Aleksandr Lukashenko partakes in traditional festival Kupalye
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The Kupalye celebration and the Dnieper River which hosts the festival unite the three Slavonic peoples of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, Belarus’ President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the Kupalye festival on 6 July. The celebration is also called Alexandriya Gathers Friends.
“I would say that this week is the week of our Slavonic nature and spirit, the things which unite us. It is symbolic that the festivities are beginning here, on the bank of the Dnieper River, and in several days will be continued in the center of Europe, in our beautiful and hospitable city of Vitebsk, the host of the Slavonic Bazaar festival. This is a proof that we were right when we decided to gather here on these feast days,” the President said.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, Kupalye is popularly called the celebration of fellow countrymen. “Here meet fellow countrymen from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. I also come here to my native land to meet with fellow countrymen. And I seem to know every inch of this land,” the President said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that because of the busy schedule and a great number of international meetings late June and early July were quite a difficult period for him. “I have been waiting for this day. I knew that I would come to visit my native land. I feel good here. We all need to take care of the place where we were born, where we ran barefoot on the soft grass, where we sledged or skied and went to school. I have traveled the whole world but there is no better than home,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The President of Belarus underlined that Kupalye is a happy and warm celebration of love and hope for love. He wished people not to lose hope and always attain their little and big goals.
The Kupalye celebration was held in a picturesque place on the bank of the Dnieper near the bridge which links not only two villages, Alexandriya and Kopys, but also Mogilev and the Vitebsk Oblasts. This place was chosen on purpose as Dnieper is a cradle of culture of many Slavic nations. Its banks hosted traditional Kupalye festivities, while the river itself was an inalienable part of a huge trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.”
“I would say that this week is the week of our Slavonic nature and spirit, the things which unite us. It is symbolic that the festivities are beginning here, on the bank of the Dnieper River, and in several days will be continued in the center of Europe, in our beautiful and hospitable city of Vitebsk, the host of the Slavonic Bazaar festival. This is a proof that we were right when we decided to gather here on these feast days,” the President said.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, Kupalye is popularly called the celebration of fellow countrymen. “Here meet fellow countrymen from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. I also come here to my native land to meet with fellow countrymen. And I seem to know every inch of this land,” the President said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that because of the busy schedule and a great number of international meetings late June and early July were quite a difficult period for him. “I have been waiting for this day. I knew that I would come to visit my native land. I feel good here. We all need to take care of the place where we were born, where we ran barefoot on the soft grass, where we sledged or skied and went to school. I have traveled the whole world but there is no better than home,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The President of Belarus underlined that Kupalye is a happy and warm celebration of love and hope for love. He wished people not to lose hope and always attain their little and big goals.
The Kupalye celebration was held in a picturesque place on the bank of the Dnieper near the bridge which links not only two villages, Alexandriya and Kopys, but also Mogilev and the Vitebsk Oblasts. This place was chosen on purpose as Dnieper is a cradle of culture of many Slavic nations. Its banks hosted traditional Kupalye festivities, while the river itself was an inalienable part of a huge trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks.”