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International Congress of Slavists kicks off in Minsk

The 15th International Congress of Slavists began in Minsk on August 21, bringing together more than 600 scholars from 35 countries.

Alyaksandr Radzkow, first deputy head of the Presidential Administration, read out a letter of greetings from Alyaksandr Lukashenka, in which the Belarusian leader expressed confidence that the congress would help understand the nature of Slavic culture in the globalized world.

In his opening address, Education Minister Syarhey Maskevich expressed hope that the congress would see a "constructive and stereotype-free dialogue between scholars of the 21st century."

A delegate from Germany, Dr. Thomas Daiber, said in an interview with BelaPAN that it was the first time he had come to Belarus, and that he had a great impression of Minsk.

“All Slavic languages can be used at the congress and that is why we, Slavists, understand each other even if question is asked in one language and an answer is given in another language,” said another delegate from Germany, Svetlana Mengel. “We live in a globalized world and it is very important to preserve smaller languages…. I believe the Belarusian language will soon become the only national language in Belarus.”

Uladzimir Husakow, deputy chairman of the Belarusian National Academy of Sciences who headed the organizing committee for the congress, noted that Belarus was hosting such an event for the first time. “We made thorough preparations for this event, aiming to ensure that Belarus was properly represented, and that all delegates could see that we have a rich historical culture and a rich historical heritage, which we carefully preserve and develop,” he said.

The fact that the congress is taking place in Belarus can be viewed as recognition of the high level of Slavic studies in Belarus and the role of the Belarusian language and literature in common Slavic culture, Dr. Husakow said.

The International Congress of Slavists is held in a Slavic country once in every five years. The first congress was held in 1929 in Prague.