pavel Latushko (at that time the Ambassador of Belarus to France, the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic). He proposed me to become Honorary Consul of your

One of the Minsk charging stations for electric buses

беларусь. belarus 2020

country, which became very interesting for me. Before my appointment, I had been to Belarus several times on business. — What was your interest in Belarus? — I was interested in the position, because at first it was a kind of adventure. I like your country very much, I am surprised by its hospitality, openness. And location on the world map is of strategic importance. — One of the tasks of the Honorary Consulate in Barcelona for 2020 is to strengthen relations between Belarus and the Province of Lerida. Why this particular region of Catalonia? — My family, my ancestors come from the centre of the province, the city of Lerida. As a true citizen of Lerida, I know this region very well, and I have noticed a lot in common between it and Belarus. In these lands of Spain, agriculture is very developed. They grow fruit and vegetables practically for all Catalonia. — What could Spain import from Belarus? — For example, tractors. Their production is a weak point in Spain. There is no such industry in our country, so we are interested in a company like MTZ. Belkommunmash has high quality products, which could be exported to my country. Fast construction of houses made of wood is also a developed industry in Belarus, which does not exist in Spain. The government of Catalonia and the Agency for Competitiveness have shown interest in such construction. These contacts are of interest in the construction of social housing. You have a large High Technology Park and interesting developments in software. I have only been an Honorary Consul for a year, and these are the areas that I have learned about within a short period of time. But I am sure that there are many other products that can be exported to my country. — What areas of cooperation between Belarus and Spain will come to the fore this year? — At the moment there are five vectors that we would like to develop. The first is the search for potential partners for a

For example, tractors. Their production is a weak point in Spain. There is no such industry in our country, so we are interested in a company like MTZ. Belkommunmash has high quality products, which could be exported to my country. Fast construction of houses made of wood is also a developed industry in Belarus, which does not exist in Spain.

zviazda.by

atypical diplomacy

Cristian Balcells

joint with Belkommunmash venture in Catalonia. The second is the organization of a visit of food industry companies to Belarus in late winter and early spring. The next project deals with the presentation of Catalonia at the Belagro exhibition in June. It is possible for the first time for Catalonia to create a separate regional stand with participation of private companies and their products at this event. It is planned that the Minister of Agriculture of Catalonia will accompany the entrepreneurs. In response, we would like to organize Belarus’ own stand at the San Miguel exhibition. It is an event similar to Belagro, which is held in Lerida. But the most important direction aimed at learning more about Belarus is the promotion of tourism. — How did the negotiations with Belkommunmash go? — We have a plan of action in two stages, which go hand in hand. One of them is to find a partner to set up a joint venture in Catalonia. There are potential partners in our delegation, representatives of large transport companies from Catalonia, who could take up this project. Secondly, the process of certification of parts of Belarusian electric buses in Spain is underway, as well as homologation of all documentation. This year, the electric bus is planned to be delivered to Catalonia for initial testing for a certain operational period. The companies want to see the equipment in action. For my part, I am ready to assist in any matter to make this project successful. — How relevant is the theme of nature protection in Spain? — The theme of renewable sources, eco-friendly means of transport is very relevant. The authorities are facing an acute problem of air pollution. Unfortunately, the creation of electric buses is not as advanced as in your country. That is why our delegation was accompanied by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Catalonia. He wanted to see with his

own eyes the way this means of transport is used in Minsk, to visit the Belkommunmash production facility. — Who will be the members of the delegation of food industry companies, which will soon come to Minsk? — It will consist of private companies of Catalonia from various sectors — production of wines, champagne, confectionery, olive oil. The agenda will include direct supplies of products from Catalonia to Belarus and their proces sing at your enterprises. Emphasis will be laid on bottling in Belarus oil and wines, which can be sold in third markets as well. — Most Belarusians know Catalonia resorts as beach vacation. But you recommend the region for sports tourism… — This part of Spain has very developed ski resorts that can offer a wide range of services to Belarusian tourists. We held talks with the general director of Belavia about the possibility of organizing a direct flight from Minsk to Lerida in winter. — For cultural recreation I suggest visiting small ancient towns, which are under UNESCO protection. And, of course, in the province of Lerida food is delicious, for example, the famous snails. We have something to surprise you with. — What do the Spanish people know about Belarus? — My job is to give more information about Belarus to the Spanish people. And the delegations we bring here contribute to it. People learn more about you and tell others how good it was. — How difficult is it to combine advocacy and work as an Honorary Consul? — Not hard, it’s very interesting. You have to enjoy life and take every opportunity to try something new. When I do something, I am sure that in the future it will be very rewarding. By Mariya Dadalko

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educational trends

The universities will MAKE friends Belarusian State University develops fruitful cooperation with Dalian Polytechnic University of China

The economic effect of cooperation with China is obvious. It is actively expanding in the social sphere, in particular, in the education system. One of the striking examples is the Chinese vector of the Belarusian State University, the largest educational, scientific and production center of our country. 2019 was declared the year of Belarussian education in China and became of landmark nature for BSU in terms of the realized opportunities. What educational trends have been implemented?

Creativity from a joint institute

Over 3,700 foreigners from more than 60 countries are educated at BSU. Among them there are students from Australia, the USA, Canada, Germany, Japan, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Syria, Libya, Cote d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Togo and many others. Of course, citizens of the post-Soviet countries are also studying at BSU. The most representative “delegation” — 1889 people — are students from the Middle Kingdom. 365 Chinese are enrolled in master’s degree program, 89 are in post-graduate school. The most demanded are economics and philology faculties, as well as faculties of journalism and international relations.

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Since 2007, BSU has been developing fruitful cooperation with the Dalian Polytechnic University (GPU). According to Alexander Zhuk, head of the Belarusian State University’s Department of International Relations, three years ago the first Belarusian-Chinese higher education institution in the national system, the joint institute of the GPUBSU, was opened. Last year, 78 students entered it (40 students to major in “Engineering Mechanics”, 38 student to major in “Applied Physics”. In total, 244 students are currently studying at the joint institute. It consists of three faculties — Applied Physics, Enginee ring Mechanics, as well as Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. It is noteworthy that training with the participation of the BSU teaching staff is conducted in English. On September 1, last year, the joint Belarusian-Chinese Institute BSU-GPU (JBCI) began its work on the basis of BSU. This is the first experience in the domestic system of higher education in the field of joint training of first-degree specialists on the basis of a Belarusian university. Graduates of the institute will be in demand by industrial, educational and scientific enterprises of Belarus and China, as well as in the Great Stone industrial park. The training there is carried out with specialization in world economy, phy

sics (industrial activity), mechanics and mathematical modeling. In the future, it is planned to enlarge the list of specialties, as well as open training in the master’s degree program. Now there are more than fifty first-year students. This year the intake is planned to be increased. All curricula and programs of academic disciplines are developed and approved by the two parties and updated in accordance with the latest achievements of science, technology and industry of the countries participating in the educational project. Graduates of the joint Belarusian-Chinese Institute will receive two diplomas — BSU and GPU. The academic teaching staff of JBCI will include representatives of the Belarusian and Chinese universities. Last January, an agreement was signed between the two universities on the establishment of a research and innovation center. It was opened in June 2019. It is assumed that students of the Belarusian State University will be doing practical training at this center making use of modern scientific and laboratory equipment. The BSU-GPU cooperation also envisages a number of joint activities. In particular, in January last year, a fundamental Winter School was organized on the basis of the Belarusian State University. Lectures on the problems of modern physics, mathematics,

educational trends

Rector of BSU Andrey Korol and Director of the preparatory center of Sanya University Zhang Lei during the opening of the Belarusian language and culture office named after Yanka Kupala

and mechanics were read for students from China. In the scientific and educational laboratories of the BSU faculties, a creative lesson was held for the students majoring in “Physics (Production Activity)”, as well as “Mechanics and Mathematical Modeling”. In June 2019, the Summer School was organized on the basis of the Dalian Polytechnic University. 20 students of the Mechanics, Mathematics and Physics Faculties of BSU became its participants. The school program included the study of modern problems of applied physics and mechanics, classes were held in the research laboratory of the GPU. Now the interaction of BSU with universities and scientific institutes of China is carried out in the framework of 77 bilateral documents (memoranda, agreements, cooperation programs). For example, among the partners, in addition to those already mentioned, there are Beijing, Henan, Fashan, East China Pedagogical Universities, Shanghai Transport University, as well as Harbin University of Science and Technology, China University of International Relations and several others. Last year, 12 bilateral documents were signed with educational institutions of the PRC. Some

were aimed at expanding partnerships. Among them there is an agreement on the exchange of students from the Dalian Polytechnic University. Last year, BSU expanded its circle of partners in China. It is worth mentioning the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Peking University — one of the leading universities in the Middle Kingdom.

Take a chance and win In fact, the project, within the framework of which the BSU information and educational center was opened in Beijing at the end of 2017, was creative and image-building for the Belarusian State University, Wang Yaatsyan became its leader and coordinator. By the way, he is a graduate of the Belarusian State University, he defended his Ph. D. in economics in Minsk and decided not to lose touch with the alma mater, but, on the contrary, to deepen interaction. “There was a great desire to talk about Belarus, its educational opportunities, — says Wang Yaatsyan. — Until now, the Chinese were well aware of the possibility of getting education in Europe, Russia, and the USA. There was very little information about BSU.

Meanwhile, the university is in high positions in the world university ran king. The quality of education here is in line with international standards, I have personally witnessed it.” For BSU, the organization of a center in the Middle Kingdom is a bold experiment in which there was a considerable share of risk. However, this innovative approach to recruiting students has paid off. This can be said with confidence today. “Already less than a year after the opening of the base center in the Chinese capital — in September 2018 — the first group of students was recruited. The BSU training center appeared in the famous city of Sanya, on Hainan island,” — said Ale xander Zhuk. — It was set up with the aim of language training for Chinese applicants planning to enter BSU. The first group of 60 people began to study at the faculty of journalism in September.” Today, 140 students are studying at the preparatory center in Sanya according to the curriculum of the Belarusian university. Soon this group will come to Minsk and continue their studies at BSU. Selection at the center is carried out on a competitive basis with the participation of representatives of 17 schools, three universities of 12 provinces of China. All infrastructure in Sanya reminds of Belarusian realities. Classrooms have the names of Minsk metro stations, the walls are decorated with photographs, collages and paintings with images of Belarusian enlighteners, tourist places and regions. The Chinese audience has access to a fund of films, presentations, works of Belarusian writers, periodicals, the list of which will be regularly updated with the support of BSU. One of the important directions of the center’s work is social and cultural adaptation of fo reign citizens before they begin studying in our country. This institution through educational activities actively promotes the dissemination of information about Belarus in China. беларусь. belarus 2020

educational trends

Alexander Zhuk, head of the Belarusian State University’s Department of International Relations, and Wang Yaatsyan, head of the University’s Information and Education Center in China, discuss the prospects for cooperation

A significant event took place in November last year — an office of the Belarusian language and culture named after Yanka Kupala appeared in the preparatory center of the Belarusian State University. The opening ceremony of the office named after Kupala was held with the participation of a delegation of the Belarusian university, led by its rector Andrey Korol, director of the preparatory center Zhang Lei, students and teachers. There was a theatrical performance of Chinese students who played music, danced, read poems and sang songs in Belarusian, Russian and Chinese. Now the students of the preparatory center have an excellent opportunity to work with original materials on linguistics, history, art and geography of Belarus. Educational and cultural events of relevant topics are planned to be organized there. Also it is planned to expand the network of preparatory centers of the Belarusian State University in China. This year, relevant institutions are expected to open in Wuhan, as well as in the Chinese capital. So innovations are expanding.

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Verbatim Rector of BSU Andrey Korol: I note with confidence that BSU is today the leader of Belarusian-Chinese cooperation in a number of promising areas. Education is no exception. Today, every third Chinese student who studies at Belarusian universities is a BSU student. Our Republican Confucius Institute of Chinese Studies became the first Confucius institute among the CIS institutes of Chinese studies and the only one that received the right to conduct an international qualification exam for CATTІ translators outside China. More than 12 percent of the total number of all international agreements in the field of education and science have been concluded with Chinese institutions. Every year there is an increase in the number of Chinese students at the faculty of pre-university education of BSU. This is facilitated by the established infrastructure of educational services export. If in 2017/2018 academic year there were 287 people at the preparatory department of the FDO, now there are already 596 of them, 580 of whom are from China. They

are potential BSU students, and these are significant investments in our country. New prospects with China are seen in expanding the range of joint training of specialists and the development of cultural ties. In the near future, we will offer Chinese colleagues advanced training programs for educators in the field of creative and heuristic education. Heuristic technologies allow students to look at themselves from the outside, to discover themselves and their capabilities, to check the boundaries of their ignorance. Therefore, today such training is very popular in the world. New educational approaches are not aimed at restoring and assimilating all the achievements of humanity, but at the creation by a student of their own product, different from the one made by their classmates. Now they are taught to ask questions, rather than give the same answers. We widely use these innovations at BSU to improve the quality of education. Our experience in this direction caused interest of our Chinese colleagues during the visit to the educational center in Sanya. There is already an agreement that our colleagues from educational institutions of this city will be the first students of the upgrading educational program. The office of the Belarusian language and culture named after Yanka Kupala, which works in the center, is the distinctive cultural and educational center of Belarus in the PRC. It contributes to the popularization of Belarusian history, literature, our national traditions, features, and attractions among Chinese citizens. I am sure such structures have a good potential. Chinese students, along with preparation for entering BSU, feel the social and cultural atmosphere of Belarus. The expansion of knowledge about our country entails an increase in foreign citizens, strengthens the state image abroad. By the way, following the results of the visit to Sanya, the intake of Chinese students who want to prepare for entering BSU has increased to 500 people. I am convinced that this is not the limit. By Nikolay Litvinov. Photo by Evgeny Pesetsky.

presentation

Kupala returns to Kazan

Renat Kharis, People’s Poet of Tatarstan and winner of the State Prize of the Russian Federation, presented the book in Kazan that would not have been published without his skill as a translator. Under one cover of Yanka Kupala’s collection “Sonnets”, published in Kazan, three linguistic elements came together. The legendary collection of poems by the Belarusian classic sounds in Belarusian, in the original, in Russian — translated by the chief editor of the “Literary Newspaper”, the poet and prose writer Maxim Zamshev, and in Tatar — translated by Renat Kharis. Nikolay Vladimirov, Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Assembly of Peoples of Tatarstan, delivered a welcoming speech to the participants of the presentation. The poet Renat Kharis spoke not only about his perception of the creative work of Yanka Kupala, but also about his personal impressions of his trips to Belarus and meetings with Belarusian writers in the House of Friendship. Leonid Stankevich, member of the Belarusian community “Spadchyna”, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Tatarstan, Chairman of the Belarusian Association of Kazan “Spadchyna” Sergey Marudenko shared their thoughts about Belarusian-Russian, BelarusianTatar interconnectedness. At the meeting Daima Valeeva, chairman of the publishing house “Magarif-Vakyt”, spoke about the prospects of the Belarusian-Tatar book publishing projects. Many warm words of gratitude from Belarusians of Tatarstan were expressed by

activist of the society “Spadchyna” Mariya Fomina for the new interpretation of Yanka Kupala’s art. Associate Professor of Kazan Federal University, laureate of the USSR Journalists Union Prize Islam Akhmetzyanov shared his understanding of Belarusian culture and literature. All the guests and participants of the presentation were delighted by the musical performances of the creative duet Ruzha Kvetka. “The creative work of Yanka Kupala, who found a shelter in the Kazan suburbs at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, is well known in Tatarstan,” said Rimma Abyzova, Director of the Kupala Museum in Pechishchi near Kazan. — But we are especially pleased when new translations of Yanka Kupala’s poetry into Tatar language appear. We listened with great pleasure to the sounding of “Sonnets” in the translation of Renat Kharis in the House of Friendship. We invited a famous poet and translator to make a pres-

The presentation of Yanka Kupala’s book “Sonnets” published in three languages was held in the House of Peoples’ Friendship of the Republic of Tatarstan. entation in our museum as well. I believe that this event — translation, publication of a new book by Kupala in Tatar becomes a significant contribution to the development of Belarusian-Tatar literary ties. It is gratifying that this is taking place together with broad development of economic, national economic contacts between Belarus and the Republic of Tatarstan. Literary diplomacy is also the foundation of friendship between our peoples. By the way, recently the works of modern writers of Tatarstan — Renat Kharis, Robert Minnullin, Almaz Himadeev, Leyla Himadeeva — have been published in Belarusian in various periodicals in Belarus. The Minsk publishing house “Mastatskaya litaratura” confirms that all these publications will become the basis of the anthological edition of modern Tatar literature in translation into the Belarusian language. By Kirill Ladutko

The book contains interesting illustrative material беларусь. belarus 2020

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SOCIETY

Third age — second youth Last year, 702 people over 60 became students of the Minsk University of the third age

etire and become a student — why not? Studying can be done at any age. Any student of Minsk University of the third age will confirm it. The Belarusian Association of Social Workers has been organizing free courses for the elderly in a variety of areas: from English to local lore for seven years. This year, the university enrolled 702 people over 60 years old. According to the head of training areas Olga Shishlo, the majority of them have higher education, there are many engineers, teachers, doctors. These people are active and sociable, they do sports, go to

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the theatre, want to learn new things and share experiences with others. Classes are held in 26 areas, the list of new ones includes calligraphy, indoor gardening, age-related makeup, tourguidance, and a school of legal literacy. The most popular course is English, it enrolled 176 people. The motivation is different: someone travels and wants to freely communicate in other countries, others have children who live abroad. More than 20 students have expressed a desire to learn the Belarusian language: on the basis of UNESCO clubs, they are taught by the poetess Jadwiga Rai. — This time we decided not to do computer courses, as our experience shows that there are few elderly people

who do not know how to use a computer. The people who come to us use the Internet, they are registered on social networks, — explains Olga Shishlo. — It is important for us that the students not only consume information, but also give something in return, get involved in the activity. For example, after classes in guided tours, they will be able to conduct excursions in museums and around the city. Elena Stanislavchik, executive director of the Belarusian Association of Social Workers, head of the University of the third age, notes that now one of the conditions for training is compulsory work at the Center for Social Activity, at least 20 hours:

SOCIETY

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The university enrolled 702 people over 60 years old. According to the head of training areas Olga Shishlo, the majority of them have higher education, there are many engineers, teachers, doctors. These people are active and sociable, they do sports, go to the theatre, want to learn new things and share experiences with others. Classes are held in 26 areas, the list of new ones includes calligraphy, indoor gardening, age-related makeup, tour-guidance, and a school of legal literacy. The most popular course is English, it enrolled 176 people.

