Preparations for the republican "Dozhinki" have begun in Gorodok

About two months ago, the capital of the future festival-fair was officially announced. Next year, it will be Vitebsk's Horadok.

A district center with a population of about 13,000 people. According to official sources, the format of the main celebration may change. The President has instructed the government to submit proposals for a new concept of the festival by the end of the year. But despite possible innovations, hospitality has been and remains the main distinguishing feature of all hosts of the festival land.

— In terms of area, Horadok district is one of the largest in the republic, almost half of its territory is covered by forests, and there are over 100 lakes in the vicinity, — says Vasily Murenkov, Chairman of the Horadok District Executive Committee. — These are pristine places, there is an opportunity to actively provide tourist services and attract foreign investment. It's time to start a new stage of development, and we hope that "Dozhinki" will open it...

Today, this opinion is supported by all residents of the district. Changes have long been brewing in Horadok. As Tatyana Voronko, Deputy Chairman of the District Executive Committee for Economics, explains, the proximity to Russia allows for more active attraction of investors, development of trade, and increase in foreign economic activity indicators. Large enterprises from neighboring Vitebsk are increasingly expressing a desire to open their branches and divisions in Horadok. This has already been done by "Ameli-TD", "Belvest", "Vitebchanka", "Lanateks", and others. There are also optimistic plans for agricultural workers — history shows that good grain harvests, solid volumes of meat and milk can still be obtained from local lands. For example, the foreign enterprise "Detskoselsky-Gorodok" is successfully operating here today, which exported agricultural products worth more than 1.7 million dollars in the first half of the year alone.

Once, the district had over 70,000 hectares of arable land, now there are only 28. There are prospects, but the main thing at the current stage is people, their working and living conditions.

— Even before the official decision on the capital of "Dazhynki-2014" was made, we developed a concept for the development of the central part of the city, — says Svetlana Tasiminskaya, the chief architect of the district. — The specificity of Horadok is that there is a very large share of private development here, narrow streets, poor road quality, which will have to be raised and equipped with drainage in many places. During the discussion of the plan for preparation for the republican festival-fair, it was decided not to limit ourselves to the central microdistricts. The main thing is not a show, but a real improvement of the infrastructure in which we continue to live…

So, even today, if you walk around the city, you can see many road workers, builders, employees of design and survey services. Big changes await the children's park, the central square, the main city square, where the grain growers from all over the country will be hosted. A swimming pool, a ski-roller track on Vorobyovy Gory, a new stadium, and a recreation area on the Gorozhanka River will appear in Horadok. In total, in the district center, it is planned to repair and asphalt over 60 streets and alleys, renovate more than 80 residential and several dozen administrative buildings in the coming months.

In the photo: Svetlana Tasiminskaya, chief architect of the Horadok district, and Andrey Kravtsov, acting director of the capital construction department, have something to discuss.

Elena Begunova, "Respublika"