Dazhynki harvest festival in Mosty

Belarusian food products have become not only a brand but also a trend in the world, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a ceremony to honor agricultural workers at the Dazhynki 2024 festival in Mosty on 2 November.

“Sovereign Belarus is standing firmly on its feet. We have changed dramatically and learned a lot. The whole world knows: if you want to buy something tasty and of high quality, look for products labeled “Made in Belarus”. We have managed to maintain high standards of organic products in this technogenic age. They have become both a brand and a trend in the world,” the head of state said.

The head of state noted that he, as a man hailing from the countryside, has a special attitude to Dazhynki because this holiday is kind and true. "It celebrates the result of tremendous work. It is an occasion to show our gratitude to the people that grow bread and that smell of bread," the President stressed.

He noted that Grodno Oblast, as the proverb has it, is small but feisty. This region is one of the leaders of the domestic agricultural industry, a cultural and spiritual center, the keeper of several sites from the UNESCO World Heritage List.

"But all this could not have happened. We remember and know this well. Land and people here have become a bargaining chip in political games many times. I must say that never again will Grodno Oblast and Belarusians who live here (the Belarusian nation - Poles, Jews, Tatars, Ukrainians, Russians) be a bargaining chip for politicians,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. "Back then we did not lose faith, hope, and national identity and reunited in the distant 1939.”

In the 1990s, history almost repeated itself. "There was no work or prospects in the country," the head of state recalled. Food stamps, meager pensions delayed for weeks, or even months. People found themselves in a difficult situation. In the region, they survived due to shuttle trade in vodka and cigarettes to neighboring countries. Against the backdrop of this difficult situation, they again tried to play the card about ‘eastern borderlands’. But in Belarus, we did not allow representatives of one ethnicity to rise above others. You know this well in Grodno."

“In Belarus, we have not allowed to elevate representatives of one nationality over others,” the head of state said. “This is home to our Belarusians, our Ukrainians, our Russians, our Jews, our Poles, our representatives of many other nationalities that are as many as 150 living in the country.”

According to the President, it is for a reason that multinational Grodno hosts the Festival of National Cultures that kicked off in 1996 (the same as Dazhynki). At their national farmstead every host will welcome any guest with cordiality and pride. “It is nice to look at the celebrations you are hosting,” the Belarusian leader said.

“We are all different. Sometimes we are absolutely different. But we are one Belarusian nation, by the right of the land where we live together and where our children will live in the future. We will do everything for this,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.