CALENDAR

DATES. EVENTS. PEOPLE.

On May 18th, 1998, Museum of Modern Fine Art was opened in Minsk. Its collection contains about 2,500 exhibits — works by contemporary Belarusian artists. Classical painting, graphics, sculpture, arts and crafts, photos and posters are presented.
  
 May 18th is International Museum Day. It was established by decision of the 11th General Conference of the International Council of Museumsheld in May 1977. By collecting and storing monuments of material and spiritual culture, museums conduct a great deal of scientific, paedagogical and educational work. They teach us about our past and open our minds to new ideas — two crucial steps in building a better future.


May 19th, 1922, is considered Pioneer Day. The history of the holiday goes back to the distant 1922, when the All-Union Pioneer Organisation was established. In Belarus, the organisation for children, adolescents and adults continues the traditions of the pioneer movement — the public association Belarusian National Pioneer Organisation.


May 20th is World Bee Day. The holiday was established by a resolution of the UN General Assembly in December 2017 in order to highlight the role of these insects in matters of pollination, increasing crop yields and, as a result, food security. May 20th was chosen as the date of celebration in memory of one of the outstanding beekeepers, innovators of this type of activity, the Slovene Anton Janša (1734–1773), considered one of the founders of modern beekeeping.

 
May 20th, 1873, is considered Jeans Birthday. The history of denim goes back over 200 years. More than one generation has grown up in these practical pants. The first jeans were produced in America by a man named Levi Strauss in 1853. They were sturdy canvas pants with double stitched seams and plenty of pockets. On May 20th, 1873, Levi Strauss & Co received a sole license to manufacture trousers with studded pockets. Jeans soon became fashionable clothing for people of all ages and classes.
  
On May 21st, 1908, a Belarusian artist Mikhail Dovgyallo was born. He worked mainly in the genre of landscape. Among his works were: Old Minsk, Botanical Garden in Minsk, Autumn. Golden Maple paintings. He also painted still lifes and portraits. He died 1978. 
  
May 22nd is World Biodiversity Day. It was proclaimed by decision of the 55th session of the UN General Assembly on the day of the adoption of the Convention on Biological Diversity (May 22nd, 1992, Nairobi). The purpose of the holiday is to draw public attention to the problem of the irretrievable disappearance of many representatives of flora and fauna on Earth. Despite intense efforts over the past 20 years, the planet’s biodiversity continues to decline, and the ecological balance is still changing.


On May 22nd, 1856, the State Tretyakov Gallery, the national museum of Russian fine arts of the 10th-21st centuries was opened. On this day, the collector, merchant and textile manufacturer Pavel Tretyakov purchased the first paintings to create a museum of the Russian national school of painting. In 1881 the gallery was opened to the public. And in 1892, Tretyakov brought his collection as a gift to Moscow. At that time, the collection included 1287 paintings, 518 drawings and 9 sculptures. Currently, the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery includes more than 100,000 works of art. 


May 23rd is World Turtle Day — an animal symbolising wisdom, wealth and longevity. This unusual holiday originated at the initiative of American Tortoise Rescue in 2000. The purpose of the holiday was to draw public attention to the problem of the death of numerous turtles due to the proximity to humans.


May 24th is Day of Slavic Writing and Culture in the Republic of Belarus. It is celebrated in honour of the Slavic enlighteners and preachers of Christianity Cyril and Methodius, who gave the Slavic world the Cyrillic script (863) and laid the foundation for Russian and other Slavic literatures.

Open source photos