Our President book presented at Belarus’ National Academy of Sciences
The presentation of the book, Our President, has taken place today at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Belarus. This publication is written by people who have worked with the Head of State for a long time and continue to work with him, which gives special value to their views presented in the book. A team of authors includes Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Honoured Scientist of Belarus. Prof. Aleksandr Radkov, President’s Press Secretary Natalya Eismont, Deputy Head of the Belarus President Administration Vladimir Pertsov, and Head of the Belarus Publishing House, Chairman of the Writers’ Union of Belarus Aleksandr Karlyukevich.
The first presentation of the book, Our President, took place exactly two months ago, and since then the publication has become a real bestseller. The edition is made in the form of a documentary and biographical essay and contains various documents relating to the activities of the Head of State and his life. Readers can get acquainted with texts written by people who know the President well and see documentary series corresponding to certain periods of Belarus’ modern history.
At today’s presentation, Chairman of the NAS Presidium Vladimir Gusakov noted the importance of such a presentation for the scientific community, “The President has played a great role in defending and preserving the National Academy of Sciences in its current form. After his election, the first thing the Head of State did was to come to the Academy of Sciences, listen to scientists, promise and provide support.”
The NAS Head recalled that thanks to the efforts of the President, the Academy of Sciences has implemented a number of large-scale projects, including space projects. It is all the more important for the scientific community to know the book about the President, which, according to him, has become another brand of the country.
Members of the author’s team also addressed the scientific community. According to Mr. Radkov, the authors initially realised that scientific approaches should be present in the work on this book, “We wanted to explore the phenomenon of this personality and the formation of the state under the leadership of Aleksandr Lukashenko in those difficult conditions. That’s why, the book contains both evidence and elements of serious analysis. And even elements of genetics, if you like: the nature that determines leadership qualities, as well as personal abilities to develop them.”
“The book, Our President, is also a scientific study in a certain sense, and maybe even in a direct sense. Because it is an understanding of how a leader is in demand in society, in the state, how such leaders manifest themselves. The Head of State himself said that ‘presidents are not made, presidents are born’, and this is a very profound thought. Each person has a different genetic predisposition. Some have a gift for art, others for construction, science and the earth. And some have leadership qualities, the ability to organise everyone, designers, farmers, scientists, so that they work together for the good of their country, society and family,” Mr. Radkov explained to journalists.
The scientist used the analogy of growing a diamond, “In order for a synthetic diamond to grow (by the way, such technologies are available in Belarus), a germ is needed around which this stone is formed and which cannot be influenced in any way. It is the same in society: people need a core, a leader around whom they can gather and unite. And then they can resist both external enemies and internal hostile forces. This is how it worked out for us: people identified their genetic predisposition, experience, education, and ability to lead by intuition and instinct, and they trusted the President. And, as you can see, for all three decades we have been gaining, our country is respected, we are visible all over the world – mainly because our President is well known and respected.”
Mr. Karlyukevich is convinced that Aleksandr Lukashenko is a personality whose role and place in shaping the geopolitical position of Belarus, in determining the place of Belarus in the world development is unique, “Many historians, political scientists, sociologists will study this. I think that the documentary and biographical essay, the documentary biographical book, Our President, which has reached the reader today, is the beginning of a lot of work in this direction. People are interested in that model, how the authors have built their attitude to the personality of the President and how one can look at what has happened in recent decades.”
The Head of the Belarus Publishing House was pleased to note that representatives of various social groups were interested in the book, “At the 32nd Minsk International Book Fair [held on March 12th-16th], the book was picked up by many elderly people. It was obvious that they were not scientists, not political scientists, but those who – together with Aleksandr Grigorievich Lukashenko – have lived through the last decades: the history of our country. I believe that today many journalists and publicists will turn to understanding the image of the President: not only in the form of newspaper and magazine articles, but also in the form of new books.”
Heads of the NAS scientific organisations and humanities scholars have taken part in the discussion of the book. Before the presentation, the National Academy of Sciences hosted an exhibition from the collection of the Yakub Kolas Central Scientific Library dedicated to the history of Belarusian statehood and the role of the institution of Presidential power in it.
