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"After the Fact: Lukashenko’s Decisions"
Half a century ago a landmark event took place in the life of Belarus. At the end of 1968, an exhibition pavilion was opened in Minsk to demonstrate the achievements of the national economy. From the architectural point of view, it was an innovative and ultramodern object, even if it was not fully understood by everyone. But Minsk citizens loved the exhibition center, and for many years it displayed the country’s most important achievements. However, new times brought new challenges. Proposals were made to demolish the pavilion and give the land to investors. This made the Belarusian government start thinking about building a modern exhibition center. However, the issue wouldn't get traction for a very long time. As time has shown, perhaps it was for the best. Recently, we witnessed the opening of the Minsk International Exhibition Center Belexpo. It was this event that Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko called a new chapter in the history of the sovereign country.
Events had to be held at non-core venues that were built for completely different purposes and were not fit as exhibition venues.
In May 2019, the Belarusian president convened a meeting to hear the government's proposals on the matter. At that time, more than 200 exhibition events and fairs were held in the country every year, and the existing facilities were not enough.
The head of state stressed that the organization of exhibition activities is a very important for Belarus, and the country needed a national exhibition center."Any country needs an exhibition center. In the modern world it is impossible to do trade without organizing exhibitions and similar events. An export-oriented country would struggle to develop at all without it. The only requirement is no extravaganza. It should be a functional center designed to host such events. The project should be reasonably cheap. There is no need for extravaganza. Of course, it should look beautiful but this does not mean that we should spend huge money on it. We do not need this. We need to make it simple and beautiful, and of good quality. Prepare a project proposal and submit it to me,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said back then.
How did Minsk decide to build a smart city?
The final decision was not taken at that time, however. But, life put everything in its place. As the saying goes, haste makes waste. A few months after that meeting, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, now President of the United Arab Emirates, paid a visit to Belarus. Some time later, Minsk hosted Mohamed Alabbar, Founder & Managing Director of Emaar Properties, the largest Arab investor. Having studied the opportunities available in our country, he suggested a smart city concept, including a number of landmark objects. As the head of state admitted, the proposal got him interested.
“I got interested in the project not only because there were $5 billion in investment, but because they promised me to develop a smart city, a powerful educational AI platform. There will be a university there, where specialists will be trained,” the president said.
At the opening ceremony of the Minsk International Exhibition Center in May the head of state shared some details: “When they approached me with a request to let them implement a smart city project in Minsk, they did not expect me to agree. They brought me various kinds of designs to get me interested, including the design of an exhibition center. The building design had a complex shape featuring a stork, Belarus and so on. The design was very beautiful. I agreed. They went numb as they did not expect such a decision from me. I asked them to build exactly what they designed. They called designers from all over Europe to work on the project. Just take a look: they did it. I am grateful to them. They put huge money in it.”
Thus, things got going. Later on, many issues had to be resolved, including technical and legal details, the terms of the investment agreement. After all, when it comes to billion-dollar investments, there are no trifles. As the government stated, the investor did not receive any exclusive privileges, but worked on general, quite attractive terms. The president's attitude to this project was the same as to all the others, which is quite fair.
The absence of privileges did not scare the businessman away. He noted that Belarus was on the right path of development and had a good future. He saw a successful country in terms of security and state administration, and he was absolutely happy with the terms. With time, a soaring “stork” rose over a picturesque corner of the Belarusian capital to showcase the richest potential of the Belarusian nation to the world.
How big is the Minsk International Exhibition Center and what is its uniqueness?
Viktoria Agafonova, Deputy Director for Exhibition Activities at BelExpo, stressed that the Minsk International Exhibition Center is first of all a tool to meet the national interests through the event industry.
“With this facility, the country gets infrastructure that corresponds to the most modern trends in the development of congress and exhibition activities. Now we will be able to host large, important, key international events: congresses, conferences, exhibitions. This means investments, technologies, and competences will be coming to the country, and the tourist numbers to Belarus will be growing,” she said.
The Minsk International Exhibition Center was built to replace the exhibition pavilion demolished some time back and also the currently operating exhibition venue popularly called a “daisy”. The total area of those facilities was less than 10,000 m2. The new center occupies 37,000 m2.
Inside, under the wings of the “stork”, there are two large exhibition halls 14 meters high. This is about the height of an average five-story building. The total weight of the roof load-bearing structures alone is more than 3,500 tonnes.
