Picture Spread The Forestry Workers' Day in Belovezhskaya Pushcha 2009

Picture Spread: The Forestry Workers' Day in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, 2009

On September 20, 2009, the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park hosted festivities held on the occasion of the Forestry Workers' Day. In accordance with local tradition, the celebration took place on the "Czar's Glade" located five kilometers away from the park's administrative center. The event brought together Belovezhskaya Pushcha managers and employees, inhabitants of local villages and their relatives, officials from the presidential property management department, district authorities, and special invitees. A festive meeting which began at 11 AM addressed the results of the national park's activities and preparations for the 600th anniversary of Belovezhskaya Pushcha's protection. Top employees and labor veterans were presented with honorary letters and valuable gifts. The ceremony was followed by a concert by the National Orchestra of Belarus conducted by Mikhail Finberg, the Radunitsa traditional music group, the national park's own Pushchanskiya Muzyki vocal band and an orchestra featuring top instrumentalists from the nation's border control service. The festivities closed with sports and entertainment events for participants and guests.

Below are pictures supplied with short comments. Please note that these only show the festive gathering and the current appearance of the "Czar's Glade".

A general view of the glade, with the place for festive events on the left, and the place for sports events, on the right and in the middle.

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(The glade as seen on September 20, 2009)

The amphitheater and spectators' seats prior to the beginning of the festive gathering.


(The amphitheater and spectators' seats)

An entertainment ground, tents and tables made from oak trunks sawed in half are located in the other part of the glade.


(The ground and tables)

More tables and benches are installed among the trees surrounding the glade.


(The tables and branches in the forest)

The stumps of dried-up, and therefore felled, trees have been cut close to the ground to prevent them from spoiling the view.


(The cut-down stumps)

A shopping street.


(A shopping street)

Stalls were delivered to the glade in advance.


(Mobile stalls as seen on September 15, 2009)

Fish specialties were cooked on the spot.

A place where a lottery would be held.

A mobile power supply and a tent.

The orchestra featuring top instrumentalists from the nation's border control service gave a performance before the beginning of the festive gathering.

At 11 AM, Aleksandr Sharinda, deputy director for ideology, announcing the opening of the event, reads out the program and invites the presidium to take their seats.

(Aleksandr Sharinda)

The festive gathering opens with a performance by the Belarusian state anthem.

The deputy chief of the presidential property management department, Aleksandr Romanovsky, addresses the attendees on the occasion of the Forestry Workers' Day.

(Aleksandr Romanovsky)

Aleksandr Romanovsky presents honorary letters to the top employees of the national park as listed in an order issued by his department. These are Nikolai Voitikhovsky, the park's security chief; Sergei Dyagel, head of the legal and human resource department; Natalya Andreichuk, the national park manager's secretary; and Lyudmila Grechanik, director of the nature museum (pictured below left to right).

The invited officials made their speeches. Some of these officials can be seen in the photographs below, pictured left to right: Kamenets District Chief Executive Andrei Pisarik; Edvard Tarnovsky, head of the Svisloch District council; MP Nikolai Andreichuk; and Belolvezhskaya Pushcha's retired chief forester, Georgy Antonchik, who resides in Kamenyuki.

The top employees also received honorary letters from the Brest Oblast Labor Union. The shot below shows Irina Trutnikova, head of the Kamenets District union committee, presenting the award to forester Aleksandr Trofimuk.

(Aleksandr Trofimuk)

This was followed by a speech by the national park's general director, Nikolai Bambiza.

(Nikolai Bambiza)

Many employees of the national park received expressions of gratitude and money prizes. Labor veterans who dedicated many years of their work lives to Belovezhskaya Pushcha received valuable gifts.