President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has awarded the "For Spiritual Revival" prizes and special prizes to cultural and art figures. The Head of State has signed the corresponding decrees, the press service of the Belarusian leader informed BELTA.
Based on the results of 2019, five "For Spiritual Revival" prizes have been awarded. They have been granted to work collectives and representatives of religious associations for their active work in the humanitarian sphere.
The prize has been awarded to the rector of the parish of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene of equal to the Apostles in Minsk, Archpriest Ioann (Ivan) Khoroshevich, for his significant contribution to strengthening the ideas of mercy and organising the work of the House of Spiritual Enlightenment.
The Belarusian Public Association of Veterans has been honoured with this high award for its active humanitarian activities in assisting veterans and perpetuating the memory of the Great Patriotic War.
The collective of the public association "Belarusian Association of Large Families" has been awarded the prize for its extensive work in providing material and moral support to large families, and for implementing the humanitarian projects "Competition for the Best Large Family", "Minsk City Mothers' Forum", and the TV project "Native People".
The "For Spiritual Revival" prize has also been awarded to the collective of the branch of the cultural institution "Brest Regional Museum of Local Lore", the "Berestye" Archaeological Museum, for its active work in preserving national cultural heritage and creating an updated exhibition of the museum's branch.
For the creation of the fundamental cartographic publication "The Great Historical Atlas of Belarus", the prize has been awarded to the authorial team consisting of Academician-Secretary of the Department of Humanities and Arts of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Alexander Kovalenya, Editor-in-Chief of RUP "Belkartografiya" Galina Lyakhova, and Director of the State Institution "Belarusian Research Center for Electronic Documentation" Vyacheslav Nosevich.
The idea of creating the atlas originated in 2005. The first volume was published in 2009, and the last, the fourth, in 2018. The work on the atlas required meticulous effort and high professionalism from its creators.
For outstanding achievements in the sphere of professional art, folk and amateur artistic creativity, education and patriotic upbringing of creative youth, and charitable activities, which have received public recognition, 10 special prizes of the President of Belarus have been awarded to cultural and art figures.
The staff of the cultural institution "Museum "Vitebsk Centre of Contemporary Art" has been awarded a special prize for creating the exposition of the Museum of the History of the Vitebsk People's Art School and for carrying out large-scale exhibition projects "Ossip Zadkine. Return", "Alexander Rodchenko. Photography from "VKhUTEMAS".
The museum director, Andrey Dukhounikov, noted that the President's special prize is the result of joint work by the city authorities, museum staff, and art critics from various countries.
For the creation of the documentary film series "Chronicle of the Minsk Ghetto", a special prize has been awarded to the team of authors consisting of Boris Gersten, Deputy Head of the Information Directorate of CJSC "Second National Television Channel", Vladimir Bokun, Director of Private Unitary Enterprise "Vladimir Bokun's Workshop", and Vladimir Lutsky, Production Director of Private Unitary Enterprise "Vladimir Bokun's Workshop".
A special prize has been awarded to the Honoured Amateur Ensemble of Belarus, the symphony orchestra of the Educational Institution "Molodechno State Musical College named after M.K. Oginski", for its significant contribution to the education of creative youth and the implementation of cultural projects "M.K. Oginski International Symphony Forum-Competition of Young Composers of CIS Countries", "Bridges of Friendship: Belarus - Russia", "Spiritual Page of the Small Motherland".
The staff of the Brest City Centre of Culture has been recognised with a high award for outstanding achievements in the development of amateur artistic creativity, for organising large-scale events dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the city of Brest, and for implementing the interstate programme "Brest - Cultural Capital of the Commonwealth - 2019".
A special prize has been awarded to the staff of the National State Television and Radio Company of the Republic of Belarus for the implementation of creative projects that positively represent national culture in Belarus and abroad, and for their significant contribution to the education of creative youth.
The staff of the Ivye Centre of Culture and Leisure has also been awarded a special prize for their significant contribution to the development of folk art and the implementation of the project "Ivye Colour".
For the development and implementation of the creative concept of the grand opening and closing ceremonies of the II European Games 2019, a special award was presented to the creative team consisting of People's Artist of Russia Igor Krutoy, production director, founder of Sechenov.com Alexey Sechenov, and artistic director of the "Art-Major" production centre of the Belarusian State University of Culture and Arts Alexander Vavilov.
The "Skif" military-patriotic centre for special training of pre-conscription youth has been awarded a special prize for its significant contribution to the patriotic education of youth, the implementation of cultural projects for the formation of the exposition of the V.F. Margelov Museum of the History of Airborne Forces and Special Forces, and the organisation of events dedicated to state holidays and memorable dates.
At the centre, young people undergo airborne, mountaineering, diving, and tactical special training, practice mixed martial arts, and learn to provide first aid.
The "Dudariki" folklore ensemble, an Honoured Amateur Collective of Gymnasium No. 14 of Minsk, has been recognised with a high award for outstanding achievements in amateur art, and for successfully representing Belarus in the programmes of the international festival "Garmon Gathers Friends", the Minsk International Book Fair, and other projects.
For the mosaic decoration of the altar part of the Church of All Saints, a memorial to those who served the salvation of our Fatherland, a special award was presented to the creative team consisting of Denis Chubukov, Associate Professor of the Department of Monumental and Decorative Art of the Belarusian State Academy of Arts, Kirill Orsik, vocational training instructor of the same department, and Alevtina Bashkatova, sole proprietor and member of the Belarusian Union of Artists.
