The years 2018-2020 in Belarus will be marked by the Year of the Small Motherland. The corresponding Decree No. 247 was signed by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, as reported to BELTA by the press service of the Belarusian leader.
The years 2018-2020 in Belarus will be marked by the Year of the Small Motherland. The corresponding Decree No. 247 was signed by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, as reported to BELTA by the press service of the Belarusian leader.
The document has been adopted to stimulate the socio-economic development of regions, foster an active civic stance among the population, and preserve historical, cultural, and spiritual heritage.
The Council of Ministers has been instructed to develop and approve a national programme of events on this theme until 2020, in conjunction with the regional executive committees and the Minsk City Executive Committee, and to ensure the coordination of activities of state bodies and other organisations in the implementation of the said programme.
As BELTA reported, Alexander Lukashenko announced the possibility of extending the timeframe for the Year of the Small Motherland in April of the current year during the republican subbotnik (volunteer work day). "It was my idea (to declare the Year of the Small Motherland. - BELTA's note). There were many assumptions. I thought we should raise this topic. It's not even a year of the small motherland, but a three-year period, because it's unlikely we'll build or create anything there in a year. You can't turn people around immediately. They first need to get used to it, realise it, set some plans for themselves, and somewhere someone also needs to earn money to invest in their small motherland," the Head of State noted. "And then I suggested, let's declare this the Year of the Small Motherland and think about extending it. Therefore, this is just the start."