CALENDAR

DATES. EVENTS. PEOPLE.

December 17th is the Day of Belarusian Cinema in the Republic of Belarus. It was established by Presidential Decree in 1994. On December 17th, 1924, the State Administration for Cinematography and Photography — Belgoskino — was founded. In 1926, Belarusian viewers saw the first domestic ‘action movie’: Forest Truth by Yuri Tarich, based on Mikhas Charot’s Swineherd. More than 500 feature films, as well as several thousand documentaries and about 100 cartoons have been created at the Belarusfilm Studio. The largest film forum in Belarus, which takes place in November for a week in Minsk, is the Listapad International Film Festival.


On December 18th, 1941, the first serial T-34 tank emerged from the gates of the Ural Carriage Works, which was the biggest vehicle in the history of tank building and, without exaggeration, the best medium tank of WWII. In some countries, for example, in Yemen, it is still in service today.


December 18th is International Migrants Day, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly on December 4th, 2000, on the recommendation of ECOSOC. On December 18th, 1990, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families was adopted.


On December 19th, 1906, Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982) was born — General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1966-1982), Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (1960-1964, 1977-1982), Marshal of the Soviet Union and four times Hero of the Soviet Union. During the years when Brezhnev was in top leadership positions, a policy of detente began, the USSR participated in the so-called Helsinki Process and Soviet-American agreements on the limitation of strategic offensive arms were concluded. At the same time, negative processes in the economy, social and spiritual spheres of life were growing in the country. Under Brezhnev, Soviet troops were sent to Czechoslovakia (1968) and Afghanistan (1979).


On December 20th, 2001, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus has put into circulation ‘The Tower of Kamenets’ commemorative coins from the Architectural Monuments of Belarus series: a silver coin with denomination of Br20 and a copper-nickel coin with denomination of Br1.


December 20th is the Day of Employees of State Security Bodies in the Republic of Belarus. These people ensure state and national security, protecting vital interests of citizens, society and the state, as well as national values and way of life from a wide range of external and internal threats.


On December 21st, 1896, Konstantin Rokossovsky (1896-1968) was born — Soviet military leader and commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union and twice Hero of the Soviet Union. In the history of the Great Patriotic War, the name of Rokossovsky remained not only due to the fact that he brilliantly carried out many offensive operations, but also because on June 24th, 1945, he commanded the Victory Parade in Moscow. He took part in the battles in Belarus during the Great Patriotic War and commanded a mechanised corps, an army on the Western Front and the troops of the Bryansk, Don, Central, 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts. He was awarded the highest military order of the USSR: the Order of Victory.


December 21st, 1966, the Soviet Union launched a space rocket with the ‘Luna-13’ automatic station on board. On December 24th, the station made a soft landing on the lunar surface.


On December 21st, 1991, the independent states of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine signed the Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on equal terms.


December 22nd is Power Engineers’ Day in the Republic of Belarus — a professional holiday for all industrial workers, covering the generation, transmission and sale of electricity and heat to consumers. 


Open source photos