Crimes Of Authorities: Which Events In Belarus Were Not Cancelled Due To Pandemic

Similar events have been canceled all over the world.

Because of the coronavirus, many routine events have been canceled or rescheduled around the world. But Belarus, as always, follows its own, special path. And it's not just about the football championship. Exams, mass races, exhibitions, a military parade, draft in the army. Read about the events that will take place in Belarus under a schedule, although they have been canceled or postponed all over the world, in the report of euroradio.fm.

Exams and Centralized Testing

So far, Belarus doesn’t intend to postpone final and entrance exams, as well as students examination sessions in Belarus. Even quarantine is not introduced - schoolchildren will return to classes after spring break, and students must attend classes even now.

Meanwhile, in Russia, the main stage of the unified state exam was postponed from May 25 to June 8. The main stage of exams for ninth grade was postponed from May 22 to June 9.

Ukraine has not yet specified new dates for examinations for admission to higher educational establishments in 2020, which were postponed till summer due to the introduction of quarantine. Before the pandemic, the main session of the external independent evaluation in 11 subjects was planned to take place from May 21 to June 15.

School exams have been moved in many countries. In England, in principle, there is a possibility that the school year will be “nullified." But Scotland is the coolest, where the school exams, which are held in May - June, will be canceled for the first time since 1888!

The military draft will happen anyway

Those who hoped to disengage from the army under the pretext of a pandemic can forget about it. At least the spring draft will be held for sure. According to the press-center of the Ministry of Defense, today the situation allows not changing plans, no major changes are scheduled.

Draftees who are supposed to pay off their debt to homeland this spring will undergo a medical examination according to standard procedures. The press-center of the Ministry of Defense is not yet ready to say whether they will take samples for the coronavirus infection.

Meanwhile, in Russia, conscripts will be tested for the coronavirus. “Only the draftees whose diagnostic test will show negative results will enter the troops,” promised Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The newbies will be quarantined in the military units for two weeks.

In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on transferring spring military draft and dismissal of military servicemen to the reserve from April - June to May - July 2020.

What about the parade?

And those who already serve in the armed forces will take part in the May 9 parade, which the authorities are not going to cancel either. Despite the recommendations of the Ministry of Health on minimizing contacts with other people, the first run has already taken place - March 31. Deputy Minister of Defense Siarhei Patapenka said that the parade was planned to be quite large-scale: a total of more than 3 thousand troops, divided into 22 foot parade crews, will take part in it. Of these, 20 will be from Belarus, one each from Russia and China.

Not everyone wants to go to the parade. The petition for its cancellation on petitions.by has already gained more than 7,000 signatures. Initiators of the petition demand to cancel everything related to the parade, and, on this money, to arrange visits to the elderly to provide them with medicines and necessities, arrange for the purchase of medical supplies for the reorganization of medical facilities, plant greenery in Minsk, and repair the sections of roads which are in the state of emergency. In general, solve many problems at once.

A military parade dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Victory has already been canceled in Kazakhstan. In Moldova, due to COVID-19, all mass events scheduled for May 9 are canceled. And in Cuba, they decided not to hold a parade on the occasion of the Labor Day on May 1.

It's time for the “Bazaar”

You can fall asleep while listing concerts canceled in the world due to the coronavirus. But in Vitsebsk, on March 21, the second stage of ticket sales for the Slavonic Bazaar began. It is planned that Dmitry Malikov, Lolita Milyavskaya, Valery Meladze, Oleg Gazmanov and other Russian pop singers will take part in the festival. It is worth noting that these artists crossed the 50-year milestone, that is, they belong to the category of people who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus infection. Apparently, the organizers are counting only on a positive scenario.

According to the website of the Slavonic Bazaar, Madonna will not come this year.

And yet football?

The matches of the third round of the Belarusian football championship - the one and only on the continent - will be held on April 3-5. The suspension of the championship is not yet discussed.

But, as they say, the rescue of a drowning man is the drowning man's own job. The fans of the Nioman football club from Hrodna announced a boycott of the championship due to a lack of confidence in the official statistics on the spread of the coronavirus infection. The fans of the Salihorsk Shakhtar also decided to stop going to the stadium. And they called on the rest of the fans to follow their example.

And who is hesitating?

Kyiv International Half Marathon is one of five half marathons in the world with the prestigious status of World Athletics Silver Label. It was supposed to be held in the capital of Ukraine on April 4-5, but has been moved to September 19–20.

But the organizers of the Belarusian Bison Race, planned in the sports and fitness complex “Lahoisk” on May 1-3, are more optimistic and are considering three options for the development of events. First, if the problem with the coronavirus is resolved in mid-April, the event will be held on the scheduled dates. If the peak of the problem falls on April-May, then the event will be rescheduled for August. And if the situation is not resolved before the beginning of July, the Bison Race will have to be postponed to October.

Another cancellation in Ukraine is the Motobike 2020 exhibition, which was supposed to be held in Kyiv from April 3 to 5. Apparently, this year, Ukrainian motorists are not destined to look at the news of the season.

In Belarus, a similar exhibition Motoveloexpo-2020 should take place on April 25–26. However, the organizers said that they plan to postpone the event. It will be known for sure after April 6.

The Paris Men's Fashion Week, which was scheduled for June 23–28, 2020, and the High Fashion Week, have been canceled. The organizers of the week of men's fashion in Milan, which was scheduled for June 19–23, decided to postpone the event till autumn, and hold it together with women's shows on September 22–28.

The Europeans who like fashion shows are now forced to wait until better times. What about us? The main events of the Belarus Fashion Week were scheduled for April 20–26. But...

“So far, we have moved everything to May. May 13-17, this period. But we won’t be able to answer you exactly. We will see, observe the situation. We will make a decision in the coming week.

And it’s definitely not about, let’s say, gathering people. We look towards online filming, with a small number of viewers. Because, of course, the situation is alarming,” the Belarus Fashion Week organizers said.

But what did they cancel?

The parade with the participation of a large number of military personnel is allowed, preparations for it are in full swing. But visits to prisoners in prisons have recently been banned “for the prevention of infectious diseases”. By the way, in neighboring Russia, visits of prisoners’ relatives are also temporarily prohibited - and also because of the coronavirus epidemic.