“Impressions are overwhelming, since Belarus has long been in need of a modern, new exhibition center that would meet all international requirements for holding events of various formats. The impressions are simply grandiose. I have a great hope that we will succeed,” Yelena Golovina, head of the scientific-industrial projects sector at Belexpo, said.
Initially, the project was estimated at €30 million. However, the amount of investment considerably increased in the course of the project implementation. Foreign specialists designed the exhibition center, and Belarusians built it. Only in some cases did the builders resort to foreign colleagues for help.
For example, Belarusian manufacturers have never implemented some engineering solutions before, like a truss of more than 60 meters long without a central support. But they have learned to do it. Aleksandr Lukashenko has always emphasized that it is not enough to attract investments. One should constantly learn the best practices and adopt new competences. According to the president, this is the only way to make progress.
“Many technical solutions here are in line with the latest trends, and some are unique. For example, this exhibition space is bay- and column-free. The width of the exhibition halls is more than 60 meters without columns. The Kazan-Expo center, which is also one of the most advanced in the Russian Federation, has columns in the center of the exhibition halls. Here the absence of columns is achieved through special trusses manufactured in Belarus. We also use portable exhibition partitions that allow rapid space transformations for various events. A particularly interesting feature is the multifunctional retractable seating system for 1,886 seats, which can turn the exhibition hall into an event venue accommodating nearly 2,000 people in just a few minutes,” the Belexpo deputy director said.
In a new episode of BelTA’s YouTube channel “After The Fact: Lukashenko’s Decisions” we will tell you why Belarus needed a large-scale exhibition complex. How did the country get it and in return for what? What remark did Aleksandr Lukashenko address to the government during the Belexpo inauguration ceremony? How did the Belarusian president paraphrase Pushkin and why it is definitely not worth calling Belarus “a backwater of a country” and speculating about its future or the prospects of being incorporated into another country? 
Why did Belarus need a new exhibition center?
The opening of the Minsk International Exhibition Center was indeed a long-awaited event. After the famous Belexpo building on Yanka Kupala Street was demolished in 2017, there were practically no spacious exhibition grounds left in the Belarusian capital.
The exhibition pavilion at 27 Yanka Kupala Street was one of the most famous places in Minsk. For decades, it hosted industry exhibitions, book fairs, pet industry expos, cultural events, fairs by Belarusian and foreign manufacturers. A lot of different events. It was a key platform for demonstration and presentation of Belarusian goods,” said Yelena Golovina, head of the scientific-industrial projects sector at Belexpo.
According to her, despite the fact that the pavilion was very relevant and in demand, over time it began to struggle with organizational difficulties. There was not enough space. We had to build temporary pavilions next to each other, which was not very comfortable for our participants. The outdoor exposition did not always accommodate a large volume of equipment. There was not enough parking space. There was only one conference hall in the pavilion for the business program,” she said.
Why did Belarus need a new exhibition center?
The opening of the Minsk International Exhibition Center was indeed a long-awaited event. After the famous Belexpo building on Yanka Kupala Street was demolished in 2017, there were practically no spacious exhibition grounds left in the Belarusian capital.
The exhibition pavilion at 27 Yanka Kupala Street was one of the most famous places in Minsk. For decades, it hosted industry exhibitions, book fairs, pet industry expos, cultural events, fairs by Belarusian and foreign manufacturers. A lot of different events. It was a key platform for demonstration and presentation of Belarusian goods,” said Yelena Golovina, head of the scientific-industrial projects sector at Belexpo.
According to her, despite the fact that the pavilion was very relevant and in demand, over time it began to struggle with organizational difficulties. There was not enough space. We had to build temporary pavilions next to each other, which was not very comfortable for our participants. The outdoor exposition did not always accommodate a large volume of equipment. There was not enough parking space. There was only one conference hall in the pavilion for the business program,” she said.
Events had to be held at non-core venues that were built for completely different purposes and were not fit as exhibition venues.
In May 2019, the Belarusian president convened a meeting to hear the government's proposals on the matter. At that time, more than 200 exhibition events and fairs were held in the country every year, and the existing facilities were not enough.
