10 CULTURE The Minsk Times Thursday, November 1, 2012 Auction Little known facts accompanied by Strauss of national By Olga Maximova Nesvizh fundraising ball for Italy is known for its spaghetti and pizza, Lithuania (with ), khrenovukha (with Novogrudok Castle has its famous horse ) and liqueurs made Nesvizh is to host its fi rst chari- Spain for its gaspacho and and France 999 balsam with juniper or cranberries. Th ese table ball on November 10th, allow- for its frog legs while everyone associates while many con- drinks are natural and are more ing guests to enjoy the atmosphere sider samogon unique to us. of past times in the noble Radziwills’ with its unique and to be a Belaru- How many Belarusian dishes former family home. It’s the perfect America with fast . Meanwhile, sian beverage. are found abroad? venue for a luxurious ball, illumi- is strongly associated Is it benefi cial Lots! It seems we were looking nated by bright torchlight. Guests that fewer than elsewhere when they were stolen. will be welcomed by knights on with its draniki ( ten companies Lithuania has taken our zeppelins, horseback, a red carpet and cham- pancakes). However, are these are allowed to Poland has our and Ukraine pagne, while an auction will raise legally pro- off ers borshch. Only mochanka has funds to help restore 6th century truly local culinary delights? duce the remained among our well-known Novogrudok Castle. drink? Are authentic dishes. Th e spacious halls of Nesvizh By Dmitry Umpirovich we ready to Do western states have their Palace — Golden, Th eatrical, Het- promote own view of Belarusian cuisine? man, Hunting and others — will Th e director of Minsk’s Kamy- samogon Sadly, too little time has passed host diverse dance, musical, theatri- anitsa Restaurant is an expert in more for this to have gathered force. Few cal and costume performances. Th e Belarusian cuisine. Sergey Chegri- wide- realise that every Chinese person night will off er guests ball games, nets shares his views: ly? who set up a restaurant in the USA thematic salons and various pro- Draniki are associated with received a $50,000 grant from the grammes and dishes — to suit even Belarus, as those from post-So- government of their country. Now, the most demanding tastes. Music by viet states know, but Holland and a quarter of the public catering the king of waltz — Johann Strauss Germany have their own versions, market belongs to China. — will accompany the party. which they see as their national What can we do to promote Among those attending will dish. Th e explanation is simple: our national cuisine? be many prominent fi gures of cul- potatoes migrated across Europe We need to en- ture and arts from Belarus, Russia, from the west — from Portugal and Ukraine and other European states: Britain. It would be naive to think Belarusian National Academic that we were the fi rst to cook such Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Th eatre pancakes although we began earlier soloist Oksana Volkova; Russian than the Russians east of us. State Academic Bolshoi Th eatre so- If Belarusian cuisine is not loist Alexander Zakharov; actor and based on potatoes, what else is singer Dmitry Kharatyan; famous there? ballerina Anastasia Volochkova; Natural ingredients are at the and popular Russian band Quarto. heart of every recipe. Chatting Marat Basharov will host the ball, with foreigners has convinced me which will also feature performanc- that these are more important than es by Belarusian instrumental and rare or expensive delicacies. When dance teams — such as Khoroshki. Moscovites taste our potatoes, they Th e Symphony Orchestra of the enjoy the natural taste (not geneti- Belarusian State Academic Musi- cally-modifi ed). Our mochanka cal Th eatre (conducted by maestro is unique among our neighbours, Arkady Berin) will play waltzes in

comprising two parts: meat broth, BELTA the Large Ballroom and, at mid- cream and smoked meats are sim- Belarus’ largest dranik () is 1.62m in diameter night, there will be a fi reworks mered to create a rich casserole, Of , restaurants need to Sadly, we lost ownership of this courage such restaurants to open display. Guests will then enjoy lis- with draniki placed on top. Both serve dishes which customers fi nd beverage to Ukraine. It’s legally pro- by off ering fi nancial incentives. tening to Germany’s Sculer Cover are eaten together, creating a tasty palatable regardless of where they duced there and is found in almost Why can’t we off er small tax con- Band Berlin. combination. Mochanka is found hail from: Mogilev or Grodno. every shop. Our southern neigh- cessions? Such places would buy Irish model, actress and Miss countrywide, following various You should feel as if you’re tasting bour promotes its alcohol so widely ingredients locally, ensuring work World 2003 Rosanna Davison recipes and using diff erent ingredi- something from your childhood. that we cannot compete. I wouldn’t for our farmers and for local com- (daughter of the famous singer ents: some use blood while All those dining out have their own choose samogon over other nation- panies, while saving on importing Chris de Burgh) is also planning to others make pancakes from whey. critical opinion of the food. al beverages — such as medovukha food from abroad. attend. Pages of rarities reveal many facts

By Viktar Andrejev ums and archives helped fi ll the halls published in 1595 and released in with exhibits, as Ms. Shumovich ex- Vilnya (Vilnius) by the Mamonichi This year, Polotsk celebrated plains. She adds, “Nikolay Nikolaev printing house. It spans two ages in its 1150th anniversary. Its worked hard to help: he now heads Belarusian culture: Orthodox faith Museum of Belarusian Book the Rare Book Department at the and the traditions of Ancient Rus, Printing was founded in 1986, Russian National Library in St. Pe- against Catholicism and the infl u- on the bank of the Dvina River, tersburg, where many Belarusian ence of Western Europe. inside the former Epiphany 16th-20th century editions reside. Before signing the Brest Church Monastery. He helped select the most interesting Unia, in 1596, between the Orthodox Th e rare editions held within its editions and found artists to make and Catholic churches, the Mamon- walls bear witness to religious and copies. We also received a donation ichi printing house used to work for political disputes through the ages. of an original edition of Th e Soul’s Orthodox monasteries, schools and It fi rst opened to visitors in 1990, Supper, by monk Simeon Polotsky, churches, releasing theological and allowing them to view exhibitions from Moscow’s Lenin State Library liturgical editions, as well as promo- in the old cells. Yelena Shumovich, (now the Russian State Library).” tional works, textbooks and collec- who heads the museum, tells us, Moscow Slavist and Belarusian In halls of Museum of Belarusian Book Printing tions of legislative acts. Particularly, “While we were deciding where to scholar Yuri Labyntsev, whose ex- years ago. Meanwhile, Father Piotr, of the Pol- it printed the Statute of the Grand create an exhibition, Prof. Adam pertise is in Eastern European edi- One of the museum’s most pre- otsk Old Believer Church, recently of 1588; Belarus Maldis noted his preference for tions, works at the museum-library cious collections relates to Russian donated Th e Psalter, released even received its fi rst copy of the rarity re- Polotsk, convincing specialists that of Simeon Polotsky; his suggestion Old Believers: a set of unique 17th before Patriarch Nikon’s reform. cently, when it was acquired for the folios and manuscripts should be has been used at the Museum of Be- century editions, donated many Unfortunately, Polotsk lacks a Museum of Mogilev History from located here, in the city of the fi rst larusian Book Printing, recreating years ago by a Novopolotsk resident single original folio by Frantsisk a Moscow collector. From the 17th printer, Frantsisk Skorina.” the atmosphere in which the Bela- whose father was a famous fi gure Skorina; the oldest edition on dis- century, it printed books exclusively Moscow and Leningrad muse- rusian enlightener lived over 300 among Old Believers in Belarus. play is the Educational Testament, for Greco-Catholics.