«Winter Fun» (photographic documents from the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents dedicated to winter sports, holidays, and entertainment)

Although winter is a cold time of year with snowstorms, snowdrifts on the roads, thaws, and icy conditions, for many it is a joyful and exciting time of year. It is in winter that we celebrate Christmas and New Year, and on clear, frosty days, you can have fun and healthy fun: ice skating, sledding, skiing, snowboarding, ATV riding, playing hockey, and having a snowball fight.

A promotional video for the «Winter Fun» exhibition has been posted on the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents YouTube channel.

Currently, the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents contains a vast collection of audiovisual documents related to this topic. These photographs, dating from the 1930s to the present day, capture carolers in Western Belarus, and then to this day, New Year’s celebrations since the 1940s, all types of winter sports, as well as folk festivals and winter entertainment.

The archive’s photo library includes images taken during the «Our Children» campaign and the «Golden Puck» national hockey tournament for the Prizes of the President of the Republic of Belarus. All these stories have found their way into documentary films, such as the newsreels «Savetskaya Belarus», «Naviny Dnya», «Sparty’ny Aglyad», and «Piyaner Belarusi»; the documentaries «Kraski Belorussii» (1971) and «Isloch in Winter» (1988); the video programs «Almanakh Puteshestviy» (Passage Almanac), «Kola Chasu» (Time’s Sight), and «Isnast’« (Isnast’); and the weekly news programs «Kontury» (Contours) and «Nedelya» (Weekly).

Winter is a season of contradictions. It’s cold, there’s little light, and you have to dress warmly and feel the cold. But at the same time, we associate winter with fairy tales—New Year and Christmas, Maslenitsa (Maslenitsa), gifts, snowy slopes, skiing, skating, and snowboarding, and, most importantly, the anticipation of spring!

1. 0-000911 Skiers of the primary organization of the Voluntary Society for Assistance to the Army (DOSARM) of communications workers of the city of Mozyr under the leadership of the chairman V.S.Karasik on a hike 1950, Polesia region, TsGAKFD USSR

2. 0-009929 Hockey players from the Dzerzhinsky collective farm in the Lyubcha district during training 1953, Baranovichi region. Photo library from the editorial office of the Fizkulturnik Belorussii newspaper, V. Gundarin

3. 0-033822 Member of the advanced flax-growing unit of the collective farm im. Stalina L.P. Ulitskaya, geography teacher of the Brusnyanskaya seven-year school of the Myadel district V.G. Sukhodolets on a ski trip December 18, 1955, Molodechno region, BelTA Photo Chronicle, A.Gorelchik

4. 0-048845 On an ice slide for sledding in the MTZ workers’ settlement December 27, 1957, Minsk, BelTA Photo Chronicle, A.Gorelchik

5. 0-035716 Pupils of Minsk Boarding School No.1 during a snowball fight 1960, Minsk, BelOKS Photo Chronicle, Ch.Mezin

6. 0-098426 Minsk «walruses» during training 1966, Minsk, Photo Library APN, Yu.Ivanov

7. 0-089931 General view of the Snezhinka skating rink in the microdistrict of the Baranovichi Cotton Mill named after the Lenin Komsomol of Belarus February 18, 1971, Brest Region, BelTA Photo Chronicle, E. Kobyak

8. 1-016898 Members of the VIA Pesnyary during a sleigh ride with three horses in the town of Mstislav 1988, Mogilev Region, Collector E.Koktysh

9. E025940 Festive procession of Father Frosts and Snow Maidens on F. Skaryna Avenue in Minsk December 28, 2003, Minsk, BelTA Photo Chronicle, V.Tolochko

10. E032100 Vacationers ride down the hill at the Yakutskie Gory active recreation park in the village of Yakuty, Dzerzhinsky District. January 2004, Minsk Region, BelTA Photo Chronicle, G.Zhinkov

11. E032032 Snowboarding at the Raubichi Republican Winter Sports Olympic Training Center. January 2004, Minsk Region, BelTA Photo Chronicle, G.Zhinkov

12. E076096 Snowboarders during a rest on the slope of the Republican Unitary Enterprise «Silichi Republican Ski Center» in Logoisk District. December 2008, Minsk Region, BelTA Photo Chronicle, G.Zhinkov

13. E092911 Belarusian freestyle skier, two-time Olympic medalist. Acrobatics games, Honored Master of Sports of the Republic of Belarus D.V. Dashinsky during preparation for the World Freestyle Skiing Championships in Inawashiro (Japan), on the territory of the Republican Olympic Training Center for Winter Sports «Raubichi» February 19, 2009, Minsk Region, BelTA Photo Chronicle, G.Semenov

14. E096799 During the opening of the Republican hockey tournament «Golden Puck» for the prizes of the President of the Republic of Belarus at the Sports Palace in Minsk; In the center – First Deputy Minister of Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Belarus V.V.Aleshkevich December 21, 2009, Minsk, BelTA Photo Chronicle, G. Semenov

15. E100365 Round dance around a sheaf of carols during the ritual holiday «Pull the Carol to the Oak» in the village of Noviny, Berezina District January 21, 2010, Minsk Region, BelTA Photo Chronicle, N.Ablozhey

16. E060653 Participants in the winter-spring motorcycle race «Buralom-2013», which took place on the territory of the hunting complex of the State Forestry Institution «Ivyevsky Forestry» 2013, Grodno Region, Photo Library of the Editorial Office of the «Ivyevsky Kray» Newspaper, S.Zenkevich

17. E075442 Sports competitions during the Maslenitsa holiday in Shklov February 2018, Mogilev region, Photo library of the editorial office of the newspaper «Udarny Front», N.Kazebrodskaya

18. E091895 During the final stage of the republican competition among children and teenagers in biathlon «Snow Sniper» for the prizes of the Presidential Sports Club at the Republican Center for Olympic Training in Winter Sports «Raubichi» in the Minsk region February 14, 2021, Minsk region, Photo library of the editorial office of the newspaper «Znamya Yunosti», V.Pivovarchyk