On July 13, Vitebsk /BelTA correspondent/. The "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" festival has enabled the peoples of the Eurasian space to preserve their historical community and a unified cultural space, believes President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. He stated this on July 12 during the opening of the XXI International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk", BelTA has learned. "Undoubtedly, the Vitebsk forum has become one of those seeds from which Eurasian integration sprouts. After all, it has allowed our peoples to preserve their historical community and a unified cultural space," said the head of state. "This forum was destined by fate itself to become a center of attraction for different cultures. After all, even in its name - "Slavianski Bazaar" - one can hear an echo of both European and Eastern civilization," believes the President. According to Alexander Lukashenko, it is no coincidence that Vitebsk was chosen as the venue for the festival, where "on fertile ground, created from the interweaving of traditions and cultures, geniuses were born and flourished." The head of state noted that at the beginning of the last century, the city on the Dvina River was aptly called the Belarusian Paris: "Despite their external dissimilarity, these cities are very close internally. Their streets and squares are filled with an atmosphere of inspiration that gives wings to artists and gives birth to masterpieces." It was Vitebsk that formed the unique character of the "Slavianski Bazaar", making its main features sincerity, openness, intelligence, and the desire to defend aesthetic ideals, believes the President. "Here, Paris lags behind Vitebsk," added Alexander Lukashenko. "The festival does not break creative personalities, it does not force them into the framework of standards and formats. It recognizes the right to a unique perspective in art, values in any work primarily the originality of the idea, the perfection of form, and the depth of content. And at the same time, it remains true to the great mission of art, which has come down to us from the Renaissance era: to ennoble the human soul, affirm human dignity, and bring beauty and harmony to the world," noted the head of state.