VITEBSK, 16 July (BelTA) – Slavianski Bazaar has fitted into the cultural events calendar of many nations, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the opening ceremony of the 30th edition of the International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk on 15 July, BelTA has learned.
“Our festival became the first large-scale cultural event after the collapse of the Soviet Union. When thousands of threads connecting fraternal peoples were torn, no one could even imagine what role was prepared for the Slavianski Bazaar festival. Three decades ago we embarked on our journey “through art to peace and mutual understanding” and we managed to inscribe our festival on the calendar of cultural events of many nations, to bring together like-minded people from more than 70 countries,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The head of state noted that when new Slavic and Eurasian states emerged on the world map, when a new era began in the history of different nations, people who were confused and cut off from each other desperately needed hope that spiritual and fraternal bonds would be retained. This hope was given by Slavianski Bazaar. “It gave everyone confidence in the future, the foundation of which was laid by Soviet traditions of inter-ethnic peace,” the president stressed.
