Press releases

TVER OBLAST, 18 April, (BelTA) – Russia’s Tver Oblast will continue working on preserving the memory of the renowned Belarusian and Soviet artist Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya, Chairperson of the Culture Committee of Russia’s Tver Oblast Irina Repina told the media, BelTA has learned.

As is known, in 1912 Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya bought a plot of land on the shores of Lake Udomlya in Tver Province and had the dacha called Chaika built there to his own design. Isaac Levitan often worked here and did his famous painting “Over eternal peace”. The dacha was visited by many artists of the time: Konstantin Korovin, Alexei Stepanov, Abram Arkhipov. Feodor Chaliapin, Olga Knipper-Chekhova also spent some time in Byalynitsky-Birulya’s house.

Irina Repina said that the dacha Chaika had completely dilapidated by 2013. But with the financial assistance of the regional administration it was fully restored within two years. “The house was rebuilt almost from scratch. The foundation and all the external part were reconstructed,” she said.

According to Irina Repina, this year Tver Oblast together with the World Bank intend to implement a project to improve the cultural heritage site. “There are plans to create architectural landscape elements, gazebos, to build a road. We are actively working to make this site a comfortable and interesting place to visit for a wide range of tourists,” she pointed out.

Belarusian and Russian journalists have come to Tver Oblast for the expert and media tour “The dacha Chaika of the artist Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya” organized by the Union State Standing Committee and the Rossiya Segodnya international information agency.

The roundtable meeting “Byalynitsky-Birulya - the cultural and historical phenomenon of the two nations” was held in the dacha Chaika. It was attended by State Secretary of the Union State Grigory Rapota, Director General of Belarus’ National Art Museum Vladimir Prokoptsov, Belarusian and Russian museum professionals.