Kochanova on nationwide subbotnik: cleanliness is Belarus’ brand

Cleanliness is the brand of our country. We don’t just have a beautiful country, we have a lot of greenery, we plant forests every year and hold clean-up events. This is absolutely correct, and this is what we are proud of – as noted by Chairperson of the Council of the Republic Natalya Kochanova in the Park of the 40th October Revolution Anniversary, where members of the Presidium of the Council of the Republic, employees of the secretariat and members of the Youth Council (Parliament) planted trees, cleared the area of foliage and restored the green area after winter

“Geographically, we are assigned to Minsk’s Leninsky District, and when we are given a certain area for work, we eagerly agree,” Natalya Kochanova said. “Working together on such a wonderful day is great; this brings the labour team together. We are always proud of the cleanliness of our streets, parks, and squares, but often people don’t think about how hard work it is. This is the daily hard work of workers of housing and communal services, enterprises, organisations. We must appreciate it so that Belarus always remains so beautiful and well-kept. Anyone who takes part in the nationwide subbotnik today, will not throw away anything and will try to preserve the beautiful nature that exists in our country, the cleanliness and comfortableness of our streets. Moreover, people often bring their children to such voluntary labour days, which means that the tradition will be passed on from generation to generation. This is really great!”

For example, secretariat employee Nikolai Sivtsev takes part in the subbotnik for the second year in a row together with his ten-year-old son Stepan. The boy said that he and his dad planted two maples last year, and today he already sees the results of their work, “The trees have taken root well,” Stepan shared. “A nightingale and many turtle doves – which are rare in Minsk – were seen near our trees. I enjoy taking part in the subbotnik because it’s an opportunity to be close to nature. All trees produce oxygen from carbon dioxide. If we have more trees, the air will be cleaner and people will get sick less.”

Mikhail Rusy, the Chairman of the Standing Commission on Legislation and State Building of the Council of the Republic, believes that taking part in the nationwide subbotnik is a holiday for all Belarusians, “The Head of State has preserved this tradition because people honour it. When people come to subbotniks as adults, they always remember their childhood, when they cleaned up courtyards, schools, fenced pastures, poured concrete, and planted a lot of trees. Then everyone can return in one year or five years and see the results of their work: a blossoming flowerbed, or a grown tree, or an entire building. For example, we worked on the site of the National Library, the Minsk Arena complex, the Museum of the Great Patriotic War History. Even if a person poured half a cubic metre of concrete, they made their contribution to creating the future for subsequent generations. This must be honoured, and the tradition of subbotniks must be passed on to our younger generations. This is a kind of patriotic impulse of our people.”