Press releases

14 Jun 2026

1995: The turning point when Slavianski Bazaar received presidential patronage

Photo from the archive of the Vitebsk culture center

VITEBSK, 14 June (BelTA) - The president’s support, a new status, the longest gala concert, a beauty contest… How remarkable was the 4th edition of the International Arts Festival Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk, which took place in Vitebsk on 18-23 July 1995, BelTA has learned.

The 4th edition of the festival marked an event that determined the future of the cultural event. In 1995, the festival was attended by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who announced from the stage of the Summer Amphitheater at the opening concert that from then on the Slavianski Bazaar would be held under his patronage. The status of the forum also changed as it received the name “International Arts Festival”. The honorary badge of the festival was established that same year. Its first recipients were the Belarusian leader and Professor Armando Moreno, the president and founder of the International Federation of Festival Organizations.

The lime-up of the Slavianski Bazaar opening concert featured Oleg Gazmanov, Yadviga Poplavskaya and Aleksandr Tikhanovich, Anatoly Yarmolenko and Syabry band and artistic companies and young performers from Belgrade, Vitebsk, Kiev, Minsk, Moscow, Pskov, Saratov, Smolensk, Sofia, and Chernigov.

The 4th International Arts Festival Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk included about 100 events, with the Summer Amphitheater hosting 11 concerts. That year, Slavianski Bazaar drew approximately 3,000 guests and participants. Among the 21 flags that adorned the area near the Summer Amphitheater, the flags of Cyprus, the Netherlands, Greece, Sweden, and Uzbekistan were hoisted for the first time.

The Miss Slavyanka 1995 international beauty pageant debited that year. The foremost beauties from Belarus, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and other countries took the stage at the KIM Cultural and Business Center (now the Vitebsk Concert Hall) on 21 July. The winner’s crown went to a Belarusian.

Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, the founding countries of the festival, fielded not two but three contestants each for the song contest. Representing Belarus were young artists from Novopolotsk, Vitebsk, and Minsk. An interesting fact: the drawing of lots at the Yakub Kolas Belarusian State Academic Theater (now the Yakub Kolas National Academic Drama Theater) that determined that running order, the contestants chose ornately decorated sheaves in which numbers were hidden. The Grand Prix was won by Filip Žmaher of Yugoslavia.

On 20 July, the Summer Amphitheater hosted the gala concert of the festival's children's program featuring children from Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Russia, and other countries. This show was the longest as it lasted 3.5 hours.

The Art Museum presented an exhibition dedicated to the 140th anniversary of Yudel Pen, and the Regional Museum of Local Lore presented an exposition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Great Victory. At the railway station, Ukraine presented an exhibition of applied arts in a display carriage. For the first time, festival guests visited an international flower exhibition.

The highlight of the festival’s film program was Nikita Mikhalkov's film Burnt by the Sun which won an Oscar in 1995. There was a crowd at the cinema entrance, with people looking for any extra tickets available.

Among the distinguished guests of the festival was American actor Lane Davies, who played the role of Mason Capwell in the TV show Santa Barbara. Crowds of adoring fans followed him in pursuit of an autograph.

The best-selling item at the summer festival was ice cream. On average, guests consumed 13 tonnes of ice cream per day.

The official closing ceremony of the Slavianski Bazaar festival saw the release of 2,000 balloons and a six-minute fireworks display.