— Recently, much has been said about aging of the population, about the changing role of elderly people in society. We share the ideas that are now spread around the world that a person should remain active regardless of age. Therefore, absolutely everyone should participate in the work of the center during the year. There are several volunteer projects. For example, Book crossing was organized together with the BELGIPS-ECO enterprise. Back in February 2015, green containers for collecting waste paper appeared in Minsk. Books are thrown into them, which are later given to libraries, schools, and other institutions. The University students are happy to help employees of the enterprise in sorting and preparing publications. The volunteers of the project “Grandmother for an hour” give a break to young mothers, looking after the children: they do lessons with them, play, go shopping. Of course, “grandfather” is also welcome, but there are few men among university students. — I think there are several reasons. Women retire earlier, and by their nature they are more active. Perhaps someone feels uncomfortable with being the only man in the team, — says Olga Shishlo. — In addition, not all directions are interesting to them.

Therefore, we are planning to open a men’s club. We will be grateful if the representatives of the sterner sex share their ideas in this regard. The university does not provide the possibility of retraining, however, graduates successfully apply the knowledge they have gained in everyday life: after completing computer courses, people easily register on social networks, and having mastered landscape design, they are upgrading their summer cottages. Many get involved in the studying process so much that they stay at university for two, three years, or even seven years! This is exactly what happened with one of the English language groups. Students and volunteer teacher Julia Marshakova have been working together since the very beginning of the project. Relations have long grown into family relationships. Recently, Julia got married and all the students were invited to the wedding! How to get to the University of the third age? At the beginning of each training campaign, information about courses is posted in the media, on social networks, and is distributed through territorial centers of social services for the population. However, most often new students learn about the university from their friends. When applying for admission, each person who wants to attend the courses speaks to the head in person. — Our project is primarily social. For example, if a person says that he or she has recently lost someone close to him, loneliness is intolerable, then, of course, we admit this person. Since the organization is also volunteer, we are interested in active people joining it, who, in addition to classes, will attend other events. The chances of getting admitted increase many times when potential students point out in the questionnaire that they are ready to help with finding a room or conducting lectures, master classes, — says the head of the university. By Anna Kosar

They study first, and then dance! беларусь. belarus 2020

Olga Shatyko at the age of 69 first went out on catwalk

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Is it easy to be young?

Dreams come true

Youth is not measured in years. And modern women-pensioners are energetically proving it. Olga Shatyko is 71, and she is a model, blogger and fan of healthy lifestyle. Behind her, there are 40 years of work in medicine. A doctor with the highest category in rehabilitation and medical expertise, PhD in medical sciences, an associate professor. She never thought she’d retire to catwalk and pose for photographers. It all started with participation in the project “Real Age”, the aim of which was to change the standards of perception of people aged 60+. As a result, she went out on catwalk at the Lady Fest. Journalists and photographers immediately got interested. The success came easily: one of her photo-sessions got into German magazine of fashion, design and photography VOLANT (her photos were on three fash-

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ion spreads!). Cooperation offers from Belarusian companies, brands, shops, stylists… And at 70 she suddenly became a business lady.

Not “Pavlovna”! Olga does not like “Pavlovna”. Even her grandson doesn’t call her grandmother. “While quarrelling he can say: “You are now a typical grandmother. I will call you so”, — laughs Olga. When asked how old she feels, she divides her age by two. And her interests are not in accordance with her years. She likes fashionable, stylish clothes, different beauty life hacks, theatres, exhibitions, presentations, follows the novelties in the film industry, studies health care technologies, laughs fervently and every day thanks the universe for what she has.

Dreams come true — I used to be upset about trifles, angry that some plans are falling apart, — Olga confesses. — My world turned upside down when my mother got seriously ill. At 64 I had to quit my favorite job, three years I was a 24‑hour nurse, actually dropped out of social environment. I saw the end of human life, and I realized that we must enjoy every moment, an art that not everyone possesses. At the end of January at the international lingerie and swimwear exhibition Interfiliere Paris 2020 for the first time the 70 years old model went out on the catwalk. She believes that the human body can stay active for 115 years. Which means there’s at least a third of life ahead. There are more and more longlivers, year after year. — But no one needs longevity with decrepitude, — says Olga. — My biggest goal is to maintain health and energy for many years to come. What is needed for that? When I was 19, the Minsk Documentary Cinema showed a film about yoga for the first time in the USSR. A 62‑year-old yogi did crazy tricks, showing unprecedented flexibility. And it caused a revolution in my brains: I realized that if you regularly fulfill your obligations to your body, you can stay young at 60. Since then, physical activity has become a daily necessity for me.

And most importantly, she’s not bored. She says one should encourage an interest in life. Her friends grow meadows of flowers and 15 varieties of tomatoes, but her interests are different. Two years ago, she started a page in Instagram where she shares the secrets of longevity. Today she has over 14,000 followers! — I started all this activity in social networks with one single purpose — to inspire my peers, to get rid of fear of aging, life is beautiful at any age. But our standards of perception of old age are so ingrained in our mind that people approach retirement hunched, with a drooping head, an extinct look and the feeling that all the best is behind us. And that life has to be lived. I call it “serving your term to death.” The bulk of her followers, oddly enough, are between 25 and 45 years old. They write, “Looking at you, it’s not scary to get old.” And her peers, on the contrary, criticize: those outfits, photo shoots are not our values at all… Curiously, Olga has never been to beauty salons. — Even though it’s out of date. I believe that the last thing skin is responsible for is the signs of aging. Underneath the skin there are muscles, fascia, bones — they need to be worked on. I know these techniques. It’s yoga for the face, shiatsu — Japanese massage, which helps to relieve tension and muscle pain. And I share my knowledge on my page. My number one value is health. If

Every morning Olga starts with two glasses of water and gymnastics. Three times a week there is body ballet. Every day there is Nordic walking in the park, squats, bar. She dreams of learning Argentine tango and traveling to milonga, i. e. dance parties for tango lovers. Her secrets of longevity are in motion: “I constantly force myself out of the comfort zone. Plus genetics, healthy food (no canned food, jams — only fresh vegetables, fruit!), sleep for 7–8 hours and a positive attitude to the world. In the last 5 years, she’s only been down once with temperature…

By Mariya Kucherova

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Her secret of Makropulos

you’re healthy, you’ll lead a bright life at any age. When Ilona Mask’s mother — the magnificent May — said that at 69 years of age, life was just beginning, and resumed her modeling business, I thought: why can’t I succeed? An American Tao Porchon Lynch taught yoga until she was 100 years old and entered the Guinness World Records. An 88‑year Chinese is a bodybuilder. Handsome! Every generation has their own ideas about old age. Let’s recall literary characters. Lev Tolstoy described Natasha Rostova’s mother as a countess who “… shaking with her whole body, laughed with the kind, unexpected old lady’s laughter”. And she was under 50! In “Crime and Punishment” Dostoevsky describes the old lady: “It was a tiny, thin old lady, sixty years old, with quick and angry eyes, with a little sharp nose and bareheaded… coughing and groaning every minute.” By current standards, 60 is not old age. Olga is sure that she has a lot of interesting things ahead of her. Advertisers and designers find her, she takes part in conferences devoted to worthy longevity, is thinking of starting cooperation with European brands. She says about her plans: “Oh, big ones! I have a sense of perspective. You can do something else, you set goals, you achieve them, you feel satisfied and you set new ones. And the sense of perspective is the main thing that differs young people from the elderly ones”.

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inner land

Crown and roots

This fragile and charming girl seems to have everything to shine on the catwalks: a bright appearance, an ironic mind, artistry, determination. She is very able to win everybody’s favor. Karina Shvorab preferred agronomy to modeling. Instead of weekly fashion shows and professional photo shoots, she is looking for oats seeds of the first reproduction, she is worried about the fate of winter crops in conditions that are atypical for our latitudes and thinks of how to grow the best rape in the region. However, Karina does not hide her beauty and youth: at the regional qualifying round of the Miss Belarus national beauty contest in Borisov, she heard many kind words from the panel.

A law unto herself

In a warm jacket, dense shawl, blue skinny and bright pink boots, Karina looks natural both in the field with greening winter crops, and in the grain storehouse, and in the fur yard. The first beauty of the region is the chief agronomist of Zaluzhye OJSC. When the district stage of the national beauty contest was taking place in Starye dorogi, the panel unconditionally gave her first place. — I was sure that our Karina would win, — there is not a shadow of doubt in the voice of Olga Damarad, the head

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of the Drazhnensky village club, with whose helping hand the girl became a participant in the contest. Olga Damarad continues: — Now we are friends, and at first I was afraid to utter a word. I saw her masterfully driving an old UAZ along the road and I thought: this girl cannot be approached. We met at the regional “Dazhynki” in Borisov. She came there as a member of the district delegation, and I brought an exposition of our village museum. We began to talk, and I immediately realized that we understood each other very well: outgoing, lively, hot-eyed. At first, I suggested her playing the role of Snow Maiden for a New Year show, and then persuaded her to participate in the selection for the national beauty contest. By the way, for Karina, this kind of experience is not the first. At 19, the girl, being a student at the Grodno Agrarian University, participated in the casting of beauties for the first time. — How happy I was when I went through the first stage! Then the casting was taking place in Minsk, I came from Grodno without saying anything to my mother or friends. To win recognition in that contest was very important for me. For self-confidence, I guess. I’m self-confident now… Then I was deselected after a runway walk in swimsuits, as, however, was for the second time, and now too… My type is not quite

The first beauty of the Starodorozhsky district works as an agronomist and dreams of her own agricultural business

inner land for contests, and the figure is not ideal. Many people advise me to gain a little weight, but the selection panel, on the contrary, suggested removing a few centimeters from the waist. Yes, there are extra 2 cm, I also know it. I’m going to do hula hoop! — Karina is determined. Not so much for the sake of winning contests, but for herself. Sport, proper nutrition, self-care and no superfluities — now this is her lifestyle that allows her to feel good and cope with her duties. The chief agronomist of the farm is a great responsibility! For a year of independent work, the young specialist felt it in full: — It’s easier in winter, there’s not much work, and in the evening, if it weren’t for Olya and the synthesizer that I bought to play music, it would be even boring. The agro-town Zaluzhye is small, there are almost no young people here. But when spring comes it begins: sowing campaign, forage conservation, harvesting. Work from 7 a. m. until the last tractor or combine leaves the field. You only think how to do everything in time, to have enough strength for everything.

everyone, but she holds the line on anyone who doesn’t work properly. “The main thing is that she has a command voice and diligence, she sets an example for others,” Deputy Director Irina Melnik praises the young specialist. Karina is not disappointed in her choice and still wants to work in agriculture. In the future, she sees herself as the leader or even the owner of an agricultural business. Although she admits: — At first it was hard to stray from the ideal crop cultivation technology that we were taught. I used to argue with our leader, tried to prove. But unfortunately, technology is not always applicable in practice: either there aren’t enough fertilizers, the equipment is out of order, then the weather failed… Last summer, we had no rain for 40 days. Corn crops were stricken, pasture burned down.. It was hard to see. But in any conditions it is necessary to find a way out, to take every possible advantage. There is always a risk in agriculture, and you need to be prepared for this. This year, I promised our director and chairman of the district executive committee to grow the best rape in the region. I am already working on it. ◆◆◆ Alexey Petrushenya, Director of Zaluzhye OJSC: — It’s good when a young specialist comes to work at an agricultural enterprise. Although most of the knowledge graduates get in practical work. I know this from my own experience. I received higher education in agronomy by correspondence instruction, working on the field, and practical experience helped a lot. Karina has the knowledge, now she is gaining experience, and our team is always ready to support her. It’s nice that she was noticed during the selection for the national beauty contest. It is a plus to our farm that we have beautiful and talented girls.

Grandfather would be proud

By Liliya Khlystun

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Karina, who graduated from the capital’s school, chose a profession herself. Although her mother and sister insistently discouraged her: farm work is hard and ungrateful, and the opportunities for leisure in the village are limited. But Karina remembered her childhood spent in the Vileika region and heart-to-heart conversations with her grandfather Claudius Ivanovich, who had worked all his life in agriculture: — He influenced my choice. Grandfather always said that I would be an agronomist, watching me working in the garden, planting onions, radishes. He was very proud when I entered the agronomy faculty. Only it’s a pity that he did not live to see the day when I received my diploma and came to work at Zaluzhye OJSC. Karina came to the Starodorozhsky district of her own free will. The girl, who had one of the best among the graduates of the agrarian university, had the opportunity to stay in Minsk to work at the seed industry inspection, where she had done her academic training. But she wanted active work. — In the last year I started looking for options, my friends suggested Zaluzhye OJSC. The local manager was an agronomist by education, and the farm needed chief agronomist. I came to Alexey Alexandrovich for an interview exactly on my birthday. I honestly admitted that my only practical experience was the work as a seed grower during academic training But he reassured, saying that everything can be learned, and I am very grateful to him for taking me to work utterly inexperienced. At the beginning of March, it will be exactly one year since Karina has been working at Zaluzhe. She is called Alexandrovna, and even machine operators with many years of experience regard her opinion. Karina tries to be livable with

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That's where we are

Valery Karol

We welcome life!

A new tradition to welcome noon appeared in Brest

Muffled trumpet sounds flew over the water surface of the rowing canal; the wind carried them to a great distance. The soothsayer of Brest informed the neighborhood that the city on the Bug lived, functioned, developed, and that it was noon in the city. Despite a heavy fog, which did not clear away even by lunchtime, many citizens gathered to look at the new event. A new tradition to welcome noon appeared in Brest. Prior to the event, the main inspirer and organizer of the new project, the famous Brest chocolatier, the owner of the café-shop Alexander Skinder, spoke with reporters. He is the head of the city cultural and educational society “City Legends”. According to Alexander, together with like-minded people, they decided to revive another urban legend — the legend of an old trumpeter. — Historians are still arguing whether there was a trumpeter-messenger in ancient Berestye who, with the help of the loud musical instrument, announced important events and announced time. Their discussions can go on for decades. Meanwhile, we made a project aimed at increasing the tourist

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attractiveness of the city. It is likely that in the city, which was the first in our territory to receive Magdeburg law, there was just such an element of infrastructure. The city hall in those days was built with a tower and a clock, which means that the trumpeter had to blow. Alexander’s idea was supported by his comrades in the cultural and educational association — the chairperson of the primary trade union organization of artisans, Jean Vasko, Brest activist Oleg Golos, and the head of the Larchik theatre of living sculptures Vitaly Larchik. It was the theatre that worked on the model of the instrument, created the costumes of the trumpeter and his assistants. A wooden instrument, the name of which has not yet been invented, was made by Ivanovo co-workers. Ancient Caucasian technology was used for its manufacture. This is not even a solid pipe, but a prefabricated design of several segments. Its length is four meters and its weight is about 30 kilograms. You can’t lift such an instrument alone; moreover, not everyone will be able to trumpet, but only one who

professionals has strong lungs. The musical instrument is made of domestic wood, i. e. spruce. By the way, during the discussion of the idea and preparation for implementation, proposals came from both the neighboring region and the neighboring country to buy the entire project. But our trumpeter did not change his citizenship. During the first installation action, pages in the color of the coat of arms of the city appeared on the balcony. Before approaching the instrument, the trumpeter posted the standards in all four directions. Only after it, at 12 o’clock sharp, three signals sounded. It takes place every day now. At noon, a signal from the city is heard around the area. The trumpeter’s platform is located on the sixth floor of the judging tower of the Olympic Reserve Center for rowing, near the rowing canal. During the presentation of the new project, the organizers were asked why the city messenger was registered there, but not in the city center, for example, near the Central Department Store, where there is a high clock tower, and opposite there is a city landmark — a lamplighter who sets light by hand in the evening. Alexander Skinder noted that the Rowing Canal is not the outskirts either, but rather the center. There, for example, the main action was taking place during the celebration of the millennium of the city. Water has wonderful echo sounding, which enhances the sound: as you know, even singing above the water sounds more powerful and beautiful. “When there is a response of the townspeople and tourists, perhaps the trumpeter will change his location over time. It’s important to promote the project,” — the organizers say. In any case, with the sound of the trumpet, there will be an additional reason to recall the history of the small homeland and turn to its past. Three schools are now within reach of the sound, which means there is a potential audience. It remains to add that the project was implemented on the donations, and the trumpeter will work as a volunteer without any payment, for his home city.

Chronicler

even a thick fog did not hinder a good mood of the citizens

By Vladimir Stepan

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By Svetlana Yaskevich

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On the day of the signal "premiere"

think that photographers, as well as artists, have their favorite saying “Seeing once is better than hearing twice” — forgive me those who are on the radio. Photographers go and fly on business trips so that people could see what is going on, feel joy, pain, sadness, pride. People with cameras often appear in places of risk, it often happens that they are ahead of rescuers and doctors. We see tragic, heroic as well as ordinary, everyday events with their eyes. This spectacular black and white photo taken by Yevgeny Koktysh shows his colleague Arkady Nikolayev, a photo-reporter who has been dedicated to his favorite profession for over half a century. As a young man, he came to BelTA in 1959. If you look through thousands, and most likely tens of thousands of pictures from his archive, you will see, no matter how pretentious it sounds, the history of the second half of the 20th century. It doesn’t consist of only significant and grandiose events, but also of small, almost homelike, but for their participants important and crucial. Arkady Nikolayev appeared on construction sites, at factories and plants, at parades and demonstrations, at celebrations and meetings, in construction workers’ makeshift barracks and cabins of combine harvesters, in surgery rooms and maternity hospitals… Everywhere where something interesting was going on what others should learn about. He took pictures of not only the events themselves, but also of those who created them and participated in them. Hundreds of portraits of different people from all the places where the photographer happened to be, became the heroes of his reports. With his camera he wrote chronicles not only of our Belarus, but also of the former Soviet Union. In December 1988, the heaviest earthquake took place in Armenia. The city of Spitak was completely destroyed. Belarusians were helping Armenia in every possible way. Arkady Nikolayev told and showed the tragedy of Armenia and its children in the way no spectator could remain indifferent. Armenian children, who were helped by Belarus, became adults long ago. Perhaps some of them, seeing themselves in black and white pictures, will remember the man with the camera in his hands, his attentive and friendly look. And this is just one of the episodes of the great chronicle written by photographer Arkady Nikolayev.

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Belarus and the UN: projects

“Smart” lighting for Novogrudok

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Novogrudok is one of the oldest Belarusian cities. It was the former capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The famous poet Adam Mickiewicz spent his childhood there. Now Novogrudok has a wonderful house-museum dedicated to Adam Mickiewicz. This house has been restored in the place and on the model of the house where the poet’s parents used to live. Its exterior and interior reflect the atmosphere of the first half of the 19th century, when Adam Mickiewicz lived and worked. However, there are many other sights in the town that tell about the rich historical and cultural heritage of the area. It is not for nothing that they attract the attention of many tourists. But today Novogrudok is actively living its modern life. It is important to note that the city and its administration are responsive to the latest proposals in urban planning. Such innovations easily find their place in the urban infrastructure, in general — in urban life.