The head of state stressed that the organization of exhibition activities is a very important for Belarus, and the country needed a national exhibition center."Any country needs an exhibition center. In the modern world it is impossible to do trade without organizing exhibitions and similar events. An export-oriented country would struggle to develop at all without it. The only requirement is no extravaganza. It should be a functional center designed to host such events. The project should be reasonably cheap. There is no need for extravaganza. Of course, it should look beautiful but this does not mean that we should spend huge money on it. We do not need this. We need to make it simple and beautiful, and of good quality. Prepare a project proposal and submit it to me,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said back then.
How did Minsk decide to build a smart city?
The final decision was not taken at that time, however. But, life put everything in its place. As the saying goes, haste makes waste. A few months after that meeting, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, now President of the United Arab Emirates, paid a visit to Belarus. Some time later, Minsk hosted Mohamed Alabbar, Founder & Managing Director of Emaar Properties, the largest Arab investor. Having studied the opportunities available in our country, he suggested a smart city concept, including a number of landmark objects. As the head of state admitted, the proposal got him interested.
“I got interested in the project not only because there were $5 billion in investment, but because they promised me to develop a smart city, a powerful educational AI platform. There will be a university there, where specialists will be trained,” the president said.
At the opening ceremony of the Minsk International Exhibition Center in May the head of state shared some details: “When they approached me with a request to let them implement a smart city project in Minsk, they did not expect me to agree. They brought me various kinds of designs to get me interested, including the design of an exhibition center. The building design had a complex shape featuring a stork, Belarus and so on. The design was very beautiful. I agreed. They went numb as they did not expect such a decision from me. I asked them to build exactly what they designed. They called designers from all over Europe to work on the project. Just take a look: they did it. I am grateful to them. They put huge money in it.”
Thus, things got going. Later on, many issues had to be resolved, including technical and legal details, the terms of the investment agreement. After all, when it comes to billion-dollar investments, there are no trifles. As the government stated, the investor did not receive any exclusive privileges, but worked on general, quite attractive terms. The president's attitude to this project was the same as to all the others, which is quite fair.
The absence of privileges did not scare the businessman away. He noted that Belarus was on the right path of development and had a good future. He saw a successful country in terms of security and state administration, and he was absolutely happy with the terms. With time, a soaring “stork” rose over a picturesque corner of the Belarusian capital to showcase the richest potential of the Belarusian nation to the world.
How big is the Minsk International Exhibition Center and what is its uniqueness?
Viktoria Agafonova, Deputy Director for Exhibition Activities at BelExpo, stressed that the Minsk International Exhibition Center is first of all a tool to meet the national interests through the event industry.
“With this facility, the country gets infrastructure that corresponds to the most modern trends in the development of congress and exhibition activities. Now we will be able to host large, important, key international events: congresses, conferences, exhibitions. This means investments, technologies, and competences will be coming to the country, and the tourist numbers to Belarus will be growing,” she said.
The Minsk International Exhibition Center was built to replace the exhibition pavilion demolished some time back and also the currently operating exhibition venue popularly called a “daisy”. The total area of those facilities was less than 10,000 m2. The new center occupies 37,000 m2.
Inside, under the wings of the “stork”, there are two large exhibition halls 14 meters high. This is about the height of an average five-story building. The total weight of the roof load-bearing structures alone is more than 3,500 tonnes.
“Impressions are overwhelming, since Belarus has long been in need of a modern, new exhibition center that would meet all international requirements for holding events of various formats. The impressions are simply grandiose. I have a great hope that we will succeed,” Yelena Golovina, head of the scientific-industrial projects sector at Belexpo, said.
Initially, the project was estimated at €30 million. However, the amount of investment considerably increased in the course of the project implementation. Foreign specialists designed the exhibition center, and Belarusians built it. Only in some cases did the builders resort to foreign colleagues for help.
For example, Belarusian manufacturers have never implemented some engineering solutions before, like a truss of more than 60 meters long without a central support. But they have learned to do it. Aleksandr Lukashenko has always emphasized that it is not enough to attract investments. One should constantly learn the best practices and adopt new competences. According to the president, this is the only way to make progress.
“Many technical solutions here are in line with the latest trends, and some are unique. For example, this exhibition space is bay- and column-free. The width of the exhibition halls is more than 60 meters without columns. The Kazan-Expo center, which is also one of the most advanced in the Russian Federation, has columns in the center of the exhibition halls. Here the absence of columns is achieved through special trusses manufactured in Belarus. We also use portable exhibition partitions that allow rapid space transformations for various events. A particularly interesting feature is the multifunctional retractable seating system for 1,886 seats, which can turn the exhibition hall into an event venue accommodating nearly 2,000 people in just a few minutes,” the Belexpo deputy director said.
