5th February 2016 Minsk, Belarus
First two weeks in Belarus
Twenty years ago, on a posting to Ukraine, Belarus was this distant mysterious country lying to the north. My chief knowledge about Belarus was that it was badly affected by Chernobyl as the winds were blowing north at the time of the disaster. As I prepared to come here, I talked to people about Belarus and was encouraged to hear how positively people spoke about their experiences. In fact, two of my colleagues even fell in love here and married Belarusians. I arrived full of curiosity and anticipation and I have not been disappointed in what I have seen so far.
Day 11 in Minsk if I don’t count the day/evening of my arrival. Already it is becoming familiar, at least the geography of the city centre. I am without doubt seeing the city at its worst – at the height of winter, with snow/slush on the ground, trees bare and the sky grey. On the other hand, this allows one better sight of the city architecture, some of which is quite impressive indeed. Great care has been taken to restore what little could be restored at the end of the war, but many post-war buildings have facades with the kind of detail that makes them appear historic. I think the city will really come into its own in the spring, when all is fresh and green and full of blossom.
Day 1
I was rather the envy of the diplomatic corp to be able to present my credentials on Day 1. “Unprecedented” Foreign Minister Makei told me. I was told it would go down well if I spoke in Russian, so I told the President that I was pleased to be here and looked forward to working on issues that affected both our countries. He smiled and thanked me. After the ceremony was over, our gaggle of Ambassadors, or whatever you call a collection of Ambassadors, was shown the room where the Minsk Agreement had been signed, before we went back out into the snow and waiting cars.
Day 4
We hosted a first-ever Burns night last week to celebrate the great poet’s birthday on 25 January. I believe I was the only actual Scot there, but there were a couple of others with Celtic connections. We had a piper, haggis and all the toasts and it went down a treat, even if a number of guests were left somewhat baffled by the Scots dialect. It was a great opportunity to meet a few members of the British community and many of our local Belarusian contacts. I finished off the evening with a recital of “A Man’s A Man for A That”. The message of equality and brotherhood – or sisterhood – and how we should judge a person’s true worth, seemed an appropriate message to leave with.
Day 8
I also had a lot of fun at the British Belarus Chamber of Commerce monthly gathering on Monday evening. A most welcoming group and a range of business interests represented. I look forward to attending more meetings at the Malt and Hops and getting to know more about the business environment here.
Day 6
I spent my first weekend going for a walk in the centre, which took in some of the city’s war memorials – the memorial to the Second World War, Victory Square, and the memorial at the “pit” where 5000 Jews were rounded up from the ghetto and murdered by the Nazis. I am not sure what the right word is, but it is certainly humbling to think how the people of this country have come through such times of suffering and how resilient they must be.
Day 7
It was wonderful to end the weekend attending a karaoke singing competition for disadvantaged yet supremely talented children. The excitement and pride on their faces, and the love and care shown by the organising charities, was an inspiring way to start the new week.
Thanks Shenagh! Hope all the family are well.
Love,
Fionna
Dear Ambassador!
Thank you very much for your keen and friendly look at our country, Belarus. You are sure to get more and more wonderful and unforgettable impressions.
We had a very short meeting at the Art Gallery in Bobruisk today. We hope you will have more time to appreciate the works of art of our talented painters and ceramists during your next visit to Bobruisk.
You can find additional information about the Art-ZhiZhel Festival and the Wreath of Friendship Festival (Venok Druzhby) if you get in touch with Irina Roskach, the Chairman of the Festival Organizing Committee.
The e-mail address is kultura-bobr@tut.by
We hope to meet Brittish participants and guests at our festivals.
We are very grateful for the visit you paid. We would like to welcome you personally at our festivals.
Sincerely yours, Dina Khodasevich
Great to see how you are getting on Fionna. Pictures are fantastic! Love reading what you’ve been doing. Keep on posting 🙂
What a fascinating read! What incredible 2 weeks! I’ll check out some of the venues you mentioned. Just to inform you that the Macbeth opera will premiere on 19, 20 March.
It has been an incredible six weeks now Marina, and I need to write a follow up blog! It was very nice to meet you on Friday and thanks for telling me about Macbeth. I think this is the first of Shakespeare’s plays that Verdi adapted for opera, and it is great to be showing it in this 400th anniversary year of Shakespeare’s death. I will definitely get tickets! By the way, I mentioned there is a superstition about the use of the title Macbeth. The following from Wikipedia may be of interest:
“Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is said to be cursed, so actors avoid saying its name when in the theatre (the euphemism “The Scottish Play” is used instead). Actors also avoid even quoting the lines from Macbeth before performances, particularly the Witches’ incantations. Outside a theatre and after a performance, the play can be spoken of openly. If an actor speaks the name “Macbeth” in a theatre prior to one of the performances, he or she is required to leave the theatre building, spin around three times, spit, curse, and then knock to be allowed back in.
One version of this legend claims that it was the actor who played Lady Macbeth who died during the play’s first production run and that Shakespeare himself had to assume the role. There is no evidence that either version of this legend is factual.”
I should warn the colleagues at the theatre real quick! ‘Break a leg’ is even encouraging in comparison!
I love your interest in Belarus. Check out the ethnic cultural heritage village Menka in a place called Озерцо just on the outskirts of Minsk. It’s great on a warm suuny day. And you must definitely see a BATLEIKA performance (a Belarusian variant of Punch and Judy) at the Museum of Music in Herzen Street. It used to house the freemasons club.
I’m not sure the Macbeth curse works on the Belarusan soil but the weather on the eve of the premiere was diabolical to match! I saw the dress rehearsal yesterday, was impressed and thrilled. I look forward and would appreciate your comments on the production.
Hi Marina, sorry for the slow reply. I really enjoyed the performance and thought the stage design was very creative. I thought Macbeth and McDuff were particularly good. Thanks for the recommendation!
A visiting British education expert who regularly goes to the theatre in London told me he enjoyed it too.
Looking forward to further perfomances at the State Opera Ballet and will take you up on your offer of a tour! By the way, I also bought a copy of Parter.
Good work Fionna, but I am not sure that is a Gibb tartan.
Fionna
Enjoying your first entries to your blog. Looking forward to reading more from you in the coming months. Enjoy your stay in Belarus!
Thanks! Keep an eye open, more to come.
Enjoyed reading about your first few days. We support the “friends of Chernobyl’s children” forth valley group via Ochil Crafts. Sandy works hard supporting the children. Iain & Mags
Loving this…a great read and cool photos too. What an amazing and fascinating place!
I visit children in Belarus (mogilev region) with our charity “friends of Chernobyl’s children” forth valley group , we bring children to Scotland for a month each year for 5 years and this builds up their immune system.
I would love the opportunity to talk to you about our charity next time I am in Belarus
Very keen to hear more about your work. And please get in touch next time you’re in Belarus.
Really enjoying your blog, it gives a good insight into your role. Photos are fab. Looking forward to more.
Impressive!! And congratulations on your posting. I’m sure you will do amazing work out there and make s difference.
Thanks very much Chrissy! Great to hear from you and sorry we couldn’t meet before I left London. But hopefully when I’m back in the summer we can have a drink.
Interesting reading Fionna and the photos really bring it to life. look forward to further updates.
Thanks very much. I’m glad you enjoyed reading it.
Thank you for sharing these impressions, it makes for fascinating reading. Please don’t stop writing! It is a pity you missed the weeks of real winter, which now seems to be over.