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Belarus and the UN: projects

ast summer, as part of the Republican Environmental Forum in Novogrudok, there was an opening ceremony of the city streets equipped with “smart” LED lighting. Modernization of urban lighting was carried out as part of the project “Supporting Green Urban Development in Small and Medium-Sized Cities in Belarus” (“Green Cities”), which is financed by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus. Let us try to find out to what extent this technical solution has proved its value. According to Andrey Leonovich, a representative of the contractor company, the positive result of the smart lighting system has already become evident since August last year. Every month the company collected readings for all luminaires and control cabinets from metering devices, recorded the result in the corresponding program. The main result to date is the following: all installed luminaires, as well as the necessary equipment are working in a routine mode, all lighting fully meets the requirements of hygiene standards. “The system, which was in the city earlier, did not meet many requirements, — says Andrey Leonovich. — Today, despite the fact that we have significantly increased the lighting throughout the city, especially in the busiest areas, we see energy saving, which is at least 30 percent as compared to the old energyconsuming lamps. The equipment works according to a set schedule, i. e. lighting changes depending on the time of day. In winter, of course, we see an increase in consumption, which is natural, because there are more dark hours per day”. In addition to significant energy saving, the contractor also notes a number of other advantages in the new lighting system. Firstly, is safety and comfort. “If you look at the city streets that are still left with the old lighting fixtures, you

Scheme of "smart" lighting of Novogrudok streets

will notice a striking difference in lighting quality. Secondly, it’s the uniformity of the lighting. We’ve worked closely with the State Auto Inspectorate, studied the statistics. We illuminated more the most dangerous road sections and left the lighting on in a routine mode at night, while it is turned down for the night at other sections. So we save money and ensure safety,” concludes Andrei Leonovich. Alexander Grits, deputy chairman of Novogrudok executive committee, believes that the expectations, concerning the street lighting system, have been lived up to. According to him, street lighting has definitely changed for the better. Previously, there were complaints about the lighting in some parts of the city, particularly at intersections. Now these problems, in the part of the city where “smart” lighting is working, have been solved. Everything is remotely controlled, easily adjustable, the system is very convenient in operation. “If before every problem was solved with a switch — and the city at night was plunged into darkness, now we

can optimally adjust the lighting at any time. For us, the best performance indicator is that there are no complaints about lighting from the public. And if there used to be such complaints, now there are none, — stresses Alexander Grits. — I don’t mention the economic component yet, I don’t want to get ahead of myself. We’ll monitor it during the year and then give specific figures”. So far, “smart” lighting has covered the main streets and the entrance roads to Novogrudok. But the Executive Committee intends to continue its efforts to find the means to provide the entire city with the same modern street lighting. Viktor Talish, Chief Power Engineer of Novogrudok Housing and Communal Services, notes the comfort of maintaining the new lighting: “The system is very convenient. Now there is no need to react to a call, to drive around the city at night to see what lights are off. We see everything in the IT application at once and can react quickly and remotely”. Elena Selevich, First Deputy Chairman of the Novogrudok Executive Committee, notes the importance of information work in implementing innovations. According to her, other regions have got interested in “smart” light, and the Executive Committee is ready to share its experience. “We are ready for the people to come to us and get interested in those innovaбеларусь. belarus 2020

Belarus and the UN: projects

Andrey Khmel, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Belarus, Alexandra Solovyova, Permanent Representative of the United Nations Development Programme in Belarus, and Sergey Fedchenko, Chairman of the Novogrudok District Executive Committee, at the opening ceremony of the city streets equipped with "smart" LED lighting system

tions that have already been implemented in the city. We have recently held a college-based seminar on this topic, now we are preparing such a seminar in the city Lida, — Elena Selevich says. — We want the citizens to understand what and why it appears in the city. Yes, they have seen the colorful opening of streets with “smart” light. They see that it has become lighter and safer. But I’d like the townspeople to understand the economic benefits as well. So let’s keep working on it.” According to Alexander Grits, the work in the field of energy efficiency together with the project “Green Cities” will continue. Now, for example, preparations are underway for the installation of smart meters in two residential apartment buildings. In addition, the executive committee highly appreciated the concept of transformation of the central part of Novogrudok, developed by the project specialists, which is designed to make the city center more attractive for both local residents and tourists. “We also see the importance of the development of cycling and the related infrastructure in the city. We are going to work in these directions, find financing for the implementation of new projects”, — concludes Alexander Grits.

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Useful feedback Victor Gavroche, a driver: — We knew about the upcoming replacement of lamps (read in the local newspaper), and of course, immediately noticed the changes after their installation. We live in the “South-West” district, and I work on the other side of the city. As all educational institutions and enterprises start work at 8.00, the flow of people and cars in the morning is huge. A year ago, during the February morning fogs, it was very hard to see pedestrians walking. At the moment, the situation has changed, the new lighting for our city is very relevant. I am no longer worried about my daugh-

ter going to school on her own, as I am sure that she is walking along a well-lit street. Olga Savastyuk, a pedestrian: — I live in the part of the city with private housing. I am very pleased with the changes that are taking place. Of course, I immediately noticed the new lights in the central streets of the city. But I am also glad that our part of the city, located on the outskirts, has also become lighter. It’s already convenient to walk late in the evening. We hope that with time all the small streets will also be transformed in terms of lighting. Comments by Ivan Filyutich, an energy efficiency expert of the project “Green Cities”: — We believe that the experience gained by Novogrudok in modernizing street lighting will be useful for other Belarusian cities as well. In total, at least 500 thousand street lighting fixtures are in operation in Belarus, and their total electricity consumption is significant — tens of millions of kilowatthours per year. Much of this equipment needs to be updated. In this regard, the consistent improvement of the energy efficiency of street lighting with the introduction of modern LED lighting systems and automatic control systems will both significantly reduce energy consumption and, consequently, local budget expenditures, and improve safety and comfort in the streets of our cities. By Vladimir Mikhaylov

The "smart" lighting system is another step that makes Novogrudok a modern, comfortable city

Belarus and the UN: projects

It’s time to buy green

UNDP project releases first in Belarus guideline on “green” procurement

Any sustainable development goal is linked to a product, work or service. Therefore, while trying to achieve it, we need green procurement principles. Yuliya Amelchenya, PhD in Law, national consultant of the UNDP project “Green Cities”, is sure of this. Yuliya Amelchenya is the author of “Methodological recommendations on organization and conduct of procurement of goods (works, services) using the principles of “green” procurement”. The document was developed in the framework of the project and is currently the first practical manual on this topic published in Belarus. In recent years, the country has shown a strong interest in green growth in all sectors. In particular, the National Sustainable Development Strategy (until 2030) includes issues of introducing green principles into the economy. It is not for nothing that the term “green procurement” first appeared in legislation in the provisions of the National Action Plan for the development of “green” economy in Belarus until 2020. — Sustainable development can be achieved through “green’ procurement from different financial sources, — says Yuliya Amelchenya. — In general, the application of green procurement principles will improve the quality of life of the population and preserve the environment, benefit from saving resources, innovation and increased competition. In addition, green procurement improves the efficiency of the use of budget funds and public extrabudgetary funds. According to Yuliya Amelchenya, the principles of “green” procurement will undoubtedly contribute to reducing the

environmental impact, encourage the active introduction of innovations in the market, the use of energy efficient equipment and alternative energy sources. Today, in most cases, the main criterion in the procurement of energy-efficient equipment is still price. Once the equipment has been installed and assembled, issues related to the cost of its operation are almost never taken into account. UNDP in Belarus is moving away from this practice and has shown other examples of procurement approaches. For example, the project “Green Cities” in selecting suppliers of “smart” energy efficient street lighting for the city of Novogrudok took into account not only the cost of equipment, but also its energy consumption and other costs. Even the cost of recycling. And this approach really helped to choose the best technical solution. Green procurement principles were also used in other UNDP projects in Belarus. These are, for example, heating modernization of a school in Dzerzhinsk (EU — UNDP project “Energy Efficiency in Schools”), organization of production of office paper from secondary resources at a paper mill in Borisov (EU — UNDP project “Support to Transition of Belarus to Green Economy”). — As for the methodological recommendations, this is the first attempt in

“Green” procurement is a reasonable quality-to-price ratio to get benefit not only for a specific organization, but also for the society as a whole, the economy and the environment.

Belarus to systematize an array of procurement legislation, to identify problematic issues and aspects where one should beware of violations, to identify groups of requirements for the conditions of procurement within which we can practice them, — says Yuliya Amelchenya. — They are developed in accordance with national legislation on the procurement of goods, works or services, antitrust laws, legislation on technical regulation and standardization, as well as the requirements of supra national acts, in particular the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union. Yuliya Amelchenya urges not to forget about the end consumer, from whose point of view “green” purchases imply direct participation in the achievement of environmental goals of the state, as it is a question of spending budget funds. On the other hand, the purchase of goods, works and services on the basis of green procurement improves the quality of life of the population, including by the reduction of harmful impact on the environment, improvement of citizens’ health and their working conditions. By Oleg Bogomazov

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traditions

Maslenitsa is a multi-faceted holiday Improvisation on a pancake theme

Flavored, springily, sunny...

With the beginning of spring, Belarus traditionally celebrated the last day of Maslenitsa, the oldest Slavic holiday, which originated in pre-Christian times, in the period of worship of pagan gods

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No matter who you talk to, your friends and acquaintances, when asked what kind of food you remember from your Soviet childhood, most people answer: fried potatoes and my mother’s pancakes at Maslenitsa. I do not think that in those years this holiday was as widely celebrated in Ukraine, where I come from, as it is nowadays. The time was atheistic. But in families, this tradition existed. This was the way the echoes of our ancestors’ beliefs were preserved. I will not forget the phrase that was often used in my family: without pancakes there is no Maslenitsa. That’s what my mother, Mariya Petrovna, used to say. And my father Mikhail Stefanovich added: yes, spring solstice… It means that the sun and warmth are coming back.. I remember well: the drops from icicles outside the window, they hang teeth-like from the roof, and right before my eyes are getting shorter in the warm March sun, or even fall on the ledge. The sounds of crashing icicles beckon outside. I’m a little worried that I won’t get any so as to enjoy an icy stick around some corner of the house, secretly from my parents, a treat, which was a substitute for a candy, for me and my peers. It’s lunchtime, and the parents won’t let you out until you have a meal. Which I willingly obey, because pancakes are for lunch. I am sitting at a big table with an electric stove on it and watch my mother make pancakes. Eggs are broken in the bowl, a little salt and sugar is spooned, milk is poured, flour is added… Mom gives me a whisk and I start to help her. It slips from my awkward fingers, and Mom changes it for a fork… Finally, our dough is ready, all the lumps are gone. It’s so liquid, I don’t see how Mom can make a good pancake. I remember my mother’s words well: “I make it by rule of thumb”, when she explained how to knead dough for such pancakes. The cast-iron frying pan is heated and greased with melted but-

traditions ter.. Goose feathers were used for this purpose: there were no silicone tassels at that time. This was the way mom was taught by grandmother Agrafena, who was living in the village. Mom pours the dough into the pan, it magically spreads over it and bubbles wonderfully… And here it is — the first pancake. Look, mom says, it looks like the sun… She puts it on my plate, in the middle adds a piece of butter and quickly folds it in half, and then again — in half. I bite the hot pancake from the corner, the butter flows down my fingers and chin. Mom laughs with a happy laugh. I laugh, too… I used to share pancakes with my friends, though without butter and other side dishes, of course, if I was allowed to. We’d take a bite out in the middle of it and look through the hole at the sun, and then throw the pieces to birds. Sometimes cats would get a little bit of it, or even watch dogs. As I read later in some book, the Slavs used to give the first pancake to the birds: they, being the intermediaries between heaven and earth, are the closest to our ancestors. I do not know a single person who does not like pancakes. In my immediate circle they are eaten by family members — children, grandchildren, godchildren, nephews and, of course, friends. One of them still remembers how I once made a huge number of “dancing”, sunny pancakes at Maslenitsa. This is my personal definition of good pancakes. You pick up such a loose orange pancake, butter-soaked, take a piece, and it is as if dancing. Because it’s soft and elastic at the same time, half a centimeter thick. This is the kind of pancake I make as an alternative to thin, lace-like ones. This recipe, a variation of yeasty pancakes, I got from my grandmother Agrafena. You can eat them with melted butter, sour cream, jam, honey. The way you like it. I remember well the first time I tasted pancakes with sour cream and blackcurrant jam at my classmate Innochka’s. We ate them with milk and had fun because our fingers and mouths were sour-sweet. My son Bogdan loved pancakes with honey when

Maslenitsa in Grodno agritourist complex "Grodno estate Korobchitsy"

he was small. And his son Mishka also prefers to put honey on pancakes. Certainly, we also like pancakes with trout or salmon. And red caviar. But we’ve been using these “side dishes” for a relatively short time. Only in Belarus, I tasted pancakes with mushroom machanka made of meat broth with slices of rustic, “finger jamed” sausage and pork. But the second in the rating after my mother’s pancakes are the ones made in the family of our friends Busko from the village of Zherebkovichi, in the Lyakhovichi District in Brest Region. Over the years, these wonderful people have become like family to us. Regina is now alone, Vitaly Busko, former chairperson of Zherebkovichi APC , died. Bright memory to him, as well as to our parents. So her pancakes can leave in the dust many hostesses. Regina makes them from milk whey. Pancakes are the softest: thin, fragrant, delicious. You can’t stop eating them, they are so tasty. And when there are many of them on the plate, their wavy edges look nice and delight the eye. Regina used to have her own cow. She whipped butter herself, made cottage cheese, sour cream and delicious cheeses. And what sweet, creamy milk! We used to taste all these delicious

things, which are made in the village by hard and painstaking work, more than once. Regina is a hospitable, generous hostess. And when we sometimes gather at the table with the families of her twin sons Alexander and Ivan, pancakes as part of the treat and at Maslenitsa are always in the center of the table.

Meanings and symbols Maslenitsa is a multi-faceted holiday with different meanings and symbols. Today it combines the pagan and Christian traditions of the Belarusians. On the one hand, it is a celebration of the end of winter, awakening of nature to a new life, on the other — the last day before Lent. For our ancestors Maslenitsa was glorification of Yarila, God of Sun Another version is Veles, who patronized the cattle. The church has changed almost nothing in this pagan feast. After the adoption of Christianity, it was consecrated and filled with new ideas. Maslenitsa week was the last stage of preparation for Lent. In Christian tradition, the spiritual aspect is important: during this week believers should get closer to forgiveness of all offenses, repentance, reconciliation with their neighbors. беларусь. belarus 2020

traditions

Delicious pancakes

Recollect the dead and pray for the rest of their souls. And the act of forgiveness was completed on Sunday, on this last day of Maslenitsa week they asked all their relatives and friends for forgiveness. That’s why they called it Shrove Sunday. On Sunday they said good-bye to winter and welcomed spring. The culmination of the holiday was burning a straw dummy of Maslenitsa, which embodied all the evil that was in people’s lives and in themselves. Sunday was very boisterous, with songs and dances, with plenty of food. There is no specific date in the calendar for the celebration of Maslenitsa in Belarus. To calculate it, we should take eight weeks away from the date of Easter: 48 days of Lent and a week of Maslenitsa. As a result, this year Maslenitsa was celebrated on March 1. And Maslenitsa week began on February 24. In some regions of Belarus this holiday is called in a different way, i. e. Syrnytsya and Maslenka. In the Church calendar it is called Shrovetide. It was forbidden to eat meat during the holiday week, which is also called Meat-Fare. Fish and dairy products were allowed. But pancakes, the symbol of the Sun, acquired a special status. Pancakes started to be made on

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Monday. They were eaten with melted butter, sour cream, honey, jam, cottage cheese. In good health, and to everyone’s delight! Where did the name of the holiday, Maslenitsa, come from? The answer lies in the villages. The cows of the villagers who had the cattle, usually calved by early spring, so milk and dairy products dominated on the table. According to the researchers, the name “Maslenitsa” comes from maslo (butter). Every day of Maslenitsa, according to the site “Everything about rest and tourism in Belarus” (http://probelarus.by/), is unique and filled with sacral meaning. For example, Monday, also called “Vstrecha”, was considered to be the symbolic beginning of Maslenitsa. A scarecrow was made that represented a frosty winter. Tuesday was called “Zaigrysh”: from that day on people could start visiting. Wednesday — “Lakomka” — was for making more pancakes and invitng more guests. And on Wednesday it was popular to visit mother-in-law, which gave name to the famous saying “to go to the mother-in-law for pancakes”. In the part of the country where the celebration began on Thursday, “motherin-law’s day” was Friday. On Thursday, which was called a “wide” or “fat” day,

villagers gave treat for their cattle. They even made pancakes for them. Thursday was also the day to collar young stallions, this day was considered to be the most suitable for it. In some areas, Thursday was the day of elderly women-midwives. Children, who were born with their help, came to visit them with a treat, and then sledged around the village. Friday or “mother-in-law’s evenings” was the time when a young family visited the bride’s family. If the sonin-law didn’t visit his mother-in-law on that day, it was a great offence that could cause the two families to quarrel. On Saturday, “sister-in-law’s parties” came. Everyone would visit each other, ride horses, sledge, swing… At Maslenitsa there were many different rites. Our ancestors believed that people could work during the daytime at Maslenitsa week, but the evenings were only for entertainment. One of the most interesting Maslenitsa traditions, which existed on our land, was “pulling the block”. It was a trial for young guys who stayed single for a long time. A piece of log was tied to the leg and they had to walk around the village with it. In some regions, women would pull a piece of log and tie it to the first unmarried guy they met. Anyone who didn’t want to “pull the block” had to pay off with money or a treat. In other neighborhoods, the guys who were forced to try on “blocks” had to go into the houses where unmarried girls lived and demand a treat. If a guy with a “block” did not stop near a girl’s house, it was considered a disrespect for her. At Maslenitsa people loved games with guising. The villagers in fancy dresses came to someone’s house. If the owners did not give a treat, the house was to be jokingly “ruined” — things would be scattered and moved. Every person such a group met on the street was pushed into a snow and his or her cheeks and nose were rubbed with snow. Today, Maslenitsa traditions are not so strong, but still this holiday is bright, noisy and fun. And year after year Bela-

traditions rusians favor it. The celebration of Maslenitsa urges people to wake up after a winter sleep and to get ready for a new spring, and thus, I repeat, for a new life.

