Numerous events dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the birth of Pyotr Mironovich Masherov are taking place these days in all regions of the oblast. On February 13, at 11:00 AM, a flower-laying ceremony will be held at his bust on Zamkovaya Street in Vitebsk.

An experimental watermelon plantation in the northernmost region of Belarus has yielded unexpectedly good results. Harvesting of this exotic crop for the region is in full swing near Vitebsk.

Along with the construction of new educational facilities, of which about 30 are to be commissioned in the region over the five-year period, attention is also paid to the modernization of the material and technical base of existing schools. "When forming the regional budget for 2012, the possibility of allocating at least Br200 billion each to strengthen and develop educational and healthcare facilities is being considered," noted the head of the regional executive committee. At the same time, one of the main problems in the region's education sector is small-sized schools, which account for about 28% of the total number of such institutions. In this regard, it is necessary today to actively engage in the formation of the human resources potential of these educational institutions, where teachers must possess several related academic specialties.

The formation of district election commissions in all regions of the country has been completed and, according to Nikolai Lozovik, was conducted transparently. "All regions have formed district election commissions. Candidates for commission membership were openly discussed and decisions were made," stated the Secretary of the Central Election Commission. He strongly recommended following the same path - by inviting all interested parties, openly and transparently in accordance with electoral legislation, to form precinct election commissions. This stage of the election campaign must be completed no later than August 8 inclusive. Candidates for commission members can be nominated by public associations, parties, work collectives, as well as by citizens through submitting applications.

On August 27, the Investigative Committee Department for the Vitebsk Region initiated a criminal case under Article 145, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Belarus ("Driving a person to suicide or attempted suicide through cruel treatment of the victim or systematic humiliation of their personal dignity"), concerning the suicide of a conscript born in 1990 from a military unit in Vitebsk.

Despite the fact that the storm that swept over Polotsk on October 6 tore off about 300 sq.m of roofing, specialists concluded that a complete replacement of the roof is necessary – this is more than 600 sq.m of roofing.

As a result of the ongoing measures to optimize transport costs, employee numbers, labor productivity growth, fuel and energy resource savings, and reduction of the cost of goods and services in the sectors of the national economy and housing and communal services, the economic effect for 9 months amounted to over Br38 billion.

And that it is truly beneficial for both parties, the gathered were convinced by the figures provided by the First Deputy Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee's Committee for Agriculture and Food, Vladimir Mashero