Photo documentary exhibition «Star Path»

On April 11, 2025, the photo documentary exhibition project «Star Path» opened at the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus. It was prepared by the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus (hereinafter referred to as NARB), the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents, and was timed to coincide with the International Day of Human Space Flight.

After the launch of its first satellite on July 22, 2012, Belarus rightfully received the status of a space power. Our fellow countrymen also successfully paved the way to the stars through thorns.

The first of our compatriots who went to furrow the cosmic expanses was Pyotr Klimuk, a native of the village of Komarovka, Brest Region. As the commander of the Soyuz-13 spacecraft from December 18 to 26, 1973, he participated in an orbital flight, and in total he flew into space three times and spent 78 days there.

Another of our compatriots has also been in space three times – Vladimir Kovalenok (1977, 1978 and 1981), a native of the village of Beloye, Krupsky District, Minsk Region, who was outside the Earth for a total of 216 days, including two hours in outer space. The third Belarusian to have been in space was Oleg Novitsky, a native of the city of Cherven, Minsk Region. He went into space on October 23, 2012, and immediately – as the crew commander. Together with the Belarusian, Russian E. Tarelkin and American K. Ford flew on board the Soyuz TMA-06M spacecraft. Subsequently, our fellow countryman made three more flights to the International Space Station, made three spacewalks with a total duration of 22 hours 38 minutes.

In the spring of 2024, the whole world followed the flight into space of the first Belarusian Marina Vasilevskaya, and watched with amazement as our countrywoman, not being a professional astronaut, confidently and courageously, while smiling charmingly, overcame all the difficulties of space flight and ultimately received a well-deserved high award – Hero of Belarus.

The NARB presented archival documents at the exhibition: the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the BSSR of June 23, 1967 on the ratification of the Treaty on the principles of activities of states in the exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Byelorussian SSR on the signing by the Byelorussian SSR of the Convention on the registration of objects launched into outer space, as well as the Resolution of the Board of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company of the BSSR, the Board of the Ministry of Education of the BSSR, the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the LKSMB, the Board of the Belarusian Society of Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries on holding television meetings of pioneers of schools where the cosmonauts who took part in the longest space flight in the history of mankind studied; periodicals from the newspaper collection, which are timed to coincide with the dates of the flights; photographs of the house-museum of Yuri Gagarin; photos of meetings of cosmonauts with the public, and others.

Leading archivist of NARB, leading researcher of the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus V.G.Mazets introduced the employees of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus with the exhibition of archival documents.

1. Poster of the photo documentary exhibition project «Star Path»

2. Leading archivist of NARB V.G.Mazets introduces the employees of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus with the exhibition of archival documents

3. Documents of NARB at the exhibition

4. Documents of NARB at the exhibition

5. Employees of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus get acquainted with the exhibition of archival documents

6. Archival documents at the exhibition «Star Path»