And I was there, watching… I had been making pancakes since Thursday spoiling my family. I even cooked thin, lace-like, which I managed to master. And, of course, grandmother’s, loose, dancing. For those pancakes I wanted to use the butter which is sold by dairy farmers at Komarovsky market, melted butter, ghee. More than once I melted it according to the tradition that exists in India, where I and my husband had brought ghee butter from. It’s very tasty and healthy even with high cholesterol. So I went to Komarovsky market on Saturday. The square in front of the market turned into a fair, where the aroma of pancakes was in the air. There was music, songs and ditties. I walked around the fairgrounds where classic pancakes were being made right in front of my eyes. I couldn’t help but try one with red caviar. There were pancakes with both sour cream and honey. It was possible to taste multicolored pancakes cooked according to unique recipes with different fillings, which were not usual for me. With spicy beetroot, shrimp, jam made of pine cones and dandelions. The menu also included fresh pastries, sweets, kvass and mulled honey drink. For those who can’t give up meat, pork kebabs were being fried. And there was a line for barbecues, as well as for coffee. I must admit, the smell was nice. There was a lot of entertainment: roundelays, rope pulling, jumping in bags and huge rope skipping, other sports games and competitions. A special atmosphere for the festivities was created by skomorokhs and animators. Here you could also buy souvenirs from artisans. I even regretted a little that I had no time to waste: my husband and I were going to the swimming pool and a steam room, and after it we were invited to a pancake dinner at my sister’s.

How in Rome they did not burn the scarecrow of winter Maslenitsa is celebrated in different countries. Every country has its own traditions. For example, in England they also make pancakes. It comes 47 days before Easter Sunday and lasts only one day — Tuesday, its main event is running race with pancakes. “Shrove Tuesday”, as it was called a long time ago, is very popular in Britain. A “pancake bell” rings in a certain place of a town, all the women over 18, in aprons, with frying pans in the hands start racing to it. It is necessary not only to come first, but also to race with a frying pan while tossing a pancake in it at least three times. The winner gets the title of “Pancake Race” champion, which she can be proud of until next year (www.tonkosti.ru). In the City magazine Afisha. London one can read about English Maslenitsa traditions, as well as who and when made Russian-style pancakes this year in London, danced in a round and had a lot of fun saying good-bye to the winter (www.afisha.london). On Saturday, February 29 Maslenitsa was celebrated for the first time in Rome, in the cultural and educational center “Francysk Skaryna”. The fest was organized there by Belarusians, led by

the head of the center Nina Pashchenko, and her assistant Olga Tylkovich. She was the host of the program. This is what Nina Pashchenko writes in a letter to the newspaper “Golas Radzimy,” which she cooperates with: “Adults and children had fun. Italian dads and guests tasted pancakes with different fillings for the first time, even learned the word “oladushky“ (fritters). They also ate draniki…” Since childhood our addressee remembers merry Maslenitsa celebrations in Orsha: “In the square near the Linen factory there were tents with pancakes and grilled meat. There was also a huge pole, which one had to climb up to take off a rooster or boots. Several people climbed on each other’s shoulders, building a ladder, and the most skillful was at its top. There were a lot of failures, but there was always someone who managed to take the gift. There were also amateur groups in folk costumes. And then a huge scarecrow was burned. I remember it all my life. My mother and her friends from Orsha still celebrate Maslenitsa”. The Belarusians and their guests never burned the scarecrow of winter at their Roman Center: the first graders took pity on it. But, as they admitted, it was fun. By Valentina Zhdanovich

Farewell to the scarecrow of Winter has a deep symbolic meaning

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Connection of times

From Uralsk to home The remains of the classic of Belarusian literature Zmitrok Biadula were brought to Belarus from a distant western Kazakh town. In autumn 1941 he was evacuated with his family on a troop train, was going from Saratov to the Urals, but didn’t get there: his heart stopped. Heart attack. Approaching Uralsk, he suddenly died on a freight train, and on November 3 was buried at the municipal cemetery.

son of the classic, 86‑year-old Yefim Plavnik told us about it. The family story says that Zmitrok Biadula in the dark prison corridor once accidentally saw Kuźma Čorny out of the corner of his eye. Today we know: the famous novelist and also a classic of Belarusian literature, who was arrested on October 14, 1938, spent about 8 months in

by Alexander Sapega, a native of Babruisk. By the way, he is not only the chairman of the Foundation, but also a friend of the Advisory Council under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus for the affairs of Belarusians abroad. In 2012, he created the Belarusian community in Switzerland with the support of Belarusian diplomats.

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Almost 80 years have passed since then. And it is very symbolic that the return of the remains of Biadula (Shmuel Yefimovich Plavnik) to his homeland took place shortly after the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Belarus, at a time when we are preparing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory. Shmuel Yefimovich, of

Zmitrok Biadula

course, was not a hero of that war — he became one of a million of its victims. Not everyone, however, knows: the health of the famous writer, friend of Yanka Kupala and his close associate was undermined not only by cruel, destructive energy of the war. It turns out that in the pre-war period, he had to suffer a lot of troubles, groundless accusations, and was imprisoned by the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affaires. On the sidelines of the press conference, which was held on February 27 at the State Museum of the History of Belarusian Literature (as soon as the remains of the writer were brought from Uralsk to Belarus), the

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A group of Belarusian writers with Yan Rainis (center). Zmitrok Biadula is in the left front row. Minsk, November 19, 1926.

Minsk prison, then he was released. Zmitrok Biadula, apparently, walked the same corridors at the same time. And Kuźma Čorny didn’t live to see the Victory: he was a participant of the war and died of a stroke at the desk on November 22, 1944 in Minsk, liberated from the enemies. Many media have already reported: with the consent of the writer’s relatives, Maria Magdalena Radziwill Swiss Foundation took upon itself a difficult case of exhumation of the remains of Biadula, their transportation to Belarus, their subsequent reburial in their homeland. It should be noted that the organization is headed

Although Alexander has been living for over 10 years in Switzerland (near Zurich) and is dealing now in the department of migration (the Internet tells us) with the problems of refugees), however, he often comes to Belarus on business. He has a Swiss wife Milena and four children.. Earlier he made a lot of efforts to return to his homeland the ashes of Magdalena Radziwill, the famous philanthropist, a poetry collection “The Wreath” by Maxim Bogdanovich was once published, together with other poetry, on her money. The wish came true three years ago, the ashes of Princess Magdalena are now in the Minsk Roman

Connection of times works. Among them there is the famous, pre-revolutionary story about a long-lasting poverty in Belarusian villages “Five spoons of zacirka” and the romantic story “The Nightingale” (1927). It tells about a talented young serf Symon (the action takes place in the first half of the 19th century), who due to circumstances becomes a serf actor, but does not lose freedom-loving aspirations — and eventually runs away with his beloved from the cruel, inhuman oppressor-landowner, encouraging the peasants to rise against him. Not everybody knows that in 1937 in Minsk the play by Biadula “The Nightingale” was staged in the First Belarusian State Theatre (BST‑1 is now the National Academic Drama Theatre named after Yanka Kupala) The writer made a drama-

kaya and Sovetskaya Streets (the house did not survive during the war, now there is house No. 44, which is on Independence Avenue), where the street and square named after Zmitrok Biadula are situated now. Leonid Rachlenko recalled some of the writer’s thoughts: “…You know… …what a pain to write plays… …you can’t mechanically turn a story into a play. A story is a story, and a drama, brother, is quite a different matter… It has its own laws… You understand, it is necessary to write new dialogues, monologues, to build new relationships between the characters, to look for links between the scenes, it is necessary, as you said, for all the characters to act, not just talk”. However, cooperation with the theatre was not for the first time for Byadulа. Back in

about 25 thousand dictionary articles and 50 thousand words (it was compiled by a specialist in the Yiddish language and restorer Alexander Ostroukh). It was specified in the dictionary that the first Yiddish-Belarusian dictionary for 8 thousand words, published in 1932, was compiled with the participation of Shmuel Plavnik Zmitrok Biadula. The writer worked a lot in the Jewish sector of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus in the 20–30s, and a huge cardcatalogue (100 thousand words) was collected, which, unfortunately, was destroyed during the war. In Belarusian schools pupils now get acquainted only with some of his

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Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity on the Golden Hill (also known as the Church of St. Roch). And the monument to Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Swiss town of Zoloturno was unveiled on October 21, 2017, largely thanks to the Swiss-Belarusian Alexander Sapega — with a distinctive plate in Belarusian and German: “Tadeusz Kościuszko. 1746–1817. From the Association of Belarusians in Switzerland. 2017”. What do we know about Zmitrok Biadula today? Actually, not much, though before the war many of his books were published. In 1985–1989 a 5‑volume collection of his works was published. The reason was the a centenary celebration of the classic of Belarusian literature in 1986. In 2008 in Minsk an illustrated Yiddish-Belarusian dictionary was published, which includes

Ales Sapega (right) by the tombstone of Z. Biadula

Yefim Plavnik — the son of the writer

turgical version of the novel in close cooperation with the theatre. Leonid Rakhlenko, who played the role of Nightingale, was also one of the directors, along with Lev Litvinov (Gurevich). 30 years later he, already People’s Artist of the USSR, on the pages of our magazine (the text “The Nightingale on the stage” — Belarus, 1967, No. 12, page 17) shared valuable memories about Zmitrok Biadula — playwright. In the text we find an allusion to the writer’s remarkable wittiness in conversation, he liked nifty, jokes. He used to live in the very district of Minsk, in the House of Specialists on the corner of Dolgobrods-

1914 his small play for children “Death of a Shepherd Boy” was published — and this, according to the theatre researchers, was one of the first works of Belarusian drama for children. Extremely interesting facts can be found in the 1st volume of “The History of the Belarusian Theatre” (Minsk, Prosveshcheniye, 1983), which reveal littleknown facets of Byadul’s talent and testify to his “nashenivsky” environment. It is known that the writer moved to Vilnius at the end of 1912, worked there in the publishing association, and was the secretary of the newspaper “Nasha Niva”. And on January 27, 1913, the Vilnius Belarusian Music and беларусь. belarus 2020

Connection of times Drama Group for the first time presented to the audience “Paulinka” — “the stage image in two acts by Yanka Kupala”. Moreover, the author himself was invited to the party and came from St. Petersburg. Vilnius Belarusians gave him a gold watch with an engraving. The second premiere, more perfect, was held there on February 14, 1914. The main role was played by St. Petersburg Paulinka, i. e. actress Pavlina Medelka. At that time Yakub Kolas, and Zmitrok Biadula, working in “Nasha Niva”, wrote reviews of the Belarusian performances of the Vilna group. Its last performance (World War I broke out, and at the beginning of September 1915 Vilnius was already occupied by German troops) was a production by Vincent Dunin-Marcinkievič’s “Zalety” on January 25 of the same year. An in-depth review of the production was written by Yanka Kupala in “Nasha Niva”. And Zmitrok Biadula, already well-known Belarusian writer, for the first time played a small role of Mordkawoodworker, a local Jew-craftsman. His observation and good knowledge of life helped to create a bright image of a care-worn man. According to Yanka Kupala, this character caused “sincere laughter through tears”. Well, isn’t it a miracle: a classic writes about his friend-classic in such an unusual role! Our attention to “theatrical pages” in the work of Biadula is justified. One of the authors of these notes — Valentina — defended her candidate’s thesis “Zmitrok Biadula and the Belarusian theatre” in 1996. At the defense, held at the Institute of Art History, Ethnography and Folklore of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Biadula’s son was the guest of honor. At a recent press conference, we reminded him about it, and Yefim Shmuelovich once again thanked Valentina Zhdanovich, now PhD in Art History, for attention to these little-known layers of his father’s creative heritage. He confessed: it was a discovery for him that Zmitrok Biadula paid so much attention to theatrical creativity, persistently fought for the creation of a professional theatre. In fact, he was one of the main critics, especially in the first half of the 20s, who wrote about the activities of BST‑1. And not only substantial reviews — he turned to both the history and cultural tra-

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ditions of the people. He wrote, in particular, about Batleika, analyzed the domestic drama… In 1921 the artistic director and playwright Yevstigney Mirovich became th Our attention to “theatrical pages” in the work of Biadula is justified. One of the authors of these notes — Valentina — defended her candidate’s thesis “Zmitrok Biadula and the Belarusian theatre” in 1996. At the defense, held at the Institute of Art History, Ethnography and Folklore of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Biadula’s son was the guest of honor. At a recent press conference, we reminded him about it, and Shmuel Yefimovich once again thanked Valentina Zhdanovich, now PhD in Art History, for attention to these little-known layers of his father’s creative heritage. He confessed: it was a discovery for him that Zmitrok Biadula paid so much attention to theatrical creativity, persistently fought for the creation of a professional theatre. In fact, he was one of the main critics, especially in the first half of the 20s, who wrote about the activities of BST‑1. And not only substantial reviews — he turned to both the history and cultural traditions of the people. He wrote, in particular, about Batleika, analyzed the domestic drama… In 1921 the artistic director and playwright Yevstigney Mirovich became the artistic director of the Belarusian State Academic Theatre, and Zmitrok Biadula joined the artistic council of the theatre together with Joseph Dylo (writer, public figure) and Leopold Rodevich (writer, playwright). And later such a trick of fate happened to Zmitrok Biadula! It is a good confirmation of the famous Shakespearean thought that “life is a theatre, and we are all actors”. It happened that in at the time of the troubled years of war, in early November 1941, one of the Belarusian theatres, i. e. BST‑2 from Vitsebsk, was evacuated to far Uralsk. By the way, Zmitrok Biadula had performed in this theatre before the war. And when he died unexpectedly, far from his homeland, those Belarusians arranged a funeral ceremony in a Kazakh town (now the Kazakhs have renamed it: Aral). Yefim Plavnik mentioned this at a press conference and shared his bright childhood impressions: he was 7 years old at that time. “We buried our fa-

ther almost 80 years ago, — recalled Yefim Shmuelovich. — And I remember the burial arranged by the Vitebsk theatre: it had been evacuated to Uralsk. I remember every detail. It was like a theatrical action. The coffin stood on a high pedestal in the cemetery, with the steps leading to it. And everything was covered with red cloth. I climbed those stairs to say goodbye to my father… And in general, it was all a bit like a routine.” This kind of routine can be understood: war, distant land, strangers… What do they care about some Belarusian writer, albeit famous, about his orphaned son? For Yefim Plavnik, the pain of losing his dear father is already far in the past, and he does not perceive the present “action” as something gloomy. He expressed his endless gratitude to all those involved in the transfer of the father’s remains to Belarus, especially to Ales Sapega. Besides him, Belarusian Charge d’Affaires ad interim in Switzerland Pavel Matsukevich went to Aral and was actively engaged in a wide range of issues related to obtaining the necessary permits and approvals, dismantling the monument, exhumation of the remains and their transportation to Belarus (forensic examination, Sanitary and Epidemiological Station, airport, customs…). Both Alexander and Pavel told at a press conference in detail how all the work was carried out, showed photos, which, by the way, can be viewed on the website of the Museum of Literature. Honorary Consul of Belarus in Lausanne Andrey Nazheskin was also mentioned with great gratitude. Thanks to his financial support this project is being implemented. They talked about a proposal of the rector of the temple in Aral, where the memorial service was held, to install a memorial sign in the cemetery, thus honoring the memory of Zmitrok Biadula. The State Museum of the History of Belarusian Literature, an interested partner of the Maria Magdalena Radziwill Foundation, which contributes in every possible way to the project of reburial of the classic’s remains, gathered journalists in the “Hall of Enlightenment”: thus the significance of the writer was emphasized. In the hall of the museum there was a small exhibition devoted to Zmitrok Biadula: books, letters,

Connection of times photos, personal belongings. Director of the museum Mikhail Rybakov, who was also a moderator at the press conference, said: there are about 80 exhibits related to Zmitrok Biadula in the funds. And the Minsk branch of the museum, “Belarusian House,” which is located at 19 Rabkorovskaya Street (the branch is headed by Tatyana Loboda), remembers Zmitrok Biadula as one of its famous owners. He used to live there from 1915 to 1918 together with his sisters Reney and Geney. The writer sheltered there Maxim Bogdanovich, who was suffering from an active form of TB. From there the poet went to Yalta for treatment, where he died on May 25, 1917. As we can see, the milestones of Belarusian history, culture and literature are very strongly intertwined with the personality of

translated from Yiddish and Ukrainian, and was a member of the USSR Writers’ Union since 1934. He was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1939). By the way, we saw it in the photos, made by the participants of the expedition to Uralsk-Aral: the order is kept there in the local Museum of Local Lore. The question arises: why there and not in Minsk? It has been like this since Soviet times… There was no museum of Zmitrok Biadula in Belarus, there is an exposition only in Kazakh Uralsk-Aral. Once at a creative meeting the writer Ales Badak gave a clue to one of the authors of these notes: in the Soviet times Zmitrok Biadula’s wife gave valuable exhibits to the Uralsiysk Museum of Local Lore. And what has happened to them? I, Ivan Zhdanovich, wrote to my Kazakh colleagues on the eve of Vic-

At a press conference at the Museum of Literature

Zmitrok Biadula. Brief information, provided by the Museum of Literature on the eve of a press conference, contains such important and fair lines: “Zmitrok Biadula made a great contribution to the development of Belarusian culture and literature, and the return of his remains to his homeland is a tribute of the Belarusian people to their glorious son, a bow from our people and our land”. The museum staff also reminded that Shmuel Plavnik was born on April 23, 1886 in the village of Posadets, Logoisk district, 70 kilometers from Minsk. He, having already chosen his creative nickname Zmitrok Biadula, worked together with Yanka Kupala in the newspaper “Nasha Niva”, later — in the newspaper “Savetskaya Belarus”, was the editor of the children’s magazine “Zorki” and the local history edition “Nash Krai”. He

friend Raisa Timofeevna Ploshchukis living now in Posadets, in the very place where Samuel Plavnik was born. She comes from the Russian Volga region, or rather from Tatarstan, from the family of the Old Believers. The girl went to Moscow, fell in love and brave boyfriend Vasily called her to move to Western Ukraine. She sees the city of Zaleshiki, which picturesquely lies in a beautiful horseshoe of the Dniester, in her dreams to this day. Raisa Timofeevna moved to Belarus for permanent residence, closer to her son and daughter, who settled in Minsk. When Raisa Timofeevna learned that the classic of Belarusian literature was born in Posadets, she wanted to immortalize the memory of Zmitrok Biadula there herself. Earlier there used to be a small mu-

