A gala event was held in the Minsk City Hall to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Belarusian State Archives of Films, Photographs and Sound Recordings
To mark the 80th anniversary of the Belarusian State Archives of Films, Photographs and Sound Recordings a gala event was held in the Minsk City Hall on April 20, 2021.
The Belarusian State Archives of Films, Photographs and Sound Recordings (BGAKFFD) is today the only state repository of retrospective audiovisual information and one of the largest collections of unique film and photo documents in the country. It can rightfully be called the sound and visual chronicle of Belarus.
The Archives holds more than 50,000 items of film documents or 8,000 titles of documentaries, features, animation and educational films, film stories, film almanacs and newsreels; over 7,000 items of video documents, including over 5,000 items of video films, TV programs and TV spots; more than 280,000 items of photographic documents on negatives, on glass, in photo albums; more than 22,000 items of phono documents on gramophone records, magnetic phono recordings, disks. Many of the documents are unique and invaluable testimony to important and significant events in the history of Belarus from the end of the nineteenth century to the present. Their authenticity not only increases the informational value, but also enhances the cognitive principle of our entire archival heritage.
The celebration included the opening of the exhibition “Minsk and Minskers” based on photographic documents from the archives, shown on the stands. The photo documents dedicated to pre-revolutionary Minsk include the most valuable pictures from the collections of J. Balzunkevich, V.I. Kaleda, N.S. Tagrin, M.G. Lukovnikova and O.G. Kukunya, including views of the streets of Minsk, the Governor`s Garden, churches and public buildings. The exhibition is decorated with the props provided by the National Film Studio “Belarusfilm”. Also presented was a richly illustrated book “80 Years of History”, which reflects the main milestones in the establishment of the institution, as well as some of the most valuable photographs stored in the archives.
At the beginning of the celebration, the guests were shown a documentary film “The House Where Time Lives”, which includes newsreels and scenes from the daily work of the archive, interviews with the archive staff. Then, welcoming words and congratulations to the archivists and guests were delivered by representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture, the Department for Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice, Dzerzhinsk District Executive Committee, the Belarusian State University, the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the National Historical Archives of Belarus in Grodno, the Belarusian Research Institute of Records Management and Archival Studies, and many other institutions of culture, science and education. The management of the Russian State Archives of Film and Photo Documents (Krasnogorsk) addressed the audience with a welcoming speech and congratulations in a video message.
The Belarusian State Archives of Films, Photographs and Sound Recordings was awarded the Diploma of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus. The fruitful work of the archive’s staff was honored with awards from ministries, departments and public organizations. Deputy Director Elena Grinevich was awarded the Certificate of Honor of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus. The badge of the Department for Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus “Honorary Archivist of Belarus” was presented to Aleksander Tyukhai.
Below are some photos from the gala event.
