Anton Trafimovich • 10 Reasons to Visit Belarus
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HOLLYWOOD AND ISRAEL MOTHERLAND
While Belarus has only been independent for about twenty two years, this land gave
birth to five presidents, with three of them being the first presidents of their newborn
states. Just two of them are Belarusians. The first is the current and the only president
Belarus has ever had, Lukashenka. Another Belarusian, Mikalaj Sudziloŭski was the first
president of the Hawaii State Senate in 1903. A number of presidents and prime ministers
born in Belarus were among the first leaders of the State of Israel. The thing is that the
Jewish were dominating in a majority of Belarusian towns before WWII. Some prominent
Belarusian Jews include Chaim Weizmman from the town of Motal in southern
Belarus, who became the first President of Israel. Two more presidents and three
prime ministers of Israel were also born in Belarus. Also, many Hollywood names
such as Louis Mayer (MGM cinema studio co-founder), David Sarnoff (a father of
television in the U.S.) and Larry King (famous anchor) have Belarusian-Jewish roots.
Each time you go shopping at Marks AND Spencer you should
also keep in mind that it was started by Michael Marks, a
Jewish guy from the town of Slonim, Belarus, who moved
to the UK to start his business.
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THE LONGEST-SERVING PRESIDENT OF
EUROPE
Aliaksand Lukashenka came to power in 1994 and is still the only
president modern Belarus has ever known. Some of you were just
born when he started ruling. I would need the whole article to
explain how this happened, but the fact is that Lukashenka remains
the longest president in power in Europe. No one knows how much
support he actually has. Officially, he receives around 80 percent of
the vote every time there is a presidential election, but a huge group
- mostly students, the business community and Western-oriented
people - oppose the regime of Lukashenka. More than ten years
ago, Lukashenka was referred to as the last dictator of Europe by the
US Secretary of State, a moniker that sticks today. So if you want to
check-in at the only recognized dictatorship in Europe, please, you
are very welcome here!
10
March 2015