Photo with Yefim Plavnik and his wife at the museum

tory Day in 2017. I asked them whether the tomb monument of Zmitrok Biadula in Uralsk was well maintained, whether local Belarusians knew about it, and where the exposition devoted to the writer was situated. At the same time I learned through the Internet that there was a Belarusian National Cultural Center “Gramada” in Uralsk, which is headed by Mikhail Belyaev. Unfortunately, I did not get an answer from Kazakhstan. But Alexander Sapega and Pavel Matsukevich made time, visited the Museum of Local Lore and met with local Belarusians. This can be seen in the pictures taken in Aral. I suppose there will be more of those contacts. And in conclusion. Life is sometimes unpredictable. It happeded that our good

seum at the local school, but as soon as the school was closed, it was disbanded. Raisa Timofeevna, as she learned about the event in Minsk, expressed her desire to visit it. And we helped her to do it. Now, as it gets warmer, the enthusiast is ready to cooperate with both the Museum of Literature and the writer’s son. A meeting is planned in Posadets, so that everything can be seen on site. And the local authorities, the leadership of Logoisk district support such measures of the village activist. It is still unknown where and when the remains of Zmitrok Biadula will be reburied. But, we hope, soon, when everything is properly prepared and done, which we will tell the readers about. By Ivan and Valentina Zhdanovich

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eeping other promises is ahead — the public expects the unfortunate play “Tuteyshyya” (The Locals) by Yanka Kupala, which thirty years ago, after a long ban was staged by Nikolay Pinigin in the Kupalauski theatre and symbolized the beginning of a new era. While the theatre is not engaged in premieres, but preparing for the new ones, we met with the director and talked about the problems of the modern theatre, the Belarusian language and, of course, “Tuteyshyya”. — Nikolay Nikolayevich, you said that “the theatre must deal with national problems.” Does the modern Belarusian theatre set itself such a task? — The mind of the director or art director tells what to do. I personally and the Kupalauski Theatre have had such a task since its creation. The Ministry of Culture recommended that thirty per-

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cent of the repertoire should be based on Belarusian literature, but that doesn’t solve anything: people already know where they are going — the Belarusian language sounds on our stage every night, and the Kupalauski Theatre in this respect is almost the only one. — The repertoire of the Kupalauski Theatre really doesn’t include many modern Belarusian dramas, so how to raise topical issues? — Belarusian playwrights do not write in Belarusian, most of them are interested in the Russian market. I read almost everything that they create, but the quality of the play is more important to me than the national belonging of the author. Nevertheless, on our Chamber stage there are wonderful performances by Raman Padalaka, i. e. “Radio Prudok” based on the book by Andruś Horvat and “First” in the genre of verbatim, in which adults recollect their childhood. “The Harvest”, based on the play

interesting conversationalist trict to dig out potatoes. We went to the lake and there was an old man grazing cows. We asked: “Grandfather, is there fish in the lake?” — “Where can it get away?” We spent all day — not a single fish. We returned: “Grandfather, you said there is fish here.” — “Where can it come from?” Here is the key to the Belarusian soul He did not conflict, in the end he said that apparently there was no fish — and what would we do with him? We turned around and left. The problem of the Belarusian language also worries me. Before World War II, as my mother’s friend told me, there were only Belarusian schools here, of course, they spoke Belarusian in the villages, and in Minsk 67 percent of the population was Jewish. Kolas and Kupala could only contact the villagers, that’s why they did not create a gentry project, but a village one. It must end now, bast shoes are worn out, time has come for the GDL and Rzeczpospolita project. We have a big history, though destroyed by the Russian Empire, and we don’t want to be peasants wearing bast shoes. — Generally speaking modern theatre should reveal the Belarusian essence. — Of course! Why has Paŭlinka been on for 76 years and the hall is always full? It reflects the soul of the people. In Soviet times, the name of the play’s genre was removed from the poster — it was written “gentry story.” This is a play about the gentry: Paŭlinka’s father has three and a half volokas, that is, almost 70 hectares of land. In addition, they are Uniates or Catholics who were forcibly converted to Orthodoxy: “As this church is set up, we can hope for some kind of relief.” In short, our whole history, mentality, identity and how they were formed, our heroes, enemies, traitors — everything should be of interest to the theatre, and then the image of Belarus will take shape. — In the play “Tolerance” based on the play by Yasmina Reza, you added your ending with a rather transparent mes-

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by Pavieł Pražko, was also staged. It is a very modern work where the characters google how to apple. I have staged all the existing Belarusian classics, and, I think, it can give answers to modern issues. “Two Souls” by Maksim Harecki: Belarusians have two entities — western and eastern, how to deal with it. “Pan Tadeusz” by Mickiewicz: the work begins with the lines “Litwo! Ojczyzno moja!”, covers Vilnius, Minsk and Vileika and reminds us that we are Litvins. — How is “King Lear” related to our agenda? — Firstly, the magnificent translation of Yurka Gavruk is of great value. He was responsible for the literary activity in our theatre in the 1960s, under Stalin served an eight-year term, was banned to come back, so he had to move from place to place in the Russian north. He was saved by the fact that in the 1930s he was convicted earlier than others, otherwise he would have been shot dead together with them. In the same way Kolas and Kupala could have been shot dead, if Stalin had not told Ponomarenko: “Listen, well, leave someone, give awards, cottages, drivers, someone should stay.” The essence of a person has not changed for centuries, besides, Belarusians and other nations will always have common problems. The brilliant Lithuanian director Eimuntas Nekrošius only once staged a performance based on a Lithuanian play, the rest was based on classical literature, and at one time he was a brand of the nation. We do not stage anything that is not connected with our time. The Kupalauski Theatre has 98 percent of the seats occupancy — in this respect we are the best, which means that we are interesting for Belarusians. I would like a cool modern play to appear, if I knew how, I would write it myself. In general, for the development of our drama, it is necessary for the Belarusian language to be studied from kindergarten, to become the language spoken in the streets, for the authorities to understand its value. Then a market will appear. — What would you write your play about? What requests of time, in your opinion, should the theatre correspond to? — Shakespeare said the theatre should hold a mirror in front of nature. I would add — in front of society and the Motherland: I am interested in understanding the national soul. It is necessary to talk about the way we differ from our neighbors, therefore, for example, in my “Tuteyshyya” the main character is not the conscious Belarusian Yanka Zdolnik, but Nikita Znosak. Belarusians had to behave cautiously to survive: if the territory is ruled by the Swedish, German or Russian army, how can it be resisted? “Who are you?” — “Tuteyshy” (local), and it’s okay. If you, at the wrong time, say you are Russian or Polish — you get a bullet. This is both an insult to the nation and a way of survival. Of course, there were heroes. Everyone remembers only three Polish-Lithuanian uprisings of Kosciuszko in 1830 and 1863, and there were twenty-four of them, and all of this was done by us But on the whole, Belarusians survived because they avoided confrontation. When I studied at the Theatre and Art Institute, we were sent to the Glubokoe dis-

Scene from the play “The School for Taxpayers”

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interesting conversationalist

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sage, saying that through European tolerance, Islam invades Europe. Do you really think that this is relevant for Belarus? — This is not as relevant for Belarus as for Western Europe, but we may also face it… I snicker at tolerance, it helps to endlessly impose the values of others on your civilization. Tolerance should have its limits. I love Paris, but today it is impossible to be on its streets, there are entire areas where the French never go, some leave for other cities if they can work at a remote. They already have it coming, European civilization is in danger of destruction, and I do not understand why the leaders of Western European countries behave this way — while being attacked, they say: “Come in, please.” — Do you really think Belarusians are tolerant? — Belarusians are tolerant, because they were formed in the state, and the most powerful in Europe — the laws of the GDL are now being studied at European universities. Vytautas had a very simple law — pay taxes and live as you like, build headers, synagogues or mosques. He saw the results, because the state was rich. Jews called Vytautas Lithuanian Cyrus by analogy with the emperor, who gave them great freedom. Before the war, for example, many people knew Yiddish. There will never be any kind of belligerence here, because there have always been many nationalities, languages and religions. — If we talk about the Belarusian soul, in your opinion, is the Soviet legacy something external or is it already a part of it? — Now it’s a part, but listen — the Jews gathered in Israel and even recovered the dead Hebrew language. Of course, the Soviet is a terrible thing. Three and a half thousand settlements on the territory of Belarus were renamed as May Day, Lenin and so on. I once directed a play by the Irish playwright Brian Friel — our fate is very similar to the Irish one — he wrote a brilliant play about the British changing Irish names to the English ones, and a rebellion broke out, because these names also include the soul of the people. “The Government Inspector” is also a Soviet story.

Pinsk Gentry

беларусь. belarus 2020

Khrushchev came here in the 1960s and said: the sooner Belarus starts speaking the Russian language, the faster it builds communism. Former Minister of Culture of Russia Vladimir Medinsky once said: “Why do the signs in Belarusian appear here?” The Minister of Culture spoke in a sovereign country. It so happened that Belarus did not have its own elite, since it was killed in all kinds of uprisings. Vilnius University was closed down by order of Nicholas I, then repressive measures became severe. Let’s at least talk about it. But the process is going on — could we imagine that it would become fashionable to speak Belarusian? Gradually, everything returns, it is only necessary not to interfere with the process, but to help, since language and culture as a whole is our national security. — In your opinion, how much is it possible today to support culture? — Everything is very simple: there must be the will of the authorities. In the USA, by the way, there is no Ministry of Culture, but there is a law according to which those who support culture pay lower taxes. Moreover, they are respected by the society. Over here culture is treated as something that may or may not be, and philanthropists know that their help will not be appreciated. At the entrance to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, there is a huge banner which shows that, for example, Rockefeller gave so much for the play, somebody else — so much, and below, — “Joe, the seventh grade student, gave ten dollars.” You see, supporting culture, they create a state, which means that its residents do not want to leave it, but work for it. My friend from Estonia says that if their presidential candidate does not say how much of the budget he intends to spend on culture, has no chance of being elected. A small nation must be aware that it is alive through culture. But Brecht had: “First bread, and morality later.” This is true: first prosperity, and then theatre. — “Tuteyshyya”is planned to be staged in the Kupalauski Theatre. Thirty years have passed since your first performance, has anything changed in self-consciousness of Belarusians during this time and does Znosak remain our exact portrait? — The performance was first staged in 1926 and immediately banned — for some time Kupala didn’t go to our theatre at all, he did not know yet that party purges, prisons and executions were on the way. Unfortunately, the play is topical and will be topical for a very long time. After all, Belarus is located between two cultural poles — Byzantine and Latin, with different religions, ethics and behaviors. Therefore, Nikita Znosak survives, but what should he do? — So is he a positive character? — No, of course, but I understand this person. In the play “The Life of Galileo” by Brecht, there are brilliant words: “The country in which there are no heroes is unhappy” — “No! The country that needs heroes is unhappy. ” I did not want to stage “Tuteyshyya” again, I was almost forced by the audience and friends. I staged this performance when there was no inde-

interesting conversationalist

Geography of Friendship

Kupalauski and Daugavpils Theatres have signed the cooperation agreement

Interviewed by Irena Kotelovich

By Viktoriya Askero

sputnik.by

pendent Belarus yet, the Soviet flag was still hanging on the building of the Central Committee opposite the theatre, but we knew that something must change. This happens only once in the fate of the director, it was not a success, but something different, to replicate it, you need to go back to those times: most Belarusians did not know what independence was and why it was, and suddenly the forbidden play by Kupala came out. The performance was on for sixteen years, then it was closed, but to ban the play of Kupala in the Kupalauski Theatre is a strong move. Well, couldn’t be helped. Then I realized: over thirty years, several generations have grown up who have never read “Tuteyshyya”, but they may come to the theatre. So I forced myself. — What happened after that premiere? Can you describe the success of “Tuteyshyya” in the early 1990s? — It’s impossible. Poet Nil Hilevich hugged me and said: “Boy, you yourself don’t understand what you have done.” Not because I’m good, but because the creators had their mouths shut, and suddenly this performance appears on the stage of the main theatre. It’s impossible to replicate the 90s, for me those were the best years. I know that the new “Tuteyshyya” will be compared with the previous one, and not in favor of the new ones, but I am ready for it. — You said that at some point you felt like a Belarusian. What does it mean to be a Belarusian? — I felt like a Belarusian while working in St. Petersburg — this is the most European Russian city, and still the difference in mentality became obvious to me. When I worked as an actor in the Russian Theatre, a friend from Chelyabinsk came to me. He said to me: “Listen, I don’t understand your people.” — I asked: “Why” — “I use public transport and everyone is silent on it.” “How should be?” — “On our public transport you’ll be told to bugger off, or get struck in the face.” Belarussian features are delicacy and poetry, however, the Soviet influenced these people, destroyed religion, left villages without churches. They used to say: “I will be ashamed before people”, and now no one is ashamed of anyone…

The Yanka Kupala National Academic Theatre is expanding its tour geography. On February 5 the management of the cultural institution signed a cooperation agreement with one of the oldest professional theatres in Latvia — Daugavpils. The ceremony was held in the fireplace hall of the main drama theatre of Belarus. Pavel Latushko, Director General of the Kupalauski Theatre, and Oleg Shaposhnikov, Director of the Daugavpils Theatre, signed the documents. This historical event was witnessed by Artistic Director of the Kupalauski Theatre Nikolay Pinigin and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to the Republic of Belarus Einars Semanis. — It is a great honour for us to sign a cooperation agreement with one of the oldest professional theatres in Latvia, which is already 165 years old. Our theatre is still 100 years old. We are continuing our tour and are creating a friendship belt with the theatres in neighboring countries, — said Pavel Latushko. — This year we have already performed in Vilnius with the play “The Inspector”, and we have been to Moscow with “The Harvest”. In Daugavpils, on March 19, we also played “The Inspector”. Also, for the next six months we have plans to tour to Warsaw, Lublin and Kiev. In Minsk, on April 16, the Daugavpils Theatre will show the plastic drama “Closeness”. Belarusians could already see it in 2018 at the festival “М@rt.kantakt” in Mogilev, where the play was recognized as the best according to the audience voting. — We want to show a philosophical parable by means of body language. The play is understandable to people of different nationalities, — said Oleg Shaposhnikov, director of the production. — For us, this is a big step in the development of the theatre. Thanks to this cooperation, we will be able to show the residents of our city the Belarusian productions. Many people of different nationalities live in Daugavpils, including Belarusians, who will be interested to get acquainted with the Belarusian theatrical art. For the Daugavpils Theatre, signing a cooperation agreement with the Kupalauski Theatre is not just a cultural event, but also a historic one. Since the theatre is regional and does not always have the opportunity to break out of its city and country. Cooperation between the theatres presupposes not only exchange tours, but also development of cultural cooperation, organization and holding of joint creative projects, i. e. festivals, contests, concerts, exchange of experience, including in personnel training, conducting master classes, lectures. Today the Kupalauski Theatre cooperates with the theatres in dozens of countries. Last year alone, the Kupalauski Theatre showed more than 400 performances both in our country and abroad.

The Seagull

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Belta

INterests

At the Suvorov-Cadet Ball 2020

Everybody dance! Thoughts about how the revival of world cultural traditions is becoming a good alternative to the modern way of spending time — online The bliss of being perfect In high school, I studied at the National Beauty School. In addition to etiquette and fashion shows, we were taught to dance a waltz. Although it was almost twenty years ago, I well remember the huge choreographic hall with mirrors around the perimeter. One-two-three, one-two-three: young girls — future applicants for the title of various “Miss” — were learning to step in time, circling around the hall with imaginary partners.

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The feeling, I say, is magical! It’s nice to imagine yourself as a princess, coveted, tender, airy fairy… True, not everyone managed to do it. The girls lost the step and got terribly embarrassed. Not to be able to dance a waltz?.. What a shame! I graduated from music school and had no problems with rhythm. Therefore, I truly believed that my dancing with a partner would easily win both him and the audience. However, it never happened: I was too busy with my studies and preparation for exams. But

after many years, I nevertheless became paired with… my girl friend: both of us wanted to learn ballroom dancing, and there were not enough male enthusiasts at the dance school. The music sounded, I stepped forward, she stepped back… And we lost the step. Then again, and again… In general, we tried to learn it for a couple of months and finally gave up this difficult task. And with a real partner it would have been better to train… Then my daughter showed great interest in ballroom dancing. The question

INterests of a partner arose again — we must move on. “Where shall we look for him?” — I asked the trainer. “Everywhere,” — he answered shortly and peremptorily. I had to call friends, ask friends and their friends. With a smile, I remember the summer when I, like a fox around a henhouse, walked around playgrounds near our house and looked closely at the boys playing. “What is your name? Are you doing something? Maybe you’d like to dance? Where do you live?” I can imagine what their parents might have thought if they had seen a strange woman getting acquainted with their son. But what to do? As they say, you can’t find partners try as you might, and there are plenty of girls who want to be able to move beautifully in bright, dazzling dresses to rhythmic music. All because the stereotype is strong, i. e. dancing does not make a boy manly. Wrestling or football is a different story. Therefore, every second boy goes to some sports club. But in the end I found the one I was looking for on the Internet: I posted an ad for finding a dancing partner for my daughter. Maxim’s mother, fortunately, like me, is convinced that the development of boys should be comprehensive. It’s not the number of tattoos on the body that makes a boy look manly, but the ability to properly present himself, gallantly communicate with the opposite gender, move beautifully, and not to stand in the corner, nervously shifting from one foot to another.

With the Univers team during the European Championship. Sochi, 2018.

Republican tournament "Minsk Autumn”, 2015

All girlfriends in pairs Formation World Championship.

Meanwhile, interest in ballroom dancing, although it’s more correct to say in balls, is growing rapidly in Belarus. The very first ball, according to web sources, was held in 2000, and now the Republican graduate ball is held every summer with constant participation of President Alexander Lukashenko. Every year he skillfully waltzes with the best graduates, thereby setting an example for young people. In 2018, the first Republican New Year’s ball for youth was held at the Palace of Independence. The Bolshoi New Year’s ball at the Bolshoi Theatre is

Germany, 2015.

