Press releases

MINSK, 16 June (BelTA) – A unique facsimile edition, Francisk Skorina’s Book Legacy, will be showcased at the opening of the Business and Cultural Center of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the Russian Federation on 16 June, BelTA learnt from the National Library of Belarus.

Another project of the National Library of Belarus at the opening of the center will be a photo exhibition about the library. The presentation of the facsimile edition and the photo exhibition will be among the first events hosted by the new Business and Cultural Center of the Belarusian embassy in Russia. The center will make an efficient platform to popularize Belarusian cultural and spiritual heritage, advance science, develop Belarusian business abroad, present the economic and investment potential of Belarus.

The guests of the center will see the first five restored volumes from the full collection of works of Francisk Skorina, the Belarusian that laid the groundwork for book printing in Eastern Europe. The publication of the facsimile edition of all 25 books made by Francisk Skorina in Prague (1517-1519) and Vilnius (1522-1525) is a unique cultural project of the National Library of Belarus and the Bank BelVEB which is to be completed by 2017. The collection is based on electronic copies of the most survived books of the first Belarusian book printer that are kept in the libraries and museums of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Germany and other countries.

“Francisk Skorina belonged not only to the Belarusian culture. The first printer made a huge contribution to the development of the entire European culture,” Culture Minister of Belarus Boris Svetlov said.

The reissued masterpieces contain the translation of Francisk Skorina’s introductions and afterwords in the contemporary Belarusian, Russian and English languages.

The photo exhibition, National Library of Belarus, will present the business, public and scientific circles of Russia, creative intelligentsia and the mainstream audience the main library of Belarus, a large-scale multi-purpose center that includes high technology and the country’s best traditions, ultramodern design and comfort. The library was built in the form of a diamond symbolizing the value of knowledge kept in the library in 2006. The library is a calling card of Belarus. Due to its unusual architectural concept, the Belarusian “diamond” has made it into various ratings of the most amazing and unusual buildings in the world. The photo exhibition will feature the National Library of Belarus in its best 25 photos. The photo collection was created by six famous Belarusian photographers: Anatoly Dribas, Alexander Zhernosek, Loliy Makedonsky, Sergei Plytkevich, Viktor Suglob and Valery Kharchenko. The photo exhibition has been showcased in France, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Sweden.