Our President book presented in Shklov in unique atmosphere: personal yet nationwide

On May 13th, the Shklov House of Culture hosted a special unveiling. Our President bestseller — a book about the man who changed the country, was presented in the place where his path began. The event brought together not only the authors, but those who knew and worked alongside the President personally. Thus, the presentation is a warm and touching conversation, filled with a lot of memories and an open dialogue.

A large queue of those wishing to buy a book about their most famous compatriot lined up in the hall. Many of those who came to the presentation with the authors filled the friendly meeting with their memories of the country's leader. The guests found themselves discussing not just the documentary-biographical essay — Our President, but something personal yet nationwide. There were no empty seats in the audience hall — the President's compatriots simply could not miss such an event, it is a personal matter for them.

“Good morning to the President’s compatriots!” the President’s Press Secretary, Natalya Eismont, began the story of the book’s creation. She admitted that the venue for the latest bestseller launch was chosen based on numerous invitations from the Shklov residents.

“This is a special unveiling, a special meeting. We're here not to speak, but to listen. We want to hear emotions, impressions and memories. The President teaches us to identify the essence of the moment. We all know that in this very place, in his small homeland, the President is different: with special feelings, a special attitude to his land and his compatriots. We may say that the book originated here, just as the formation of an independent state originated here as well. Our President recollects with special warmth not only this land, but also the people he met on his way, his teachers and colleagues. One of the most frequent questions of our readers is: ‘And what's next?’ We hope that by hearing our President’s compatriots speak today, we as authors will come closer to the answer to this question,” the President’s Press Secretary noted.

During the creation of this special edition the authors knew it would turn heads... but nobody predicted it would break the shelves! The additional circulation of 10,000 copies is almost sold out.

Chairman of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee Anatoly Isachenko admitted that the book reflects not only the life path of the President, but the path of development of the whole state. Anatoly Isachenko noted that since 2000 he had been the director of the Gorodets collective farm, which was headed by Aleksandr Lukashenko before he was elected President.

“Everyone knows that the President is strict but always fair. Throughout his life, the Head of State has demonstrated a respectful, yet demanding, attitude towards people. Over the years we can see the rightness of his words that the presidents aren't made — they're born. A distinctive feature is the interest in all sectors: agriculture, social, sports — with an emphasis on the government serving the people,” he added.

Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Honoured Scientist of Belarus, Prof. Aleksandr Radkov believes such an interest among the readers to the Our President book was sparked by the fact that in single fate Belarusians trace the 30-year history of the formation and development of an independent state.

“It’s crucial to realise the role of a person in history. The personal qualities of the President are a strong will and responsibility when making decisions. He is a deep thinker, with a high intellect, thanks to those facts Belarus worked its way from economic difficulties in the 1990s to today's achievements in various sectors. We have strived to give evidence-based information of our President's formation. One of the most valuable feedbacks from the readers is that the book turned out to be truthful. The land of Shklov is a place of power for our President. Once I saw Aleksandr Grigorievich [Lukashenko] standing on the bank of the Dnieper River in Alexandria [agro-town]. He looked at this land with silence for half an hour straight. Today, Belarus is independent and respected all over the world thanks to the love of the country’s leader for his land and his people,” the Professor stated.

One of the authors of the book, Aleksandr Karlyukevich, said that at one of the numerous presentations, a reader asked how the book reflected the self-identification of the Belarusian people through the President’s fate.

“We suggested referring to the President's quote about Alexandria, about our roots, about Motherland, about the land where we grow up and begin our life journey. Yet this very identification was formed not through the pseudo-political interests, but with the understanding of responsibility for the native land and its people. Lukashenko is a global-scale leader capable of delivering decisive messages from any podium,” the author stated.

The participants of the meeting shared their impressions about the book and their memories of the President from the audience hall. Gennady Lavrenkov was at one time President’s Aide – Inspector for the Mogilev Region.

“I met Aleksandr Grigorievich during the New Year's transition from 1972 to 1973. A friend of mine was getting married, so we went to Alexandria to pick up his lady and ended up staying overnight at the President’s mother’s house. That’s the place we met. But actually, we've walked life's path together since 1980. You have to read the book, get a sense of it. As my friend says, I have reread it three times, marked and underlined everything. The strength of our President is that what he promises, he does. I remember when we were heading somewhere and he voiced his intention to become the first President. All the way there I tried to persuade him that it was a great challenge to be nominated in the current situation. But he had a principle: who else but me? When he takes the first step, consider it done! Our President has never given any reason to doubt that he is a strong leader. The turbulent situation in the world has made people think about their true values,” he noted.

Vasily Isakov, who ran the Dneprovsky collective farm (now Alexandriyskoye) for 18 years, admitted that the President's compatriots came to this meeting not only to listen, but to speak as well.

“We’ve spent a whole life with him. He grew up, studied, worked — everything on this land. He became the President and has been at the helm of the country for so many years, because he is a down-to-earth man. He is a man of the earth. He is characterised by principle, honesty, fairness to a simple worker. He does not play around. I have known him since 1973, more than for half a century, we lived in the same village. His mother worked as a calf farmer, and I was the manager. Together we renovated our Alexandria. It started with road building, then housing — all this continues today as well. Now the ideological and patriotic education is of special attention, it is important and necessary. The country must have a spiritual core. We must guide young people to value history — especially to understand the sacrifices behind our Great Victory. This is ground zero. First of all, to build the foundation for young people, to develop respect for the values of the past — that is a big deal. Without it, how can we build a future?” Vasily Isakov stated.