“Stand tall! Don’t show you blade-bones!”

also a gala event which the participants start preparing for a few months in advance: they make clothes, rehearse dances, learn ball etiquette… This winter, it was held on the eve of the old new year, on January 13 night. The organizers of the celebration at the Opera Theatre presented the guests with a large-scale program: a polonaise, then a waltz and a perky polka with a flirty mazurka. A dance master, as expected, was in charge of the program. For those who had not yet fully learned dance literacy, extemporary dance floors were offered so as not to feel shy. They could be taught dance steps on-line. But not only in the capital at night, lovers of dance art are taken back in time, dressed in old costumes. In 2012, the First Charity Palace Ball was held at Nesvizh Castle. Its organizers tried to revive the former tradition of charitable gentry balls. The whole night within the walls of the spacious halls of the palace — Gold, Theatre, Getman, Hunting and others — the music of the king of waltz Johann Strauss sounded, there were ball games and theme salons, various programs and treats to every taste. The Christmas ball-masquerade in Mir Castle has been opening its spacious rooms and halls for several years. We also hosted the Republican Suvorov-Cadet Ball, the unique inclusive ball Game of Thrones, the officer ball in the Brest Philharmonic… On December 28 last year, the First Vienna Ball was held at the Independence Palace, which everyone was especially carefully preparing for. Its young participants (and this is three hundred people!) went through a strict selection in several stages. After all, the best of the best were selected: winners of professional skills contests and various scientific and practical conferences; those who are on the database of the special fund to support gifted and talented youth, the best athletes, the most active volunteers. After all, attending it is not only an honorable, but a responsible mission: the ball in Belarus was to meet the high standards of the Vienna Ball, listed on the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List. That evening everyone was беларусь. belarus 2020

dancing! Diplomats, senior officials and, of course, the President.

On/off line It used to be a privilege to get to the ball, but unlike past centuries, now, thanks to the media, we have the opportunity to “spy” on how everything is going on there. Judging by the video, modern balls, in my opinion, are different from those of the past. Although we must pay tribute to the organizers: they created the atmosphere similar to the one that filled the halls of past centuries. The participants themselves were different: in elaborate costumes, they were walking back and forth in a modern way, ladies kept posing for

беларусь. belarus 2020

selfies in various photo zones. Although many held a hand fan as the main attribute in their hands, they used it much less often than smartphones. What is the difference between modern and old balls? Why did we begin to revive the tradition of pair dancing to the sounds of classical music? Can balls become popular along with youth discos? I invited Maksim Yushkevich, master of sports in sport ballroom dancing, member of the national formation team of Belarus (“team performances” — Auth.) to discuss it with me. — Let’s immediately define the concepts: at our balls, ballroom dancing is not the form in which we see it at the championships. I mean samba, cha-cha-cha, rumba, quickstep, foxtrot and so on. But for the sake of historical justice, I agree that mazurka, gavotte, polonaise, waltz, polka, which are now danced at balls — can be called the forerunners of modern ballroom dancing. —  W h y d i d s o m e dances pass into oblivion, and some are reborn again? — They just went their own ways of development. Jive, paso doble and so on have become a sport. (By the way, sports ballroom dancing is planned to be included in the list of Olympic sports.) Polka, polonaise and others that are now danced at costume balls, are just showy. I think it’s better to be a part of such an event, to chat live than to get stuck on social media, writing long posts. — How much time did it take to write a letter! You had to sharpen a pen, dip it in ink and write a letter with a calligraphic handwriting — it’s a true art! — They prepared for the balls in advance: a tailor made a special outfit, accessories were bought to match the outfit… There were no air conditioners at the balls. Of course, you know about

waists laced in corsets. So we can easily understand the “trend” of that time to faint (laughs). — By the way, not all were allowed to go to balls. First, you had to hone your skills with a coach at home. At what age should one start ballroom dancing? — I would recommend at 5–6 years old. It is hard for very young children to keep legs: they make a turn and plop down… I myself started training at the age of 5. My parents wanted me to develop physically, do sports. But since my dad was an athlete and knew everything about injuries, they decided on sports ballroom dancing. It requires physical exercise, and quite heavy. A specific feature is interaction with a partner. Dancing alone is much easier. In general, it’s a kind of art with elements of sport. — And did you, a five-year-old, like dancing? — I don’t remember how I started, but my parents said that I used to run away from the gym and called the coach a monkey. Dad forced me to dance. Then, when I started winning the championships of the Republic, I was about 9–10 years old, when I went to my first international performance in Lithuania and got to the finals right away, then I started to like it. In usual competitions, you just earn points for yourself, but when you defend the honor of the country, these are different emotions. — What victory are you especially proud of? — Oh, there were so many of them… But, probably, I will specify the performance of my team at the World Cup in 2014: we took the fourth place. — You said that your father made you dance. Now, I notice, on the contrary, many fathers do not want their sons to “twist their hips”… — It’s a pity. “Ballroom dancing does not make men out of boys” — usually this is the opinion of those who don’t know much about it, those who have never felt this atmosphere. Dancing does not only develop boys physically, but also liberates emotionally. I, for ex-

ample, in my childhood was introverted, reserved, shy. In dancing emotions can be expressed through movements. Not everyone succeeds in realizing one’s potential, showing one’s inner world..Look at modern teens: bow-backed, unconfident. I know even 25‑year-old guys who are still afraid to approach a girl. They, as a rule, were not involved in anything in their childhood. In dancing you have to communicate with a partner, support her, feel responsibility during the performance. The man leads, he is the main in the pair. How many nuances can arise during a dance! If a couple does not learn to feel, help, complement each other, they simply will not be able to go on dancing. Is it a bad skill for life to be able to feel, understand a partner? Everyone needs to hear music, rhythm. In addition, a “baller” always has an erect posture; it shows a self-confident man. What’s bad about it? Why can’t you do anything else besides dancing? For example, I went in for car modeling for five years. Then, however, I had to sacrifice my hobby for dancing, as there was not enough time for everything. But it was already my personal choice. — I know a story when a teenage boy gave up ballroom dancing because children laughed at him at school…

— They also giggled at me, but I am a calm, non-conflict person — I tried to ignore it. We must be able to withstand pressure — this, by the way, is also good experience. You can be pressed in life not only because of ballroom dancing. — Nevertheless, “there are few princes and there are not enough of them for everyone,” as the famous song says. I must confess that I was surprised to learn that competitions are popular in Europe, where only girls dance in pairs. Apparently, this is the solution of the partner-problem? — Moreover, the whole women’s groups are formed there, which is well funded. I was also surprised when, as a panel-member of the contest in one of the Minsk clubs, I saw girls’ pairs. I understand that everyone wants to dance… But, it seems to me, it is necessary to make an effort to attract young people. Tell them about dancing, show… And modern costume balls, where gallant gentlemen dance beautifully with ladies, play a key role. Perhaps young men will finally arrive at the idea that being able to waltz is cool, manly. — Do you think modern balls are a new fashion trend?

— I don’t know how much new, but I don’t mind this fashion to remain in fashion. Sorry for the pun. It is really very beautiful, showy, aesthetically pleasing… A person will always be attracted by the beautiful. Moreover, this is a great way to spend time, I repeat. When I was asked to stage three dances: waltz, polonaise and mazurka at the Belarusian State Youth Theatre — at the New Year’s time a district ball was held there — I worked with high school students who had not danced before. You should have seen these faces! Excited, showing off — it was a costume ball. The administration of the Pervomaysky district of Minsk, guests, principals and teachers of schools were present. It took a month and a half to show a beautiful synchronous picture. I think the ball is to be! Young people leave the house not to get together at the nearest fast food and chat while drinking beer. This is a good form of leisure, raising the level of culture. These are new acquaintances, real, not virtual ones. In my opinion, I will repeat again, it is a worthy alternative to social networks. After all, live communication can not be replaced. Do you agree? By Alisa Gungor. Photo by the author and from the personal archive of Maksim Yushkevich.

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return of names

Passion and perseverance of Alla Zmieva Alla Zmieva — Director of the “Scientific World” Publishing House, head of the Art Librum Cultural Project, curator, member of the ICOM Belarus Management Committee. For a long time she has been dealing with the topic of forgotten artists, who make up the glory not only of Belarus, but also of Europe, and, perhaps, the whole world. Our conversation with Alla Borisovna is about art, about various educational initiatives that allow you to foster an appreciation and remember our not distant history.

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Nikolya Luchi

— Alla Borisovna, your organizational efforts as a collector of painting and just a caring person are largely connected with the Minsk Region. Why did it happen so? Are Chaim Soutine, Shraga Zarfin “to blame”?.. We can put it like this… Five years ago, in 2015, a significant event took place in Minsk — the international scientific-practical conference “Sutin Readings”, which was attended by world-famous Paris school scholars from several European countries including France. Due to some circumstances, I was invited to become one of the organizers of this conference. Let’s say, they commissioned or asked me to be responsible for its practical part. Until then, professionally, I had not dealt with such a phenomenon as the Paris School. Although European art of the beginning and the first half of the twentieth century was always aesthetically close to me and, I can say, understandable. True, I knew the name of Chaim Soutine more in the context of his friendship with Modigliani, whose works I had admired since my school days. But the fact that Chaim Soutine is a French artist of Jewish origin who comes from the town of Smilovichi, near Minsk, was a revelation for me as well as for many of our fellow citizens. Chaim Soutine is an internationally famous artist. His works are sold at

auctions for millions! It is also surprising that Smilovichi is the birthplace of yet another representative of the Paris School of Art, i. e. Shraga Zarfin. His descendants from France, Russia and Israel also came to the conference in 2015. At that time, our close in future relations began, in particular with his grandson Yves Dulak. He visited Minsk and Smilovichi for the third time last December, that time together with his daughter, for whom that was the first visit to her historical homeland. — In your subjective opinion, is the fate and work of Chaim Soutine known well enough in Smilovichi, the Minsk

Region, and Belarus? Or do we need to do something else? — In my, perhaps, subjective, as you say, view recently we have made a real breakthrough in creating the context for the return of the names of artists who once left their native places and gained fame outside Belarus. We should be grateful to those who were at the origins of the return of the name of Chaim Soutine and other artists to the historical and scientific society in Belarus. In the first place this is Vladimir Grigoryevich Schastny, a diplomat who worked in Paris as a representative of Belarus at UNESCO, researcher of the Paris School artists who come from Belarus. We met Vladimir Grigorievich in 2010, when his first monograph, “Artists of the Paris School from Belarus”, was published, the presentation of which took place in our Book Salon at 5 Kalinina Street. — Thanks to the Book Salon, state and private publishers held many presentations, introduced Minsk citizens to many books… — I didn’t even know that, to a large extent by his efforts, in 2008, an exhibition dedicated to Chaim Soutine was opened at the Center for Children’s Creativity of the Smilovichi city community in Cherven district, Minsk Region. Later it turned into a memorial museum of the

return of names

We have made a real breakthrough in creating the context for the return of the names of artists who once left their native places and gained fame outside Belarus — It’s worth starting with enthusiastic words about the exhibition of the works by Shraga Zarfina, which has been a resounding success with the visitors to the National Art Museum of Belarus for more than two months, and which lasted until the end of February. The path to this success has been paved for many years thanks to cooperation with the artist’s heirs. The museum in Smilovichi stopped being only a memorial museum, but became a full-fledged art museum, which presents original works, in 2015. Then, thanks to deep and thorough studies of the personality and creative heritage of Shraga Zarfin, which my colleague Yury Abdurakhmanov is engaged in, the heirs of Zarfin believed that the name of

their father and grandfather would take a fair place of honor both among the capital’s specialists and in their homeland in Smilovichi. They donated original works and several personal belongings of Shraga Zarfin to the “Chaim Soutine’s Space” museum to create a separate Zarfin Hall dedicated to his work. Of course, this event raised the museum in Smilovichi to a new level. It is enough to say that by now the museum has become a tourist landmark on the map of Belarus, several sightseeing routes run through it. Now visitors can admire the works of Shraga Zarfin both in Minsk and in Smilovichi. Today at the exhibition at the National Art Museum of Belarus “Shraga Zarfin. Leading to the Light ”60 (!) works of the artist are presented. The main curator of the project, prepared for the 120th anniversary since the artist’s birth, Yury Abdurakhmanov, did a serious job, which included the release of the exhibition catalog, as well as the publication of the memoirs of Shraga Zarfin in Russian and French. The book of memoirs “Faybish Shraga Zarfin: about Soutine, about Smilovichi, about myself ” was published in the Scientific World publishing house and was presented during the recent 27th Minsk International Book Fair. This is the unique first publication of memoirs given by the daughter of Zarfin Lilian Dulak-Zarfin

Evgeny Кolchev

artist. Of course, the creation of the museum became possible, due to the efforts of dedicated enthusiasts, local historians, teachers and leaders of the children’s art center. In those years, Vladimir Grigoryevich influenced the decision of Belgazprombank management to acquire a collection of works by Belarus-born artists of the Paris School. True, then in the collection of the bank there was no picture of Chaim Soutine yet. But the exhibition of works acquired by the bank was held at the National Art Museum of Belarus, a catalog was published. Later the collection was presented in Vilnius. Our Lithuanian colleagues are following with great attention the movements taking place in connection to theme of the Paris School. It is well known that at the beginning of the 20th century, and that was the time when these artists began their creative work, young people of the western regions of the Russian Empire received art education at Vilnius drawing school. So, the interest of the Lithuanians is not idle… I saw several times on the plates to Soutine’s works: “…born in 1893 in Vilna (Lithuania).” But thanks to the efforts of specialists, including the National Art Museum of Belarus, such as Nadezhda Mikhailovna Usova, who created the concept of “Chaim Soutine’ Space Museum” in Smilovichi, justice in relation to the belonging of Chaim Soutine and other artists to their birthplace is being restored. At present, two works by Chaim Soutine are already in the Belgazprombank corporate collection. They say that these are the most expensive works of art in Belarus. They are presented to the public in a permanent exhibition in the art gallery of the bank. Documentary films were shot about almost all artists, and not one film about such artists as Chagall and Zarfin. — In recent years, you have been doing a lot to return Shraga Zarfin to his homeland, to Belarus. Please tell us a little about this artist. Is he well known in Belarus? What else, in your opinion, can be done to promote this artist in his homeland?

At the exhibition “500 years. Arts, book, art books ”dedicated to Francysk Skaryna. Palace of Arts in Minsk, 2017.

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return of names

Works of Shraga Zarfin

for translation and publication in Belarus. Translation of the memories is accompanied by scientific comments and biographical information about the artist, as well as illustrations of his works and archival photos. As for the exhibition of works in the museum, it consists of works purchased for the corporate collection of the A‑100 Group of companies, works from the NAM funds and the Chaim Soutine’s Space museum, as well as from private collections. The purchase of a collection of works by Zarfin from the heirs of the artist was carried out due to the participation of our Embassy in Paris.

беларусь. belarus 2020

— Chagall, Soutine, Zarfin… Are there any other names from the Paris school related to Belarus and who, in modern terms, require “promotion” in Belarus? — In autumn of 2018, the exhibition “Masters of Montparnasse from Belarusian towns” was held at the National History Museum. I was the curator and author of the idea of this project. For several years of work on the subject of the Paris School, I discovered for myself several names of artists who were not previously among my artistic preferences. For example, Michel Kikoine, who was born in Gomel in 1892, attended the Yakov Kruger art school in Minsk. There he met Chaim Soutine, with whom in 1909 they left for Vilna to study, and then moved to Paris. Communicating with collectors, I saw the original work by Ossip Lubitch, an artist from Grodno, whose daughter I later met in Paris thanks to Yury Abdurakhmanov. In general, in some ways I was inspired by colleagues and collectors, and when I saw interesting and affordable works at auctions, I advised and helped to purchase them. Therefore, the idea suggested itself — to collect all the works of the artists of the Paris School known to me, which are in private ownership, in one exhibition. We got eight names, i. e. Shraga Zarfin, Ossip Lubitch, Ossip Zadkine (graphic), Marc Chagall, Eugeniusz Zak, Michel Kikoine, Pinchus Kremegne and Robert Genin. These are not all the names. But at our exhibition we published a catalog, and cooperation with private collectors was successful, many of them gave the works for the exhibition of Shraga Zarfin. — In your organizational work related to the fine arts, there was also the experience of conducting plein airs in the Minsk region. Will you continue this practice? — Indeed, in 2015 and 2016, I spent several plein airs named “Soutine’s Space”. Once in Smilovichi, an art residence was organized for an artist from Lithuania. This is a very interesting creative activity, but troublesome and costly. I have some interesting ideas for plein airs,

I am ready to share them with those who have the opportunity to organize such an event. As a curator, I have plans to hold an plein air for French artists in Mir Castle, but this is the Grodno region… — Although not so far from the Minsk region. Why not, figuratively speaking, combine the Nesvizh Castle and Mir Castle Space through the attention of mature, interesting artists?.. — It seems to me that this is quite possible… — Can we talk about the existence of such a direction as the art of local lore of Belarus? What could be done locally for artistic and historical education, for the return of the memory of the outstanding artists — natives of the Minsk region? — I can look at it from two points of view. Firstly, is as a curator: I see there is a lot good material to create interesting projects, vivid exhibits. Secondly, as an active member of ICOM Belarus: we have several programs for the development of regional museums, although so far they are not many enthusiasts engaged in it. Such lucky events as the Chaim Soutine’s Space Museum in Smilovichi or the Czesław Niemen Club-Museum in Staryya Vasilishki do not happen very often. It is out of the ordinary to have systematic work done for years. It is obvious to me that we need to create a gallery of the works by George Skripnichenko in Slutsk. However, no one supports the idea. Although in Slutsk, we can easily make a museum of modern art. There are graduated of Sadin school — the famous graphic artists Basalygas, Vladimir Akulov, to say nothing of Vladimir Tsesler who is from Slutsk. — Waht would you wish to local historians who do not have great opportunities and who are interested in the fate of their fellow countrymen-artists? — I can wish the local historians passion and perseverance in achieving the goal, then interesting findings will not keep waiting! If they need help, professional support, please contact me. I think we will always help to find experts. Interviewed by Kirill Ladutko

NATIVE

From Turki to Kamyanoye The name of Ales Badak is well known in modern Belarusian literature. A prose writer, poet, children’s writer, publicist, translator... He is also director of the publishing house “Mastatskaya Literatura”. Bright creative personality. Laureate of the Republican literary award “Golden Cupid”, laureate of the CIS Prize “Commonwealth Stars”.

