2. St. Ephrasinia (or Euphrosyne),
Abbess of Polotsk, was named
Predslava in the world, and was
the daughter of Prince George
Vseslavich. From her childhood
she was known for her love of
prayer and book learning. After
turning down a proposal of
marriage, Predslava received
monastic tonsure with the
name . With the blessing of
Bishop Elias of Polotsk, she
began to live near the Sophia Cathedral, where she copied
books.

3. Around 1128, Bishop
Elias entrusted St.
Ephrosinia with the task
of organizing a women’s
monastery. Setting out
for Seltso, the site of the
future monastery, she
took only her holy books.
At the newly constructed
Savior-Transfiguration
Monastery, the saint Sophia Cathedral
taught the girls to copy
books, as well as singing, sewing and other handicrafts.
Through her efforts, a cathedral was built in 1161,
which survives to the present day. St. Ephrosinia also founded a
men’s monastery dedicated to the Mother of God. Patriarch
Luke of Constantinople sent a copy of the wonderworking

4. Ephesus Icon of the Mother of God at her
request. Shortly before her death, St
Ephrosinia journeyed on pilgrimage to the
Holy Places with her nephew, David, and
sister, Eupraxia. Shortly before her death, St
Euphrosyne journeyed on pilgrimage to the
Holy Places with her nephew, David, and
sister, Eupraxia.
After venerating the holy places in
Constantinople, she arrived in Jerusalem,
where at the Russian Monastery of the Most Holy Theotokos
the Lord granted her a peaceful end on May 24, 1173.
In 1187, St. Ephrosinia’s body was transferred to the
Kiev Caves Monastery. In 1910, her relics were transferred to
Polotsk to the monastery she founded.
St. Ephrosinia of Polotsk was glorified in the Russian
Church as a patroness of women’s monasticism.

5. Established in 1120-es by Venerable
Ephrosinia of Polotsk. By her order
architect Ioan erected the Savior
Transfiguration Church, the
masterpiece of Polotsk School of
Architecture. This chirch is the only
building of the XII century in Belarus
with original fresco paintings
preserved. The Savior Transfiguration
Church still houses the Venerable
Ephrosinia of Polotsk monastik cell.
Savoir
Transfiguration
Church
Ephrosinia of Polotsk Ephrosinia of Polotsk
A fresco monastik cell

6. The Cross was made in 1161
by a jeweler from Polotsk, Lazarus
Bogsha, by request of Evfrosinya, the
abbess of Polotsk, and was used as
an ark for keeping christian relics.
The basis is made of cypress
tree, from above and below it is
covered with 21 golden plate with
jewels, ornament and 20 silver plates
covered with gold; the edge of the
Cross's front side is framed with a
thread of pearls.
the Belarusians restored the
Cross of Ephrosinia and placed it in
the Spaso-Ephrosinia Church in 1998.
it has became one of the most sacred Cross of Ephrosinia
things in Belsrus. of Polotsk.

7. The St Ephrosinia the
Savior Orthodox
Nunnery
The St Exaltation of the
Cross Cathedral (on the
front) was built in 1893-
1897 in retrospective
Russian-Byzantine style.
It houses reliquary with relics of St Ephrosinia of Polotsk.
Pilgrims come here every day, crowds gather every year on
June 5th – the Venerable Ephrosinia
of Polotsk Day.
In 2000 the monument to St
Ephrosinia was opened in Polotsk.
There always a lot of flowers by it.
The monument to St
Ephrosinia of Polotsk

9. It is known that Samuel Yemelianovich
Petrovskiy- Sitnianovich was born in 1629 in
Polotsk. In 1656 he became a monk named
Simeon of Polotsk. He wasa teacher, a writer, a
poet and a preacher. His life may be divided
into three periods: his service in
Bogoyavlenskiy Cloister in Polotsk (from 1656
till 1663); his work as a her of the tsar's children in Moscow (from
1664 till 1676) and his enlightening activity after proclamation of
Fedor as a tsar (from 1676 till 1680). Simeon promoted the creation
of higher educational establishments in Russia.
He got his education in Kiev-Mogilyan college. He had a great
interest in his studies and was one of the best students. He liked his
teachers very much and was closely connected with them.

