Not directors, the others scorch pots

Article by Michael NESTERUK, Published in «Vecherniy Brest» (The Evening Brest) Newspaper,
December 21, 2001

One of these days a local familiar man told a story about an unsuccessful attempt of manufacturing pots in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The story could seem to be quite amusing (there are many eccentricities in our life!) if one does not know how sharp the situation in the National Park became after the appointment of its new director half a year ago. Nickolai Bambiza was not only reputed as a man of stern temper, inclined to shortly shift opponents but he scattered a myth of being a «good economic planner» drew up in the Pripyatski reserve in the past as well. The story about pots has only convinced locals that the time will not be boring with the new director.

Let us start from the moment that a potter was employed at the National Park: the park was supposed to organize its own manufacture of pots. Experts know this kind of business is not so easy because it demands good equipment and the investment of solid start capital. But apart from manufacturing pottery there were many problems in the park. Let us at least remember the ill-starred sawmill. The taxidermy workshop is on its decline although it glorified earlier owing to its products all over the country. The sausage shop works with faults. Those are sources to direct energy and finances to for being supportive! Foreigners are «full» yet of the exotic Slavic products like matrioshka, embroidered towels and clay pots. There is much less demand for such goods than in earlier times. Just how many foreigners do visit the Pushcha? Should each visitor be handed over pots? But was no plan to reject this idea.

Alas, the process lasted so long that people who believed this project to be good at the beginning have become gloomy. After half a year there was an opportunity to buy an electric furnace, needed for scorching pots, as well as to equip a premise somehow. It turned out that the premise available for manufacturing pots was not appropriative, so another premise was adapted adopted. The potter employed to work on the future pot workshop loitered about the park all time, regularly receiving high salary (according to local parameters). The poor devil was obviously racked with comprehension of his own needless necessity. And finally he wrote a letter for dismissal. «Nothing needs to be done here, and half a year period has been lost», he has said with disappointment, taking away documents as the people say. According to rumours, he found a quite good job in Vitebsk city. And locals are glad for him — the boy was not bad. He was not guilty for being unable to make one pot after half a year of working.

It appears that the director has completely lost his interest in the manufactury of pots after the potter left the park. At least, he runs no more conversations on this topic in the park. But he is promises with great reliance to be overly impatient about other manufactures.