— Ales Nikolaevich, I know that you have become related with the Minsk Region. You have a dacha in the Uzden region… Do you often go there? Please tell us how you became attached to this corner. — For me the word “dacha” is associated with something artificially arisen that does not have a deep history: land was allocated on which the houses were built with small gardens. In the summer there is life, but in winter you will not see a soul. I became related with the Minsk region through my wife: a house remained there in which her big family used to live — mother, grandfather and grandmother, aunts. The house is old, pre-war, but many things in it have a rich history, bear the imprint of ancient times. That is why it attracts me. I came there for the first time in the mid‑90s, and since then I have been there every year, from May to October, several times a month, and always a part of my annual holiday.I don’t like when the garden is overgrown with weeds, I love my tomatoes, cucumbers, my cherries, plums, apples, so I have enough work. There is also a forest nearby, the Nemanets river. In a word, that’s a place to relax. — Did you have to speak to readers in Uzden region? — As a writer, I visited once the Uzden boarding school, but that was a long time ago. As for my neighbors, to be honest, I never wanted to conceal (it is imposible to conceal anythig in the village) or to tell them about the nature of my creative pursuit. Well, I’m writing something — that’s okay, we are not talking about literature, but about hail and weather. It is always interesting to listen to them, since natural peasant wisdom is such a treasure! People there are very kind, sincere, hardworking, they remind me of my fellow villagers. — Did you write anything about these Uzden places? — A small poem “Kamyanі”. The village is called Kamyanoye, so there is some kind of connection with the village name. As well as a few verses that I included in my recent collection, “Farewell to Eternity” and commentary essays to them, which are in the last unit. Well, once I wrote a whole series of books “For everyone about everything” about plants, animals,

birds…There were a lot of illustrations, including photographs from Uzden places, and even from my rich garden. — Do you work in the country as a writer? Or do you spend more time in the garden doing household chores? — It is a difficult question. The fact is that I get used to one table. When I moved to Minsk, for a long time I couldn’t not write as well as at home, in my native Turki village in the Lyakhovichi district, Brest region. Now I can’t write anywhere so easily as in my Minsk apartment. And the matter is not in some special conditions. For example, I come home. I want to talk as much as possible with my mother, with my brother, help to do something, finally just walk around the village, see what has changed in it, see the villagers. I do not feel up to creati vity, but to something completely different. The same applies to Kamyanoye: if there is a spare minute, I want to go to the forest or to the river. Another point is that the so-called “preparatory process”, i. e. thinking over a plot, images — it takes place everywhere. — Do you take books to Uzden? How do you read there? — I have a very large library in Kamyanoye. Firstly, I am a book lover, and all the bookshelves in the Minsk apartment are full of books, and secondly, there was a time, the beginning of the 90s, when everyone rushed to buy detective stories, science fiction, and gave classic literature for a penny to second-hand booksellers. I bought a lot of books then, not really caring whether I would need them for daily use. It is very good to open a volume of Galsworthy after work in the garden and read a few pages to a pleasant bird’s singing outside the window. — Can you compare your Uzden “refuge” with your native Lyakhovichi villages? — This is beyond comparison. A normal person who grew up in a good family will never compare his mother with another woman. It seems to me that such a thing would never occur to him. But human love has a lot of shades, and, just as every person so every place, we love in our own way.

No matter what connects you with other places, no matter how magnificent landscapes there are, there is nothing dearer than Motherland

Interviewed by Sergey Shichko

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art

From suprematist compositions to futuristic city projects

For the first time, an exhibition of original works by Lazar Khidekel, the hereditary architect who designed the cities of the future, is taking place in Minsk. The exhibition is called “They will understand us in 100 years”.

he avant-garde artist, the first suprematist architect in the world, the author of the first ecological architectural manifesto and one of the founders of the famous creative association UNOVIS Lazar Khidekel was born in Vitebsk on February 29, 1904. He began to study art at the folk art school with Marc Chagall, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Lazar Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich. At the age of fifteen, he became one of those who in February 1920 became a member of UNOVIS, glorifying Belarus throughout the world. At the age of sixteen he headed the architectural workshop of the school and devoted his life to architecture.

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“My father began his career in Belarus. Back in the 20s of the last century, he foresaw roof gardening, the need to build houses without dependence on the sea level. He even designed space dwellings as if it would be possible to occupy them,” — said the architect and designer Mark Khidekel at the opening of the exhibition at the National Art Museum. The exhibition at the main museum of the country shows the early Suprematist compositions of Lazar Khidekel and the designs of his futuristic — space and environmental — cities. For example, projects of flying cities, a garden city, space stations and settlements. The Khidekel family personally selected works for the exhibition.

art The National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus together with the Center for Belarusian-Jewish Cultural Heritage, in the framework of the project #UNOVIS100, presented the first in the country large-scale, retrospective exhibition of works by the outstanding avant-garde artist, the world’s first suprematist architect Lazar Khidekel, dedicated to the 100th anniversary since the foundation of the art association UNOVIS (Creators of new art). The artist’s words “They will understand us in 100 years”, taken as the name of the exhibition, reflect the concept of the project, i. e. how much innovative ideas of Khidekel were ahead of time. It is no coincidence that the work “Crossing Lines” (1920) was used for the poster. The Suprematist lattice created by Khidekel or the world-known “hashtag” is an element that was derived by Khidekel from Malevich’s black square as a result of his creative search. The hashtag is also a reference to the IT field, which Belarus is famous for today. There are about a hundred works from the collection of Lazar Khidekel’s family, unique UNOVIS documents, augmented reality technologies from Feeling Digital company and the architects of Level 80 studio, who created the project, thanks to which the flying city of Khidekel came to life. Animations and fantasies on the themes of the artist’s suprematism and space made by Khidekel’s grand-son, create a three-dimensional view of the life and work of the “revolutionary suprematist”. The exhibition demonstrates various periods of Lazar Khidekel’s work in chronology — from early compositions made by a 15‑year-old boy, suprematist cycles of the early 1920s to architectural and eco-futuristic projects of the 1930s. The project is the first exposure of Belarusian spectators to the unique heritage of an outstanding architect. It is another exhibition project that reveals “famous and unknown” names in Belarusian art culture. Suprematism invented in Vitebsk later became the basis for the world trends in architecture and design. But until recently, only knowledgeable art critics used to speak of the importance of UNOVIS and its talented participants. This is wrong, they decided in Minsk, and arranged the exhibition. azar Khidekel is a hereditary architect. His father also designed houses. At the age of 14, against the rules, Marc Chagall admitted him to his Folk Art School. “Chagall met with the father when he came to St. Petersburg in 1973. They recollected Vitebsk, but they were reluctant

to go to the Vitebsk, which had been completely destroyed, to a completely new city. The part of the city they lived in did not survive. They were old people and were afraid that their hearts could not stand it,” — said the son of Lazar Khidekel, Mark, also an architect. He was present at that meeting of his father with Chagall in 1973. He says they talked in one of Leningrad’s hotels. “It’s interesting that when Chagal saw my father, he said: “Lazar, you were such a talented artist, why did you become an architect?” And then he added: “Lazar, I am so grateful to you, you always protected me from this bandit Malevich”. It was amazing when two people with such burning eyes were looking at each other,” — Mark recalled. At the same time, according to him, Lazar Khidekel respected Malevich, treated him almost as the Messiah. He never called him by surname, only Kazimir Severyanovich.

Son Mark Khidekel told a lot about his father

Creativity essence of the suprematist architect Lazar Khidekel called himself an “artist-architect”, later adding the nickname “visionary” as a reference to one of the central features of his art and architecture: vision. A vision of suprematist structures floating in space, which first appeared as space stations of earthlings in his works of the UN-

OVIS Vitebsk period in 1920–1921 and later in futuristic cities, which he developed in the middle 1920s. Khidekel’s talent as an architect was recognized at an early stage, starting with his widely acclaimed Workers Club (1926), which went down in history as the world’s first Suprematist

architectural structure. In fact, starting to work with Elem Lissitzky on the transition from planar suprematism to three-dimensional, Khidekel became not only the first, but the only suprematist architect. In his opinion, avant-garde architecture came from this modern pictorial system. беларусь. belarus 2020

art

When there's something to think about

“Father helped him make architectons, tried to save him by introducing him to his teacher Nikolsky, who was a famous influential professor in Leningrad. Father introduced Malevich to him, and they tried to make Malevich read lectures at the Institute of Civil Engineers. It is surprising: in Vitebsk 15–16‑year-old teenagers understood and loved Malevich, but the students in St. Petersburg did not understand him. Malevich read three lectures and they began to resent: what is he telling us?! Malevich failed to get employment at the institute…” — says the son of Lazar Khidekel. Ivona Malevich, the granddaughter of the artist, also arrived at the opening of the Minsk exhibition. She admitted that she was hurt a little that her eminent relative was associated only with the “Black Square”, and recalled that, in fact, the idea of space houses — architectons — belongs to Kazimir Malevich.

What are they — futuristic cities?

беларусь. belarus 2020

Until the middle of April, Suprematist compositions and projects of futuristic cities, created about a hundred years ago by Lazar Khidekel, a student of Chagall and Malevich, are being exhibited in Belarus at the National Art Museum for the first time

“Sorry, I’ll say this, but the master is Malevich. He began to do his architecture and architectons in Vitebsk. When Khidekel came to Malevich, he was 14 years old — he was, in fact, a boy… And UNOVIS was not only a revolution in art, it was a revolution in architecture as well. All future architecture of the twentieth century began in Vitebsk, where Malevich started to make his architectons, i. e. houses for people who will live in space in the future. Look, they look like modern space stations that are now in space,” — said Ivona Malevich. But anyway, it was Hidekel who headed the architectural studio at UNOVIS, even managed to implement several suprematist projects, and some of his ideas are only now being embodied. hidekel drew dwellings in space in the early 1920s — 40 years before Gagarin’s flight. He also had a project of an aerocity, cities on pillars, and many other, as he himself defined them, futuristic cities.

An exhibition, interesting to young people

art “It is very difficult to say what inspired them — they probably became some kind of visionaries, such a bunch of brilliant energy that at that moment happened to be in Vi tebsk,” — says Maya Katznelson, founder of the BelarusianJewish Cultural Heritage Center. Modern projects have grown, partly owing to Suprematism, which prefers simple forms and minimalism, recalls Mark, Lazar Hidekel’s son and admits that he and his son are now developing several projects with an eye to his father’s futuristic ideas. “My son and I are working on Bridge-city which should protect New York from floods. There will be structures raised on the columns, which in case of emergency can resist the disaster and protect people,” — says Mark Khidekel, in fact, describing the “city on the pillars” of his father. Moreover, at an exhibition in Minsk one could virtually wander around such a city on the pillars — the organizers provided this opportunity so that the visitors of the 21 century could personally experience relevance of the ideas expressed at the beginning of the 20th century. Lazar Khidekel managed to implement several of his suprematist projects in the 1930s, at the time when it was possible. Including a social city with well-designed infrastructure. Mark Khidekel recalls that his father always considered architecture to be the most humane profession, which, first of all, should care about people and their comfortable life. “It seems to me that Suprematism is very important today because the world is fragmented. You, probably, feel it here. We feel it very well in the West, where there is no unity at all: neither in politics, nor in professional politics, nor in attitude to ecology and architecture, in nothing at all.. The world is extremely fragmented. The small fragments of this world are very hostile to each other. Suprematism is a universal system, a philosophy of a universal world, the understanding that we are one world and that we are connected with nature. This viewpoint is

It's important to catch the details

necessary. They used to say that beauty will save the world, but it seems to me that Suprematism will save the world,” — noted at the opening of the Minsk exhibition, the daughter-inlaw of Lazar Khidekel, art critic Regina Khidekel. ark Khidekel admitted that he was impressed by the approach of Belarusian specialists to the formation of the exposition. When his father’s works were exhibited in Paris at Georges Pompidou National Center for Arts and Culture, it took him long to explain to local specialists how to present the works in the best way. In Minsk, everything was different: “The way the works are grouped, hung up, the way the space is organized — everything is done at a high professional level. Therefore, I want to thank the organizers for their ability to correctly place this rather complicated, sometimes incomprehensible mass of works and allow the public to understand them correctly. This is a very important point. As my father said, Kazimir Severyanovich (Malevich — Auth.) would be delighted,” — Mark Khidekel remarked at the opening of the exhibition at the National Art Museum. The works brought to Minsk are the property of the family, a unique archive that Khidekel managed to keep. This archive survived the terrible flood in Leningrad, the Stalinist purges, the war and the blockade, and until recently, weak public interest in the history of UNOVIS in the homeland. “I want to quote Ivona Malevich that UNOVIS is a national treasure of our country and a national treasure of world culture. The most important thing is that we ourselves understand how much we need it. Unless we understand this, it will all remain far history. The theme of the avant-garde of the 20s, which is receiving new turns of development, in particular with the support of young artists, should become a modern idea,” — said Andrey Dukhovnikov, director of the Museum of History of the Vitebsk Folk Art School.

By Veniamin Mikheev Works that have been relevant for a century беларусь. belarus 2020

Real life story

She stood frozen to the spot, holding her breath. While I was choosing a bracelet made of leather, I watched it out of the corner of my eye. And I saw that my colleague could not turn her eyes away from the collectible author’s doll. How it happened to be there, in a tiny shop in Bruges, the old Dutch owner, who does not speak English, could not explain. The doll, which, by the way, was called Olga by the master, stood out like some bright spot against various trinkets made of stone, leather, clay, glass and fabrics. It looked as if radiance was emanating from it — so nice was the doll in its snow-white transparent dress, with pale pink ballet shoes on its feet. My God, Inga said, I love this ballerina: there is so much purity, aspiration, tenderness in it… So buy, I told her, you will not regret it. I left the store so as not to interfere. I thought it would be easier for Inga to make a decision without me: an exclusive doll was not a cheap one.

Guest from Bruges A few minutes later my fellow traveler literally flew out of the shop with a box in her hands. She was so happy that she infected me with her elation. We wandered around Bruges, this stunningly beautiful city in Belgium, in the center of the province of West Flanders. We admired its architecture, numerous canals and enjoyed the clatter of hooves on cobblestone roads. There are many tourists who want to travel in horse-drawn landaus around the city. It seemed that we, having come there on an excursion from modern Brussels, where we were undergoing our journalistic training in the European Parliament, found ourselves in the Middle Ages. The streets and houses, as we were told, today look like centuries ago. There are several

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Real life story thousand cultural monuments in Bruges. And these are only the registered ones… However, back to Inga with her doll. It seemed to me that she only halfway admired the city. From time to time, Inga would press the box to her, look into a small transparent window opposite the doll’s face, sigh happily and say: I am so glad that I’ve bought it, Olga is like my soul… In the evening in the hotel room of Brussels we talked about the fact that in our Soviet childhood toys, especially exclusive expensive dolls, were not available. I, a native of the small provincial Ukrainian town of Volchansk, in the Kharkov region, grew up in a family with a very modest income. Although Inga was from Minsk, the financial situation of her family did not allow it to buy her expensive toys either. She recalled that she made a rag doll herself, desperately wanting a doll to have a face not painted with a pencil, but a real one, from the shop, like the doll of her friend Alla, who came from a wealthy family. We talked about how funny it is, that now rag dolls are in trend, and girls adore them. I remembered my tiny asexual naked doll. I made clothes for it, e. g. a ballet tutu that I made from an old curtain, and a fur vest from black plush, and even Capri pants, the so-called “seveneighths,” which are trendy these days. I was very upset that the legs of my doll did not bend. I can’t forget my big brown bear with its paw torn off. It was brought from somewhere by my grandmother Katerina Maksimovna. For my sixteenth birthday, my classmates, who knew how few toys I had in my childhood, gave me a white teddy bear. A huge one! That evening, Inga and I both understood why throughout our lives both of us wanted to give toys even to our adult friends: in this way we both made up for something we failed to have in our childhood. For example, Inga gave a gutta-percha doll to her niece, when she was five or six years old, and later, in her student years, she spent half her scholarship to buy a doll for her friend. This, she said, was a German beauty

Communication with a doll is also a dialogue with a tender essence within yourself

doll Götz from the German Democratic Republic, which was second to none, a dream of many Soviet girls. These days, such dolls, bears, vintage and antique, are in the personal collections of those who are fond of toys of the past. The business of toy-makers is also growing from year to year in Belarus. For some people this is a hobby, but others become artisans because of their passion and turn it into a profession (read on page). By the way, last summer a very interesting exhibition was held at the Small Exhibition Hall of the Palace Ensemble in Nesvizh — Panna Doll’ya. It was organized by Nadezhda Tsiganovskaya, artist, curator, panel-member of many international doll competitions. The exhibition collected more than 100 works, all the dolls presented are in a single original. Each one is a person, each one has its own character, mood, which is reflected in facial expressions. I thought that Inga’s Olga would have also taken a rightful place there… Later on, Inga, like me, used to give dolls as presents… — At last you splurged on a doll for yourself, — I told her that memorable Brussels evening. We calmed down, wishing each other good night. The next day we were going to Paris for a day and a day later we returned to Minsk.

The names in this story are fictional, as its characters live next to us. Of course, this story is not only about the doll. It is about people who are so different, about their relationships, their ability and inability to empathize, to rejoice and grieve at something together, and on the contrary, to keep themselves to themselves. It is also about what is valuable to them in life, and to which they are completely indifferent. беларусь. belarus 2020

Real life story

Idols and Totems

How Olga was broken Quite recently, after the old New Year, not far from the Press House, where our office is located, I met Inga. Although we were not friends, but were happy to meet each other, hugged. Having finished her studies, Inga resumed her previous work, everything was fine with her and her family. Only health, Valentina Zhdanovich

Meeting Inga from time to time, I always asked her how the guest from Bruges was doing. She answered that it made her and everyone who saw it happy. Inga invited to come to her place. Once I visited Inga and took a picture of the ballerina together with a cheerful clown and another cute author’s doll named Dina. We even joked: what if the ballerina is jealous of the clown. But we came to the conclusion that our guest from Bruges was very friendly, in her spiritual world, full of unconditional love, there was no place for such a thing as jealousy. According to Inga, anyone who came to her, on seeing Olga, would notice its joyful character. Vika, Inga’s beloved niece, fell in love with the doll. She asked Inga to bequeath a ballerina to her, if something happened. Inga promised. Of course, that conversation was humorous, but, as we know, many a true word is spoken in jest. As Inga con-

fessed, she was thinking of giving the doll to her niece, an important creature for her, which, as she put it, was “alive”, and as if was teaching people to enjoy life and get along with each other. That was the role doll Olga played in Inga’s home, i. e. a kind of a totem. Years passed. I heard from my friends that Inga had left: either to do upgrading in Vilnius, or to study in London. From time to time, I recalled both her and Olga. Did she take it with her or leave it behind? I thought that, probably, the ballerina’s dress had got dusty.