10. He got his education in Kiev-Mogilyan college. He had a great
interest in his studies and was one of the best students. He liked his
teachers very much and was closely connected with them. At that
time the head of the college was Innokentiy Gazel who had a great
influence on Simeon. Gazel taught philosophy and psychology. He
based his lectures on «Composition of the whole philosophy» and
«The treatise about soul». Simeon attended all Gazel's lectures with
great pleasure and considered that the knowledge of psychology he
had received in the college helped him in his work with his pupils.
There was a school theatre in the college. It was based on
the principle of using games in the process of studying. That school
theatre was considered one of the main elements of upbringing.
The teachers thought that recitation developed memory and
imagination, public speech helped to master oratory which was
necessary for an educated man. Simeon of Polotsk highly
appreciated the school theatre and its role in the process of
education and upbringing.

11. When he studied at the Jesuit's Academy in Vilno (1650-
1654) Simeon wrote one of his first plays in the Polish language. He
never missed a chance to use the school theatre in his teaching
activities. In Polotsk he staged his short play «The herdsmen's
talks». He always tried to involve all his pupils, including the tsar's
children, in such performances. At that time Simeon wrote many
plays. He wanted his plays to be «lessons » not only for children but
for their parents as well. No wonder, the main characters of his
plays were young people.
He arrived in Moscow in 1663 when he was 33. He was a
very talented teacher and everyone admitted it. At first, in 1664,
Simeon began to teach some pupils using the textbook of Latin
grammar written by the jesuit Alvaretza from Portugal. In 1665 he
worked in one of the first Greek-Latin schools in Moscow. He didn't
know Greek well, but he knew Latin perfectly well, that's why he
taught the Latin language, grammar, logic, philosophy, rhetoric. In
1667 Simeon was invited as a teacher to the tsar's son Alexey and
then Feodor became his pupil.

12. Later on Simeon supervised the studies of the tsar's daughter Sophia
and her brother Peter (his main teacher was Nikita Zotov). Simeon
was an experienced teacher that's why Alexey knew the Latin
language very well and Fodor was good at writing poems.
Simeon of Polotsk also wrote some textbooks and books for
reading. In 1679 he wrote «The Bukvar» (The Alphabet) for the
seventh birthday of Peter Alexeyevich. In the first lines of «The
Bukvar» which were in the form of a verse he addressed to young
people who wanted to study. That verse was a real hymn to reading.
Simeon considered a book as «a mirror of the soul».
In 1678 Simeon opened a printing-house which was called
Verkhny Moscow's printing-house. He employed a lot of talented
people such as the artist Simon Ushakhov, the engraver Afanasiy
Trukhmenskiy, the writer Silvester Medvedev and others. He
published «The multicoloured Vetrograd» and « Sincere supper».
Simeon of Polotsk died in 1680.

13. In the former residential building of the
Epiphany monastery, between the halls
of the Museum of the Belarusian Book-
printing, there is an another museum –
branch of Polotsk National Historical and
Cultural Museum-Reserve – the
Museum-library of Simeon of Polotsk.
It is decorated in the traditional manner of the interior of a medieval
West-European library: there are two-level wooden bookcases, busts
of scientists and philosophers, a reading room and a globe in the
center of the hall (the biggest in Belarus).
The exposition of the museum
describes different periods of life and
activity of Simeon of Polotsk; it dwells
on the earliest Polotsk period, the
years of studies in Kiev and Wilno and
also his life in Moscow.

