Historical reenactment fans from Belarus, Russia, China revive nearly 1,000 years of Minsk’s history

As the festival’s artistic director Igor Usenko noted, over 500 reenactors from Belarus, Russia, and China are participating in the event.

“All the reenactors live in their own era in order to convey its spirit and its peculiarities as much as possible. They have prepared replicas of clothing, equipment, and gear – everything to attract spectators and talk about the topic they are interested in. This is why we can say that at such moments history literally comes alive. The festival has been held since 2015, and every year it expands both in terms of participants and spectators,” Igor Usenko said.

At the festival the reenactors will recreate episodes from ten centuries of Minsk – from its first mention in the chronicle of 1067 to the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Moreover, spectators can immerse themselves in those distant times by watching individual scenes of reenactments, hot battles between knights, horseback riders as well as by becoming participants of the festival by shooting a bow, trying on armor, and repeating dance moves. It is for this reason that the festival is interesting not only for adult history buffs, but also for children.

By the way, a separate type of excursion into a particular era is communication with representatives of restorer clubs. For example, Alena Mur (this is her historical pseudonym) is part of the club of Belarusian hussars of 1812. “Our part of the program is equestrian dressage. We have been preparing for it for a long time, constantly gathering for rehearsals. We also demonstrate the equipment of the hussars, which deserves a special mention, as it is a complete replica of the original. This is a very complex, exquisite workmanship of masters primarily due to the large number of parts. The suit is sewn from cloth, the lining is made of linen, and cotton cords woven by hand are used as decoration. This is hours of work by several people,” Alena said.

The hussars also presented unique artifacts of that time at the festival. All of them are stored in the club’s collection, which has been formed over the years of its existence. For example, it includes a real sabretache – a bag that hussars always carried with them. It is sewn from cloth, the trim is made of leather, it has brass fastenings, and the regiment’s logo is placed in the center.

 
At the festival you can also get acquainted with such a rare military unit as the sailors of Napoleon’s Guard. “Back in the day this unit was created by Napoleon for the invasion of Great Britain. But after the invasion did not happen, the sailors were written off to shore and took part in all campaigns on land and performed well, including in the campaign against Russia. In particular, the sailors laid a crossing over the Berezina River, built bridges together with pontooners: they entered the water and held supports for the bridges. Many subsequently died of hypothermia, but at the cost of their lives gave their comrades the opportunity to cross,” Dmitry said.

The unusual uniform of the sailors, household items with a scaled-down model of a ship, and a ship’s bell – all of this can be seen and touched.

Another location is the interactive area Archery Club where you can try your hand at archery under the guidance of experienced athletes who have won numerous competitions.

“We have been coming to the festival with the whole family for several years now. First of all, our daughters have an interesting time here, as many activities are offered for children. Judging by how many people are here, interest in the event is great. Here you can learn a lot of new things from history, have an interesting time, and be part of your city,” said Alina, one of the festival visitors.