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Memory, Tradition, and Unity in the Work of Archivists: The Department of Archives and Records Management held the third amateur art competition among RAU employees

Published: May 30, 2025

On May 29, 2025, the final stage of the III amateur art competition among republican archival institutions was held in the assembly hall of the State Educational Institution «Secondary School No.27 of Minsk».

More than 20 representatives from all republican archival institutions took part in the concert.

The third amateur art competition became a significant event for the employees of the republican archives, uniting them not only with their professional duties, but also with creativity. This year it was held under the sign of memory and love – for the Motherland, history, family and art. The solemn performance of the anthem of the Republic of Belarus filled the hall with an atmosphere of unity and respect for national values. A special emphasis in the jubilee year of the 80th anniversary of the Victory was the screening of a video story created by the Embassies of Belarus and Russia in Serbia. The Department of Archives and Records Management took an active part in its production, using unique archival film and photo materials from the funds of the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents.

After that, the host of the event, Head of the Publications Department of the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus Ulyana Anatolyevna Kolobaeva, announced the start of a creative competition. The competition committee, which included the following, carefully assessed the participants’ performances, noting the skill, depth and creativity of each participant: Chairman — Director of the Department of Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus Oleg Leonidovich Voinov, Deputy Chairman — Deputy Director of the Department Alexey Evgenievich Tsvetkov, Secretary of the committee — Leading Referent of the Records Management Department Yulia Anatolyevna Zadiran, Director of the Belarusian State Archive-Museum of Literature and Art — Elena Aleksandrovna Makarenko, Director of the Zonal State Archive in the city of Molodechno — Inna Zenonovna Pudakevich, Deputy Director of the National Archive of the Republic of Belarus — Elena Aleksandrovna Stukanova, Head of the Department of Ancient Acts of the National Historical Archive of Belarus — Oksana Fyodorovna Romankevich. Vladimir Iosifovich Zubrik, Chairman of the Minsk City Organization of the Belarusian Trade Union of Employees of State and Other Institutions, took part in the amateur art competition as an honorary guest.

The audience was immersed in an atmosphere of inspiration, listening to the performance of poems by Robert Rozhdestvensky, Andrei Dementyev, Yulia Drunina. Musical numbers, including «Belarus of May», «Slanechnik», «Forever Yours», as well as a medley of songs based on poems by Rozhdestvensky, Lvovsky, Gin, Lebedev, filled the evening with a sense of patriotism and warmth. Choreographic productions added dynamics to the performances, and well-thought-out props, video sequences and audio accompaniment enhanced the expressiveness of the numbers.

Having completed the competition program, the jury made a difficult decision. In the nomination «Vocal Art», the third place was taken by the archivist of the Belarusian State Archive of Scientific and Technical Documentation Vitaliya Telepneva, the second-degree winner’s diploma was received by the junior researcher of the Belarusian Research Institute of Documentation and Archival Affairs Elena Metelitsa, and the winners were the leading archivist of the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents Nadezhda Petlitskaya with her son Yuri.

In the nomination «Original Genre», the third place was awarded to the head of the digitization sector of the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus Irina Zaychenko, the second place – to the deputy director of the Central Laboratory for Ensuring the Preservation of Documents of the National Archival Fund of the Republic of Belarus Sergei Mezga, and the winners were the chief accountant of the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents Irina Sargan and her daughter Maria.

The Audience Award was won by Polina Kononova, Elizaveta Kononova, Alina Bushkevich and Vladislava Shumskaya, who demonstrated amazing dance skills.

The Director of the Department of Archives and Records Management Oleg Leonidovich Voinov, summing up the results of the competition, noted that today there are no losers – the entire archival industry has won, because everyone put their heart and soul into this event. He emphasized that the level of training of the participants is growing, and expressed gratitude to everyone who took part.

The amateur art competition once again proved that archivists preserve not only documents, but also living memory, traditions and inspirationation. The next competition promises to be even larger in scale, attracting new talents, including from the regions.