USSR People's Artist: Lukashenko devoted all his life to Fatherland, being guided by interests of Belarus and its people

The Belarusian President has sacrificed his life at the altar of the Fatherland, and this has already been proved by the time over which Aleksandr Lukashenko holds the post of Head of State, and a phenomenon of the kind is truly rare – as noted by People's Artist of the USSR Aleksandr Shilov, an academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation, at the opening of an exhibition of his works at the Palace of Independence in Minsk

Aleksandr Shilov expressed special gratitude to President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko for organising the exhibition at the Palace of Independence, “[I am grateful] to the great President, the great patriot of your country for congratulating me in writing on the star [Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation title] and inviting to hold an exhibition in your great Belarus – for the great, long-suffering (and this is known to the whole world) Belarusian people.”

The artist stressed that his words about the President of Belarus were not a complimentary gesture. Aleksandr Shilov addressed those present telling them how the Belarusian leader had visited his gallery in Moscow, staying there for four hours.

“We talked about everything with him. I can share my observation with you. Very often, when a person holds a high position in the country, there is arrogance, distrust, and so on. Meanwhile, he behaved in the gallery not as a politician, but as a figure of art. It is known that art unites people with naked nerves. If a person's nervous system is asleep, if a heart is insensitive and does not tremble, then there could be no talk of an art. He [Aleksandr Lukashenko] talked to me in a way that there was an impression that he was a man of art. I have not seen such politicians yet. He uses not a diplomatic language when talking to people, but his heart and soul. As the time of his presidency has proven, he has sacrificed all his life at the altar of the Fatherland. His life belongs to your great people and Belarus, and this happens seldom,” the artist said.

The exhibition at the Palace of Independence features over 30 paintings of the master. Among them there are portraits of famous Belarusians: Metropolitan Filaret, cosmonaut Piotr Klimuk, and intelligence officer Aleksei Botyan.

In July, Aleksandr Shilov's works will be presented at the National Art Museum of Belarus.