A monument to master tanner unveiled

Kopyl has got a new tourist attraction: a monument to a leatherworker whose prototype is Tishka Gartny – authored by a well-known Belarusian sculptor, a member of the Belarusian Union of Artists, Pavel Voinitsky   

The sculpture is situated near the Kopyl District Museum of Local Lore – which is not accidental. In was here in the late 19^th-early 20^th centuries that a leather workshop was situated. The future poet and public figure, Tishka Gartny (born Dmitry Zhilunovich), worked there and later published his famous Diary of a Tanner essay.

The Director of the museum, Valentina Shurakova, comments, “Zhilunovich’s life was full of discoveries, victories, mistakes and disappointments. He was excluded from the party, fell into oblivion but then rehabilitated – forever in people’s memory. I’m convinced the memorial to a man of labour, a master tanner – which resembles our countryman Tishka Gartny – will become among the brightest tourist brands of the Kopyl District. The city’s thousand-year history shows that stubborn, kind and, importantly, diligent people live here. They continue strengthening the wealth and unity of our country with their conscientious work. Let this new landmark of ours be a hymn to creative, selfless work for the benefit of our land, its further prosperity and preservation of independence.”