Pavel Latushka: We Will Live as Long as Our Culture Lives
- Admin of the NAM
- Feb 14
- 3 min read
Updated: 21 hours ago
"I am Belarusian and proud of it. I can open my soul to everyone: Never and nowhere will I renounce The fact that I lived and will live as a Belarusian!"
With these lines from the poem "I am Belarusian" by the famous Belarusian from the Podlasie region, Viktar Shved, Pavel Latushka, Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet and delegate of the Coordination Council, opened his speech during the gala concert of "Belarusian Song — 2026" in Białystok.
The festival and gala concert "Belarusian Song — 2026" were organized by the Belarusian Social and Cultural Association in Poland.
During his speech, Pavel Latushka emphasized that Belarusians have lived in the Podlasie region for centuries and are an integral part of Polish society. He noted it is extremely important that they remember their Heritage: their roots, their home, and where they come from; that they preserve traditions, love for their native land, and their mother language.
The Deputy Head of the Cabinet thanked the Ministry of the Interior and Administration of Poland, the Marshal of the Podlaskie Voivodeship, and the Mayor of Białystok for their support of Belarusian culture in Podlasie, while stating:
"I hope that as soon as possible, the Polish minority in a free Belarus will have the opportunity to develop and preserve its own culture."
Pavel Latushka recalled that he first came here 30 years ago, in the summer of 1996, as a young vice-consul:
"That was when I first visited the holy Mount Grabarka — it was my first trip outside of Białystok. Later, I visited here as an Ambassador and as the Minister of Culture of Belarus, but more importantly, simply as a Belarusian. Thanks to you, I felt the importance of 'Belarusianness' even more deeply. You were and remain an example for me of how one should love the native word and native culture."
Pavel Latushka established a financial award for one of the winners of the XXXIII All-Polish Festival "Belarusian Song — 2026," which was presented to Viktoryja Gac, a talented young woman from Bielsk Podlaski. She won first place at the festival with her original song, "Our History".
On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Belarusian Social and Cultural Association — the oldest organization of the Belarusian minority in Europe — Pavel Latushka expressed sincere gratitude to its representatives for their work in the field of Belarusian heritage:
"For decades, you have preserved our identity and inspired thousands of Belarusians not to forget their native language and culture."
In his welcoming remarks, Pavel Latushka emphasized:
"It is extremely important that Belarusian culture in the Białystok region does not merely remain a memory, but continues to live. It is being passed on to the younger generation, and the Belarusian folklore movement is flourishing, uniting the past with the future.
'The Belarusian has lived and shall live!' wrote the Belarusian bard Yanka Kupala. And we will live as long as our culture lives. I thank you for the fact that Belarusian culture has lived with dignity on Polish soil for centuries and enriches Polish society, filling our hearts with spirituality and warmth."
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