BREST, 4 December (BelTA) - A museum featuring a unique collection of bison figurines has opened in Brest to mark the 86th anniversary of the founding of Brest Oblast, BelTA has learned.
Brest Oblast was formed on 4 December 1939. Its flag features a bison, which is one of Belarus’ national symbols. The idea to establish a museum dedicated to the majestic creature first arose in the Brest Oblast Executive Committee five years ago. The first item in the collection was a bison figurine carved from a single piece of linden wood, donated by workers of a Brest souvenir factory. The initiative gained momentum. To date, about 250 exhibits have been collected. Most were gifted to the regional authorities and residents of Brest Oblast by representatives from other parts of the country, foreign delegations, enterprises, and educational institutions. Some figurines were sought out specifically.
The bison figurines are made from a wide variety of materials. The vast majority are crafted from wood - oak, linden, birch, larch, pine, and other species. The exhibition features bisons made of steel, bronze, porcelain and faience, glass, linen and wool, fabric, straw, ceramics, amber, chocolate, and even plasticine. The most miniature exhibit is about 1cm tall.
The collection has been enriched with exclusive figurines made by the talented residents of every city and district in Brest Oblast, using diverse techniques. For instance, a bison by artisans from Luninets is made of bog oak, extracted from the Polesie swamps where it lay for dozens of centuries. Artisans from Luninets District also tackled another difficult material to work with. They transformed a burl (a growth on a birch tree) into a figurine of the protected animal. A master from Stolin District carved a bison sculpture from a wooden block using only an axe. A miniature version of the forest giant was created at the Ivanovo cooperage school. Craftswomen from Malorita District dressed a straw bison in a traditional costume of their district. A particularly adorable plasticine bison was sculpted by a child from Beloozersk for the regional Dazhynki 2025 harvest festival.
The museum is located on the first floor of the Brest Oblast Executive Committee. “This is the first and so far the only bison museum in Belarus. It is designed as a collection display. It features items of decorative and applied art, but all are united by a single theme. Not a single depiction is repeated. Each bison is unique. The sources are handcrafted gifts and items made by industrial methods. In my opinion, the most important feature of this museum is that through the artistic depiction of just the bison, we can speak about the uniqueness of our region - its nature, history, the people who live and work here, preserve traditional culture, and pass it on to the next generations,” Aleksei Mityukov, Director of the Brest Oblast Local History Museum, said.
Over its 86 years, Brest Oblast has experienced various periods and achieved significant results. A substantial contribution to the region’s development was also made this year. “The year 2025 was challenging, interesting, and most importantly, absolutely effective. We managed to add significantly to the economy compared to last year. We are already thinking about our work in 2026. Our ambitions indicate we do not plan to rest on our laurels. Given the high indicators achieved this year, we are setting ourselves the task of working towards certain economic growth,” Brest Oblast Governor Piotr Parkhomchik said.
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