Press releases

MINSK, 7 February (BelTA) – The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) will take part in the exhibition "Napoleon a la Berezina - Mythe et realite" (Napoleon on the Berezina River: Myth and Reality) due in Montereau-Fault-Yonne in the Seine-et-Marne department, France from 9 to 18 February, BelTA learned from the NASB press service.

The exhibition will showcase the results of Belarusian-French archaeological expeditions. In 2012-2017, the NASB Institute of History organized six international Belarusian-French archeological expeditions at the place of Napoleon’s Berezina River crossing in 1812. The archaeologists explored some 4,000 square meters in the village of Studenka and tried to determine the location of 1812-era bridges for the first time ever. In cooperation with the diving club Sea Pegasus and underwater archaeologists from the Free University of Brussels, Belarusian specialists conducted underwater archaeological studies of the Berezina River.

To introduce the French public to the archaeological discoveries, the exhibition in Montereau will feature the exhibits found by the NASB Institute of History and the French Center for Napoleon Studies (Centre d'Etudes Napoleoniennes) at the crossing of the Berezina River by Napoleon (Berezina Project). Apart from the artifacts discovered under the project, the exhibition will also showcase interesting pieces from private collections, which date back to Napoleon’s era: sabers, court swords, pistols, letters signed by the French emperor, and also maps, engravings, paintings, and reproductions. Historical re-enactors will also recreate a bivouac of Napoleon’s soldiers.

The NASB Center for Belarusian Culture, Language and Literature Research will present an exhibition of national Belarusian costumes. The exhibition is also meant to search for new partners to promote Belarus-France scientific cooperation.