MOSCOW, 2 September (BelTA) – This year the Republic of Belarus was awarded the status of the guest of honor at the 23rd Moscow International Book Fair. The status does not only mean the privilege to represent the country’s book publishing on a large scale. It also means considerable obligations including the preparation of a series of exhibition events. Judging by the first two days of the fair, the Belarusian delegation coped with the task perfectly well: the national pavillion was crowded with visitors.
The Day of Belarus officially opened with a news briefing “Publishing and Printing Industry of the Republic of Belarus: Development Prospects.” Deputy Information Minister Lilia Ananich said that almost six new books accounted for every citizen of Belarus in 2009. There are five state-run publishing houses and 850 printing agencies of other forms of ownership in Belarus.
Lilia Ananich noted that the Belarusian government supports the art of national writers, the publishing of socially important books. Belarus has created a system of national textbooks, she noted. The printing industry has been expanding. Its capacities are actively used by Russian publishers.
The National Book Chamber of Belarus and the Russian Book Chamber signed an agreement on information exchange. According to Director of the Book Chamber of Belarus Yelena Ivanova, the organizations possess huge information and reference resources that are of a mutual interest for both of them.
The official part of the fair was followed by a series of book presentations. The audience was particularly interested in the presentation of facsimile editions of the spiritual and education project of Belarus – the Slutsk Gospel and the Polotsk Gospel and the album of the Radziwill family portraits.
Taking part in presentations and signing sessions were Belarusian writers Nikolai Cherginets, Natalia Golubeva, Raisa Borovikova and calligraphers Pavel Semchenko and Gennady Matsura. Specialists from Belarusian took part in round sessions dedicated to the reading traditions in Belarus.
Apart from that, the guests of the Belarusian pavilion were offered to take part in a master class of Belarusian folk crafts, a soiree dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Great Victory, a virtual trip to the Belarus of the 21st century, a competition “Belarus: as Russians see it”, and try traditional foods offered by the “Encyclopedia of Belarusian Cuisine”.
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