MINSK, 16 May (BelTA) – Chingiz Aitmatov's book The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years translated into the Belarusian language has been presented in Minsk at the House of Friendship, BelTA has learnt.
Belarus Information Minister Alexander Karlyukevich noted that culture and literature always serve as a bridge connecting countries and nations. “Maybe, over 30 years ago, when Mikhas Streltsov worked on the translation of this novel into Belarusian, people would never think that the novel will be published again. I think, it is due to the longevity of the very novel and the longevity of the translation made by the Belarusian poet and novelist that Chingiz Aitmatov's novel in Belarusian came out again,” he said.
According to the minister, Chingiz Aitmatov is one of those writers who immediately caught the attention of Belarusian translators. The first translations into the Belarusian language came out in the 1960s-early 1970s. “This is a testimony to similarity of our cultures and our national literatures,” he underlined.
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kyrgyzstan to Belarus Kubanychbek Omuraliev noted that this publication of the novel is particularly gratifying as it is timed to the 90th anniversary of Chingiz Aitmatov's birth and 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. “Chingiz Aitmatov expressed his views on today and tomorrow. He brought totally new ways of thinking to literature and put the highest moral values at the core of human existence. A testimony to his great talent is the novel The Day Lasts More than a Hundred Years,” Kubanychbek Omuraliev said.
Chingiz Aitmatov's book in Belarusian was presented at the 47th edition of the London Book Fair. One copy was donated to the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum in London, another one to the Chingiz Aitmatov Academy in London.