By the way, it was the same with the construction of the nuclear power plant in Belarus. Thanks to close cooperation with Russia, Belarusian specialists acquired the most advanced competencies and experience. Today, their services are in demand in various countries that are building similar facilities.
“This is how we learn the most advanced technologies everywhere. This is the only way to develop, jumping over one, maybe two stages of development. This is the meaning of life. If we do not look to the future, if we do not build objects of the future, we will grow vulnerable, we will be pushed aside by others. And you will be discussing in your kitchens which country we will be a part of tomorrow. We are not going to be a part of anything. We will always be independent. However, to be independent, we must be interesting to those who are next to us. We need to be able to do a lot with our own hands. That was the idea behind this new development,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the opening ceremony of the Minsk International Exhibition Center.
What is the secret behind the popularity of My Belarus exhibition?
Before the official opening of the exhibition center, it hosted the exhibition called as My Belarus. According to organizers, it is the first exhibition to tell Belarusians about themselves. The exhibition displayed all of Belarus' achievements over the past 30 years, including major technological, infrastructure and social developments.
The results speak for themselves: in just one month, the exhibition attracted over 400,000 visitors, nearly a third of them were children. To put this into perspective, it is one and a half times more than the number of visitors to the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Such high visitor numbers are encouraging, as young people sometimes know more about foreign countries than their own. Sometimes they are unaware of what their fellow citizens create with their own hands.
“My Belarus exhibition has demonstrated a genuine desire among Belarusians to learn more about their own country. This is completely natural that people wish to take pride in their family, achievements at work, homeland, and nation. With this new venue, the Minsk International Exhibition Center, Belarus now has the opportunity to showcase its very best. We have already witnessed such an event: My Belarus exhibition, which attracted over 400,000 visitors. We are confident that many more such events are yet to come,” Viktoria Agafonova stressed.
Currently, Belexpo is hosting an exhibition dedicated to the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. It features more than 600 unique exhibits and actively incorporates multimedia technologies. In the near future, the exhibition center is preparing to host major international events.
Why did Lukashenko insist on creating the Belarusian VDNKh?
If everything is so perfect, why did Aleksandr Lukashenko criticize the officials? It turned out that they did not fully grasp the president's instructions. The head of state demanded that the exhibition center host a permanent display showcasing the achievements of sovereign Belarus to make people proud of their country. In other words, the original idea behind the complex was not just to hold temporary exhibitions. While that is also important, the main goal is to highlight the accomplishments of the Belarusian people, according to the head of state.
"When I was a member of parliament, I visited many exhibition centers around the world, in Russia and other countries. I thought that we should have our own center, so that people could come and take pride in their country. They say that children really enjoy themselves here. We will develop this exhibition space. It is good that you saw it. The exhibition shows that we are not some backwater of a country but a smart capable nation. That was the idea,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said earlier this year.
At the opening of the exhibition center, he again recalled the original idea: “My idea was to build this center in order to showcase the best achievements of our country, our sovereign Belarus, the things that we have accomplished ourselves, not as part of the huge country, but ourselves, with our brains and hands. We have conquered space, launched satellites, created the world's largest rock haulers, electric buses, unmanned aerial vehicles and many more. How many of you have seen these? Have you seen an UAV and the world’s largest 400-tonne rock hauler in one place? No one. Does anyone know that these huge rock haulers have turned into electric vehicles? Almost nobody. We should show these accomplishments to Belarusians. We should showcase what we accomplished. Some things are truly unique. On par with world standards.”
Why did Aleksandr Lukashenko rephrase Alexander Pushkin's words during the opening of the exhibition center, and, more importantly, how did he phrase it?
As many may remember, Pushkin wrote: "I have erected myself a monument, not built by hands, the people's path to it shall never be overgrown…" While reflecting on what inscription would be fitting for the new complex, the president emphasized that everything here was created by the hands of the Belarusian people. Thus, he paraphrased it as: "They [the Belarusian people] have erected a monument to themselves. By their own hands. The people's path to it shall never be overgrown.”
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