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as she said, required a little “repair”: an old injury was having its effect: Inga used to be a keen biker, and in her youth injured her foot. She was also going to be operated on waiting for a not complicated heart problem. Of course, I could not but ask: how is Olga doing? Inga smiled, misty-eyed. She opened the bag in her hand and said: it’s predestination that I’ve met you today… Oh God! At the bottom of the bag I saw broken Olga. The head was detached, as well as the torso and arms, one leg was smashed to smithereens. The dusty dress was torn off… Inga was all smiling, apparently she had already overcome stress. I, looking at the traces of such vandalism, burst into tears. It hurt so much, as if a heavy running roller had gone across my soul. Even now, as I’m recalling our meeting, my heart aches. Who?.. How did it happen?.. Why?.. Inga answered my questions when I came to her after work. She made coffee and very calmly told me what had happened to the doll. — The other day I celebrated my birthday. My family gathered. The daughter of my niece Lesya and her husband also came. We had dinner, chatted, listened to music. At some point, I thought: I’ll ask Lesya to give the doll to Vika. I’ll be operated on, who knows what may happen… That’s what I did when the guests were leaving. No need to wait for my relocation to another world… Let Olga please my niece too. After all, she admired it so much. Vika used to be a ballerina in the past. The next day, Lesya called me and said: my mother had an accident and the doll crashed… It turned out that everything was okay with my niece, only the car had been damaged, and the doll crashed in Lesya’s house in the bathroom while its dress was being washed. Either the plumber dropped it, when changing the sink, or the children accidentally pushed Olga onto the stone floor. It doesn’t matter, ” — Inga stated. She continued: — Oh, Valentina, I didn’t even think that Vika might not like the dusty dress and getting unglued sole

Real life story of the doll’s ballet-shoe. As I later found out, there was a tiny chipped spot on one of the fingers of the doll, and no eyelash in one of the eyes. I didn’t even notice that. In general, my Olga was as beautiful for me as in the first days of her appearance. I wish it would have stood next to her friends. I made this conclusion later, when I found out that Vika had given it up so easily. When I gave Olga, I could not think that the defects of the doll’s looks could cause the niece to give it to her eight-year-old granddaughter. She did not know that such dolls as my Olga are objects of art. They were created not for children’s games, but for contemplation, admiration and collecting. I could not even expect that Vika, holding Olga in her hands, would say: “The way it looks is not for me.” Lesya told me about that. That’s the whole story with the doll. There is no longer a miracle in my house named Olga. For a moment, when I found out what had happened to the doll, I had the feeling that my soul was broken…

Do not blame, do not get offended… The words failed me after Inga’s monologue. I admit, I was more upset than my friend. But there was nothing to say. It’s the task for psychologists to state who is right and who is to blame. Of course, they will say: there are neither right nor guilty. There is reality. Each person in this story did what they could. Vika became an adult, she was no longer the girl whom Inga adored. In addition, their paths diverged several years ago. So it happens in life: close relatives for some reason can get out of touch. I know that Inga is not at all offended and does not expect anything from Vika. Once Vika decided to do it, so let it be, she said. She believes that for her, the story with the doll is a good lesson, as they say, do not get attached to things, much less create a totem from them. And moreover, to expect from Vika the same love for the doll,

which she experienced herself. She told me about this after a while making fun of herself. Another interesting thing. Inga never understood why she felt so hurt when she found out about the details. I think that her belief in spiritual relationship with Vika, with whom she was close by blood, broke together with the doll. She used to say: she is like a daughter to me. Reflecting on this story, I went online. And that’s what I heard. When asked by a journalist how to learn to forgive, the respected by me Indian teacher Sadhguru in one of his lectures answered the question with a question: do you blame anyone for something? And then he reasoned: in order to forgive someone for something, you first need to blame someone and feel hurt. So do not complicate your life, rejoice and be happy. Let everyone live as they want. So Inga tries to follow wise advice. She does not blame, does not take offense, therefore she does not expect forgiveness from anyone. She has no one to forgive. And Vika, as they say, will get come-back… And still… It seems to me that, knowing Inga, her big love for her niece, and the way this love resulted in actions, Vika could have behaved differently, more gentle, more humane. She could have called to thank and ask if Inga would mind her giving the doll to her granddaughter. In the end, she could have openly said that she didn’t need the doll. Why didn’t it occur to any member of the family to return the doll to its owner? But this is just my idea of how Vika, or others, should have acted. Could any of them have imagined how dear was Olga to Inga? And Vika… Maybe she even wanted to throw the doll on the floor, or, on the contrary, to embrace it, I do not know. Inga does not know what she felt when she was holding Olga in her hands, whether she was upset, or, on the contrary, remained indifferent… Nobody knows about it, except for Vika herself. And she keeps silence. By Valentina Zhdanovich

For whom we do not exist Psychologist's opinion Very often in life we perceive people and their actions on the basis of our personal judgments, our own life experience, we look at the world through our worldviews. Sometimes it interferes with the correct perception of the events, people and their attitude towards us. Why is that? The reason is the fears we are afraid to face. There are many of them. We are afraid to be rejected, to be forgotten. We also feel fear that we will not be needed by our relatives and friends. In fact, this is a classic fear of death, a fear of the unknown, which affects all the people. Often these fears are deep, unconscious and can be extremely destructive. They are veiled by each person with his or her own skills acquired in the family and society. As for the main character of this history, this is a typical desire to come full circle. This desire arose after the separation of two close people, although it was not entirely conscious. The desire to make her niece understand that she is still dear to her led Inga to sacrifice a doll which meant a lot for her. The doll is like she herself! Due to the unconscious fear of loss, Inga sacrificed herself wanting to make it clear to Vika that she still loves her and appreciates, she boldly took a step towards her fear of being misunderstood. Unfortunately, she saw a real attitude to herself and she realized that she was still living in the past, experiencing illusions about a loved one. This is her great victory over the unconscious fear of alienation. Personally, I like Inga’s approach to life and people. She took personal responsibility for what had happened, didn’t try to put blame on anyone, because she follows the path of self-development. This is normal to see in another person the best, the most valuable irrespective of what happens. Now it is easier for Inga to enjoy the realities of life, to feel happy. After all, life and time that is predestined to us is all that we really have. By Elena Likhtarovich, expert on interpersonal relationships

беларусь. belarus 2020

Literary bridges

Sangeeta Bahadur

Tamara Khamitsevich

Story

A Night’s Tail

The end. The beginning in the No. 2. I was only half aware of the other three — Tula by the window, gazing adoringly up at an Adonis in white; Mishri huddled over a game of cards with a bunch of guys and gals who seemed to have walked straight out of the pages of an Indian version of Vogue; Ria giggling as she clinked her umpteenth glass of wine with a cat-eyed charmer who was focusing on her with an intensity that made me feel mildly envious. For my part, I laughed and chatted and danced with a succession of gorgeous young men with warm hands and warmer eyes, tripping on alcohol and the sexual ener gy sizzling around me… Something hot and metallic dug into my breast, wrenching me out of the haze. My silver tabeez* — talisman, I realized — the one my Mom had received from a faqir — holy man — in Ajmer and had bullied and cajoled me into wearing 24x7. For a moment, I couldn’t quite remember where I was, or why, or even when and with whom! Had I fallen asleep? Was that why I felt so disoriented and, well, flaky — as though I wasn’t quite there, you know? I staggered a bit as I struggled with the most curious sensation of plunging back into my body, and felt a pair of arms tighten around me. The warm mouth devouring mine shifted a bit, changing

angles to deepen the kiss further, and the fog began to creep back into my senses… Kiss?! The word pulled at my drowsing mind, jolting it awake. The tabeez flared again, hot enough to almost sear the skin of my chest, making me gasp. I took a step back, focusing bleary eyes on the man evidently holding me. A hunk, definitely, like all the others I’d met this evening — but which one? For the life of me I couldn’t recall either his face or his name, so what the hell was I doing, allowing a perfect stranger to stick his tongue down my throat? Just how had I progressed from dancing with guys I barely knew to making out with one I didn’t even recognize? And all within the span of merely… I peered guiltily at my watch and could barely credit my eyes. The last time I had checked the time, right before alighting outside the haveli, it had been just before midnight. So where had the intervening four hours gone? Or was it — Heaven forbid! — four in the evening of the following day?! With heavy brocade curtains covering the tall windows of the chamber — which was roughly the size of a mini golf course — it was impossible to see anything outside, so I had no way of verifying my alarming suspicion. I realised my head was spinning unpleasantly and my throat felt parched. Too much alcohol — or something more sinister? Everything I’d read about date-

* See the meaning of the specified words at the end of the text

беларусь. belarus 2020

rape drugs swirled through my mind like a tornado. Stupid, I thought groggily — we’d all been so unbelievably stupid! Merrily walking into the spider’s parlour, just because he looked venerable and rich and called himself a Nawab, without bothering to verify his antecedents with anyone other than himself! We didn’t have a car, no one knew where we were, and we were in danger of being summarily slaughtered by our mothers if they ever heard of this night’s doings — and all because we couldn’t resist the lure of biryani! Self-disgust coating the back of my tongue like bitter medicine, I tried peeling myself away from my current kissing partner — had there been others? I wondered in dismay — and heard him murmur a passionate protest. Suddenly, though, the bubble of soothing, unnatural (now that I came to think of it) silence around me began to disintegrate. Other sounds crashed into my awareness — the sound of raised voices, of something heavy crashing to the floor, the tinkle of glass shattering, and a sort of furious caterwauling that sounded suspiciously like Mishri’s! There was also a deep-throated, subsonic snarl resonating in the background that raised the hair on the back of my neck… The tabeez flared again, goading me into wrenching myself away and turning around to investigate the scenario. There she was, militant Mishri — right

Literary bridges behind me at the other end of the artfully lit, cavernous room with its deeply cushioned sofas, stained glass tables and jewelled carpets. Red-faced, dishevelled and wild-eyed, she appeared to be fending off a group of guys — about a dozen by my count — while others stood sneering in a loose circle, making no attempt to intervene. I actually recognized some of them from our initial giddy, giggly hour — sophisticated young men I’d then thought the soul of wit, gallantry and charm, and who now suddenly looked more menacing than debonair in the dim light that had somehow gone from warm to cold. What on earth was going on? Had she fought with someone? Angered one or more of them by rejecting their advances, perhaps? And where on earth had all the girls disappeared? Hadn’t there been a million of them swishing elegantly around the last I remembered? Shaking off my partner’s restraining hands, I pushed my way to Mishri’s side and grabbed her arm, hissing warningly at her. She turned quickly to look at me with eyes brimming with hot, furious, frightened tears. “Pari, thank God!” she began, voice fraying with strain. “They just won’t let me.” I tightened my grip on her arm, whispered an imperious ’Later!’ in her ear, and gave the crowd around her a winning smile. “Oh, dear!’ I exclaimed artlessly in a breathless, little-girl voice, fluttering my lashes and hoping it would do the trick. ’I’m so sorry, folks! I must apologise for Mishri here. She is impossible when she gets sleepy, you know, and by 4 am — which is the time right now — she turns into a positive monster of discontent! I’d better take her home right away. Would one of you mind finding us a ride back? The Nawab did promise…’ The group ignored me, pressing in on us. Was it my imagination, I wondered uneasily, or were their eyes actually glowing red? Oh, God! This was not good, whichever way you looked at it! And just where had Tula and Ria vanished right when I needed them most? Probably necking with some willing hottie, just like you were! — my conscience supplied

helpfully, and I frowned disapprovingly. This was surely not the time for self-castigation; I had more urgent concerns to deal with. Just then, I caught sight of Tula and Ria spilling into the room, looking rather wall-eyed and glancing apprehensively behind them, evidently evading pursuit. They squealed when they saw us and began wending their way to our side, mouthing something I couldn’t hear and making frantic gestures I couldn’t comprehend. We had to get away. I had no idea what was going on with everybody in this haveli, but I didn’t like it. Nor did the tabeez, it seemed; it was blazing off and on like a light switch short-circuiting. My heart was galloping fit to burst, and the countless goose-bumps on my arms were making me feel like a plucked chicken on its way to the boiling pot. I glanced wildly around, trying to see over the heads of the increasingly feral mob hemming us firmly in. I almost sobbed with relief when I spotted Shahbaaz Khan himself step in through the door at the other end of the vast room, face drawn in stern lines, head moving from side to side as though seeking someone. I clasped Mishri’s hand, made what I hoped was compelling eye-contact with Ria and Tula who were now just two body-widths away, willing them to start retreating towards our still distant host. He would help — surely he would; he’d assured us he’d see us home, hadn’t he? I opened my mouth to call out to him, and heard Ria yell, “No. No, Pari! Don’t ask him for anything — don’t ask anyone here!” I stared uncomprehendingly at her. What the hell did she mean, don’t ask him for help? How else did she expect to get out of this place? He was the one who’d invited us here, so he’d obviously have to be the one to put an end to this insanity! Before I could act on my conclusion, though, I happened to glance at Tula. She seemed to be scared witless, her eyes wide as saucers in a deathly pale face. “Look at their feet, Pari!” I heard her gibber as she made urgent stabbing motions towards the floor. “Their feet!”

I looked, as startled as I was mystified. Well, they were bare-footed, all those gorgeous guys — how come I hadn’t noticed that before? — but surely that didn’t amount to indecent exposure! So what did Tula? Then it hit me: their feet were backwards, heels in front and toes behind! For a moment I went blank, unable to process what I was seeing. Mishri clutched my arm, whispering in a quivering voice, “Oh God! Everyone’s like that! Golly, Pari, do you realise what this means?” “Umm, some weird cult-practice of deforming orthopaedic surgery?” I suggested, my last handful of rationality fighting to keep the cresting terror at bay. “What?” she began to laugh hysterically — and that scared me more than anything any of them could have said. “Deforming surgery? Is that what you think? These are Djinns, you monumental moron! We’ve got ourselves trapped in a house of Djinns! Has no one ever told you about their feet?” Everything went ballistic at that point. Suddenly, Shahbaaz Khan was right there, in the midst of the ravening horde ringing us in, barely recognizable now as the benign aristocrat in the Rolls. Trembling and screaming, we dug fingers, nails and probably a few teeth into a Tula too petrified to move, dragging her along towards the door that seemed to recede further with every stumbling step we took. A hair-raising symphony of growling laughter followed us. Scarleteyed monsters, stripped of their human masks and led by our erstwhile host, pursued us down a twisting, serpentine passage which seemed malignantly alive, throwing every conceivable obstacle in our way. We knew we were lost. There was no way on earth we were going to outrun a host of salivating Djinns hungry for possession, who were playing at chasing us — till they tired of the game… Just then, the tabeez heated up again, reminding me of its presence. Desperately praying it would do something, anything, I reached inside the neckline беларусь. belarus 2020

Literary bridges of my borrowed kurta — in a moment of epiphany I suddenly understood the reason for my strong though brief revulsion to these clothes! — and grabbed the amulet. Ripping the gauzy material in my frantic haste, I pulled it out and shoved it into the faces snarling in our wake. A blinding golden light seared my retina, and for a few seconds I could see nothing at all, including my friends. I could feel them with me, though, could hear their panting breaths and the thumping dread of their heartbeats. The next second, I felt myself propelled forward, shoved with such force that I went sprawling face-down — in, I realised in panicked amazement, the cold, soggy grass outside the mansion! Ria, Tula and Mishri lay hyperventilating around me, as though shot from the mouth of a cannon. In the eerie pewter of approaching dawn, we watched in frozen disbelief as the facade of the fairy-palace dissolved into a howling black vortex, riddled with the infuriated baying of Djinns. All that remained was a scattering of blackened brick-stumps that may once have held up some long-vanished structure. None of us remembers our ghastly marathon through the sodden remnants of the night, but dawn found us in a hysterical clinch on our living-room carpet. I couldn’t tell you how long we stayed that way, our arms around each other, our teeth chattering like a percussion orchestra gone mad and our bodies shivering as though we had the ague. The sun was well up in the sky by the time we recovered enough to let go our deathgrips on one another. Ria, valiantly dabbing away at her ravaged mascara, went to make us some hot tea — the dip-bag variety, of course — which we drank sitting on the floor, dunking fat chocolate biscuits in the brew and deriving primordial comfort from the way they melted in our mouths, gradually restoring us to some semblance of normalcy. Just when we began wondering, with resurgent optimism, if it had all been some horrible, collective nightmare, Tula went to pull back one of the curtains to let in the sunlight — and dropped her tea-

беларусь. belarus 2020

mug as she began keening. Bounding to the window like a herd of frightened deer, we discovered the yellow Zen parked in our driveway, gleaming bright without a speck of mud marring its surface. Even the tires were showroom-clean! The keys winked at us from the bonnet, so conspicuously positioned that we couldn’t miss them if we tried. We sank whimpering to our knees under the window, grabbed each other’s hands and broke down again. We may have evaded them once, we realised, but the fiends were letting us know that they could find us again at will… That evening, we piled the Djinngiven clothes on the little veranda at the back of the house and set them on fire, waving my tabeez over the blaze and reciting the Gayatri Mantra in lieu of anything more demon-specific. We spent the rest of the weekend barricaded within the bungalow, surviving on the bread, cheese, potato wafers and chocolates we ordered in from the neighbourhood grocery shop, all washed down with a crate of strong local beer which gave us a measure of Dutch courage. The ordeal we could never share with anyone else altered our lives forever. For one thing, we promptly learned how to cook, Return of Chamkeeli notwithstanding. For another, we developed a life-long aversion to Hyderabadi biryani. The deepest impact, though, was sustained by our friendship, which mutated into a life-pact.

Because it isn’t over, you see. For the last twenty-five years, through the night of every third Friday of July — like today, and that first one — a scarlet-eyed Shahbaaz Khan, malicious, sly and imploring by turns, prowls our doorstep in the blinding rain. It doesn’t matter where we are; Bangalore, Ranchi, Mumbai, Delhi… we’ve tried it all, and it makes no difference. The first year, he’d nearly caught us out in the open — the scariest experience of our lives, barring the time Tula’s three-year old daughter informed her that she’d had some very nice sex in her playschool. (We’d all wept with relief when we discovered that she’d simply been mispronouncing “snacks”.) We’d never given him another such opportunity. Every year since then, we’ve made it a practice to banish mystified parents, siblings, husbands and kids (as things have evolved over the years) — who are all secretly convinced that we practise Wicca rituals — and spend those 24 hours together, just the four of us, within the four walls of my home. It’s always my home. We lurk behind closed doors with pounding hearts, my amulet swaying challengingly from the lintel and our fingers crossed in the hope that it still retains enough power to keep the livid Djinn-lord at bay for yet another year. So far, it has — but we’re wisely looking for another authentic faqir. References, anyone? The end.

Glossary Tabeez — is a cylindrical hollow-centered amulet is the bestknown talisman for the cultures of India, Nepal and Central Asia. The tabeez is believed to protect against the evil eye, a disease and impure power. Faqir — originally was a wandering Sufist, and later (in colloquial speech) the term began to refer to the homeless ascetic in Hinduism. The Fakirs are also Sufi religious beggars in India, a kind of wandering monks — dervishes. Ajmer — is a city in the central part of the Indian state of Rajasthan, a place of pilgrimage of Muslims from all over India. Gayatri Mantra — is the most sacred and most powerful mantra of the Vedas. Repetition of this mantra is part of the daily ritual of all righteous Hinduists. Wicca — is a modern Pagan religion based on the veneration of nature, with roots in pre-Christian European paganism.

Beauty Run 2020 took place on March 8 on Independence Avenue in Minsk. About five thousand girls from 85 cities of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Israel, Sweden participated in it.

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