Lukashenko laid flowers at Memory of Displaced Villages memorial
In Chechersk, the Head of State laid flowers at the Memory of Displaced Villages memorial located at the entrance to the city. The President also talked with local residents.
The memorial complex – unveiled on July 3rd, 2003 – is based on a project of the Belarusian State Transport University students. It is a wooden structure in the form of a town hall on a concrete pedestal. Concrete symbolises the resettled, dead villages, while wood stands for life and development of the remaining settlements. There is also a plaque on the monument with the names of 43 resettled villages.
The district residents presented their gifts to Aleksandr Lukashenko: local honey and an icon of St. George the Victorious. The latter was hand made by craftsman Aleksandr Plistov. The man also collected honey. In response, the President promised him to send honey from his own apiaries, while also telling the story of their origin: bees were handed over to the Head of State through his son Viktor by a woman who had lost her husband. She asked the President to take care of the insects. At present, Aleksandr Lukashenko’s apiary numbers more than a hundred beehives; about 1.5 tonnes of honey are collected annually.
Aleksandr Plistov, from Chechersk, is a former Afghanistan war veteran, he worked as a forensic expert in the police. The man has been engaged in icon making – using complex electroplating techniques – for almost twenty-five years, and he has repeatedly participated in various exhibitions, while the number of his works of art reaches several hundred.
“I have received many orders to make icons. They have been presented to guests, delegations, and Russian governors. I now enjoy an opportunity to present an icon to our President. Openly speaking, I experienced great pride while working over it: that was a great honour for me to create an icon for our country’s leader,” the master said.
It took about a month to make the icon, and Mr. Plistov explained the choice of St. George the Victorious by its symbolism, “I have in my collection the Mother of God, Nicholas the Saviour, various Biblical and battle scenes. Meanwhile, George the Victorious is a man and a symbol of Victory. He is a very appropriate image.”