From the audience, the President was referred to as ‘our youth President’, ‘our compatriot’, and someone asked to send a personal bow for the peaceful life we have. Vera Kostenko admitted that she reread the book several times and made marginal marks. She was lucky to work with the President in the Shklov District. One of her vivid memories is the soon-to-be President's love for reading, which all her colleagues and relatives knew about.

Marina Sudilovskaya, an employee of Gazovik-Sipakovo agricultural enterprise of Mogilevoblgaz (Shklov District), holds a copy of the book in her hands. She noted that it was captivating to trace the whole life path of the Head of State through the book.

“It was especially captivating to find out what character traits, professional competences have made Aleksandr Grigorievich the leader of the people, to trace this stage of formation. Yes, I knew many facts, elements of biography - where he was born or studied. Therefore, the formation of such a strong personality was the exact thing I was eager to understand,” she added.

Aleksandr Konakhovsky was a chairman of a collective farm in the Shklov District for a quarter of a century (now Govyady-agro agricultural enterprise). He says that he had a chance to meet Aleksandr Lukashenko personally.

“When Aleksandr Grigorievich worked in Gorodets collective farm, that's when we crossed paths on work. I wish to say: it is the right thing that he has preserved our agriculture, which today shows such results. This is our food security and prosperity we're talking about. All in all, the people stand firm for our President: he is the leader who preserved peace. This is the kind of person who should be at the helm of the state in the present-day situation - strong, determined and responsible,” Aleksandr Konakhovsky noted.

In 1987, when Aleksandr Lukashenko was in charge of the Gorodets collective farm in Shklov, Grigory Krupenko was the secretary of the Komsomol organisation of the neighbouring Spartak collective farm, now he is the chairman of the Fashchevka village council.

“I remember meeting him once, Aleksandr Grigorievich said: ‘There will be a road here’. Yes, indeed, the asphalt appeared. A man of his word — he said, he did. The things I like about our President is his correctness and open-mindedness. You can see that he is trying not for himself, but for all of us, for the people. No wonder that the Our President book is so popular. Many people are interested in managerial decisions that allowed him to build a strong state. We have what truly counts - peace, prosperity and harmony,” Grigory Krupenko stated.

Victoria Kostevich, the supervisor of the pre-school child development centre in the agro-town of Alexandria, stood in a long queue for the book.

“Aleksandr Grigorievich is our compatriot and it is a great pride for us. The book will help to remember his biography and fill in some gaps. Thanks to the President we live in peace and harmony — I am confident in my child's future. I’m proud of my country: it is so cosy, beautiful and tolerant. When my Russian relatives come to visit me, they envy that we live in such a country. Our President played a critical role in this. We are all masters, but we need to be guided. He sees and knows more, looks further — as a ‘Batka’ [Belarusians’ affectionate nickname for Aleksandr Lukashenko, meaning ‘father’ in the Belarusian language], who leads the Belarusian family,” she felt sympathetic after she got the book in her hands.

Aleksandr Konovalov is glad that he managed to buy a copy of the book. This is our history, the head of the Noviy Byt farm said with emotion.

“When I was invited to the presentation, even though I was swamped with work, I agreed to the meeting with great pleasure. The book highlights the most important moments that will be relevant for many years to come — the President's managerial decisions that influenced the future of the country. I believe that this is a desk book on our modern history. Years will pass and we will admire the things we had and have. Even without large amounts of natural resources and other values, other countries still envy us,” he emphasised.

Aleksandr Konovalov attended the meetings with the President when the issues of the agro-industrial complex functioning and the direction of agriculture development were considered. The farmer does not understand the criticism of the President for the excessive support for agriculture.

“Although I am a farmer and work on private land, at the meetings I always supported the President's approach that all land should be state-owned. This is a very wise decision. At the time there were more than nine dozen farmers in the Shklov District — today there are thirty. But at that time I could vouch for only a few of them, those who worked effectively. The rest, I'll call — minute people, who came to take from the state and put into their pockets what does not belong to them — and that is all wrong. The approach of supporting agricultural enterprises is right because when everything is in state hands, it will work. Today we cover our own needs and also earn from exports,” he noted.

Vyacheslav Melnikov, the Head of the Shklov District gas supply, met with the President in person.

“I have crossed paths with him more than once in my line of work. I have been working since 1983, I started as a young specialist at the building materials plant. At the plant, Aleksandr Grigorievich was the deputy director for supplies. Then he went to work in agriculture. I was already working in the district Komsomol committee as a second secretary, and he was the deputy director, let's say, the head of the party committee. The truth they say: that the presidents are born, not made. He always had the makings that over time he has developed and multiplied, of course, he grew. How many times we crossed our path, yet he is only a positive example for me. A man who defends his point of view on any subject and any situation: both within the community and on the international stage,” Vyacheslav Melnikov noted.

Vyacheslav Melnikov managed to thumb through a book, “His speeches are quoted — they really correspond to what they say. ‘Batka’ commands respect, he is a man with a capital letter. I am proud of our President. He is our compatriot, whom we know well. We, the residents of the district, know, remember and are always happy to see and hear of him on our land.”

The meeting lasted for two hours, followed by autographs, talks with the authors and requests to give the President a personal bow for a peaceful and prosperous Belarus. The Shklov residents either jokingly or seriously meant that the name of the book — Our President, had a special meaning for them.