Neighbours' Songs Are Like Our

BELARUS & WORLD The Minsk Times Thursday, July 25, 2013 9 Neighbours’ songs are like our own Rymdyuny’s Belarusian-Lithuanian Centre of Culture, Education and Information known for its folk group far beyond Ostrovets District By Yuri Chernyakevich a library. Although construction was financed by Lithuania, main- Exclamations of ‘Labas ritas!’ tenance and services at the Centre and ‘Laba dien!’ are heard not just are the responsibility of the Bela- in Lithuania but in the small vil- rusian treasury. lage of Rymdyuny, in the Ostro- About 140 pupils attend, with vets District, Grodno Region. The the children able to enter either language of neighbouring Lithua- Belarusian or Lithuanian universi- nia is known to adults and young ties on leaving. In fact, most travel people alike, as the settlement has to Lithuania but a great many also been home to a great many ethnic return to Belarus at a future date, Maria Mazheiko (right) displaying rarities from her antique trunks Lithuanians since ancient times. as diplomatic specialists. When someone hears Lithua- The language of Čiurlionis is museum rooms, rich in exhib- most important thing is that we very often. The younger members nian spoken they don’t automati- used for writing, dictation, dis- its, she shows me just how peo- are always welcomed everywhere, of the group also perform tradi- cally assume that tourists are cussion and, even, singing songs ple once spun and combed flax, because our songs are about love, tional dances, joined by the sen- present, coming to admire the — helped by amateur folk group before weaving the thread on separation and fun. They can be iors. beauty of Belarus. Unsurprisingly, Žilvitis (‘Willow). The group looms, singing folk songs as they understood without knowing the Relationships between Bela- Rymdyuny has Belarus’ only Be- began entertaining in the mid- worked. language.” rusians and Lithuanians in Rym- larusian-Lithuanian Centre of 1940s, after the Great Patriotic In her unique accent, she tells Žilvitis has performed in the dyuny are close, with many books Culture, Education and Informa- War, adapting customs and songs us, “Belarusians understand our Ostrovets District and beyond, in the local library brought from tion. It features two schools (one passed down from their grand- Lithuanian language and we un- regularly taking part in the Fes- the neighbouring country and using Lithuanian language and mothers. Maria Mozheiko is one derstand Russian and Belarusian. tival of National Cultures in Lithuanian artists coming to per- the other Belarusian language), a of the elders of the ensemble, Accordingly, we can sing in vari- Grodno. It’s famous in Lithuania form at the Centre. The village is pupils’ boarding school, a hostel celebrating her 90th birthday ous languages: Belarusian, Polish, too — just 30km away. The grand- a true microcosm of diplomacy for teachers, a cultural centre and next year. In one of the Centre’s Russian and Lithuanian. The mothers of Rymdyuny make trips between our two nations. Geography of cultural contacts Belarus interested in cultural Meanwhile, relations with Vietnam, sons are active within the CIS, as well co-operation with Indonesia China, Iran, the UAE, Serbia and as with Baltic States, European and and Bangladesh Moldova are being developed.” Near Eastern countries, and those in The Minister of Culture of Bela- Co-operation is also active with South East Asia and Latin America. rus, Boris Svetlov, noted during an Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Of course, many foreign guests online-conference on BELTA’s web- Azerbaijan, Armenia and Kazakhstan annually take part in international site, “In the near future, we’ll sign and 46 intergovernmental and inter- festivals held in Belarus while our ar- agreements on cultural co-opera- departmental agreements are current tistes attend similar forums and per- tion with Indonesia and Bangladesh. with 33 countries worldwide. Liai- form abroad. Shot from the film Role Revival of forgotten masters 30 year old journey in Mogilev. Some pictures created will be bought by museums in the to be shown on screen Dnieper River area, while the rest will be presented to the Maslen- By Eduard Pimenov ter graphics, as is usual today. The sets nikov Museum of Arts (according were built with care,” he explains. to established tradition). The Role, shot jointly with The plot tells of talented provin- “One of the major goals of the Belarusfilm, vying for Moscow cial actor Nikolay Yevlakhov, who plein air is to revive the forgotten Film Festival awards joins the White Guards and is seek- names of our prominent fellow The picture, shot by Belarusfilm ing refuge from the Red Army. Near countrymen and painters,” notes Studio, Russia’s Proline Media and a railway station, the Reds manage to Anatoly Sinkovets, who heads the Lenfilm, Finland’s BUFO STUDIO capture the train on which he is travel- Chief Culture Department at the and Germany’s SIGMA H.V.e K., has ling and Commander Plotnikov lines Mogilev Regional Executive Com- been presented at the 35th Moscow up his prisoners, staring into each mittee. “The present forum is dedi- International Film Festival. Its script face, deciding who should live or die. In the open air in Alexandria cated to Robert Genin.” was first written by Pavel Finn back in He stops in front of Yevlakhov, realis- Robert Genin was a Belarus- the early 1980s; however, the project ing that he is his physical double, but, 18th international Image of the stage is being held in early Septem- born representative of the Paris was censored in 1982 by the Soviet before he can decide what action to Motherland in Visual Art plein ber and will bring together profes- painting school, born in 1884 in regime, followed by ‘commercial’ take, enemy cavalry breaks through air opens in Alexandria agro- sional artists from Belarus, Russia the village of Vysokoe, (Klimovi- censorship. Only at the beginning of the defence perimeter and Plotnikov town and elsewhere, gathering at the chi District, Mogilev Province). He the 21st century, after publication in rushes into battle, where he is killed. The current forum consists of museum-estate of the prominent studied in Munich and Paris, paint- Cinema Art magazine, was the script Yevlakhov, portrayed by Russian two parts. From early to mid-July, Russian painter Vasily Polenov, ing communist clubs in France revived, by producer Andrey Sigle. actor Maxim Sukhanov, reaches Fin- ten young Belarusian artists from near Tula, before touring the most and creating monumental works, According to Konstantin Lo- land and begins to research Plotnikov, the Mogilev, Gomel, Vitebsk and picturesque sites in the Mogilev as well as ordinary canvases. Lat- pushansky, many scenes were shot in planning to ‘resurrect’ him by return- Brest regions, alongside those from Region. er, he moved to Moscow to teach Belarus. “Almost the entire civil war ing to Moscow with fake documents. the city of Minsk, worked in the In October, the plein air will fresco work and easel painting at was shot there. When you have a real He takes on his identity, as he had Shklov District, depicting the beau- be exhibited at the Pavel Maslen- the Proletarian Artel studios, in the rusty locomotive, it’s so authentic; played acting roles previously. Finally, ty of local landscapes. The second nikov Regional Museum of Arts, Vladimir Region’s Mstyora. much better than relying on compu- he is executed by firing squad..

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