Lukashenko: Dazhynki is a truly people’s holiday, as there will be no song without bread
President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko has taken part in a solemn ceremony honouring agricultural workers at the Dazhynki-2024 festival-fair in Mikashevichi, Brest Region
Speaking at the celebration, the Head of State recalled the difficult times when the tradition was born, “More than a quarter of a century ago, the first republican Dazhynki holiday in the history of sovereign Belarus was held here, in Polesie. It was in 1996, and the times then were very difficult. The economy experienced a collapse, not to mention the rural areas: villages became impoverished. We did not know what to do, where to go. Our older generation probably remembers that we were literally on the edge of the precipice. We had two options: either to fight for the right to live on our land freely and with dignity, or to end up in the abyss and die.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko admitted that it was very difficult for him, but people's support was a help, “We did not go to pieces: we stood our ground!”
According to the Head of State, money for fuel, seeds and fertilisers – so that farms could sow and harvest – was collected bit by bit then. “No matter how pathetic it may sound, it was the villager who saved the country then. We held our first Dazhynki to glorify the man of labour. Our festival became a hymn to village workers and their hard work,” the President emphasised.
Aleksandr Lukashenko believes it is not surprising that Dazhynki has turned into a holiday for the whole country over the years. “It is truly a people’s holiday, because without bread there will be no songs. There will be nothing. Life has proved that we have chosen the absolutely right strategy: food security is a priority of our state policy,” he stressed.