14. A special emphasis in the exposition is
laid on literary and publishing activities of
Simeon of Polotsk. The museum showcases
display originals of Simeon’s books: “The
Warder of Power” (1753), “The Testament”
(1680), “The Spiritual Supper” (1683); books
of the 17-18th centuries, copies of his
manuscripts, figured baroque poems. They
also contain contemporary research works
devoted to life and activity of the famous son
of Polotsk. The museum was opened on the
25th of March 1994. The exposition occupies
area of 134 sq. m. 145 museum objects are
displayed there. Besides it holds a part of the
Simeon of Polotsk’s collection of printed editions and
manuscripts and science library fund. There is a
publications reading room with tables for 10
readers.

16. Dr. Skaryna was born into a family of a
wealthy merchant in the old Belarusian city of
Polotsk in 1490. He received elementary
education in his native town. From 1504 till
1506 he studied at Krakow University. He
graduated from the university with the
Bachelor's degree in philosophy and later, in
1512, he successfully passed his examinations
at the university of Padua and got his Doctor's degree in medicine.
He was a true Renaissance man - his intellectual interests embraced
theology, literature, linguistics, poetry, art, law, medicine, botany and
printing. It should be mentioned that he was a very educated man.
He knew the Polish, old Jewish, Greek and Latin languages. He was
the author of a number of admirable Byzantine-rite hymns and
prayers, as well as of the first known examples of Belarusian verse.

17. Scarina began his publishing activity in Prague in 1517. From
1517 till 1519 he published 19 books under the common title «The
Russian Bible». The most important of his achievements was the
translation of the Bible into the Belarusian language and printing it,
first in Prague, and then in Vilno. Skarina's Belarusian Bible was the
second work printed in his native Slavonic language. He wrote little
whilst translating the Bible, but in the fashion of the day he hinted
much, particularly in his superb engravings. Scarina was also skilled in
the art of heraldy. Like other translators at that time, he wanted «to
make knowledge available to people in their own language». He said,
«I vow the Belarusian language will become a language of books, and
not only of speech».
At the beginning of 1520 Scarina went to Vilno where he founded the
first printing-house. In 1522 he published «The Small Travelling
Book» and in 1525 - «The Apostole».
Unfortunately, we know very little about the last years of Scarina's
life. It is only known that in 1530 Scarina was a private secretary and

18. a family doctor of the bishop of Vilno. In 1535 Scarina again went to
Prague where he worked as a Gardener Royal to Ferdinand I
Hapsburg, King of Bohemia and later Holy Roman Emperor. It is
supposed that Scarina died in 1541.
In the centre of Polotsk you can see a
monument to Francisk Scarina. There is
Scarina's square in Minsk and the main street
of the city is named after him. Minsk is the seat
of the international Francisk Scarina Belarusian
Language Society, and the libraries of the city
hold a number of rare volumes of his printed
works.

19. Finally the first Belarusian book printer's sculpture appeared there
where it should be - at the National Library, a new symbol of Minsk
that was opened a bit later in 2006. Francisk Skorina's Monument
was opened on 30 August 2005. At the bottom of this unique building
is a 6 meters bronze and granite monument of Francisk Skorina.
The monument to Francisk Skorina at
the National Library in Minsk

21. Ivan Cherski was born in Svolna, Vitebsk region,
Belarus.
He was a paleontologist (osteologist),
geologist, geographer and explorer of Siberia.
After the death of his father, Dominik
Cherski, a rich landowner, Cherski was brought
up by his mother. He attended the Gymnasium
and the Institute for Gentry in Vilna. After the
outbreak of the Polish insurrection in 1863, Cherski ran away from
school to join a rebel regiment, but shortly afterward became ill and
was captured by the Russians.
For taking part in the insurrection he was sentenced to exile
in a penal army regiment stationed in Siberia. After six years of
service in a battalion at Omsk he was released from the army in
1869; his health was completely ruined and he was severely
neurasthenic.

22. Cherski stayed in Omsk for the
next two years, supporting himself by
giving private lessons. During his period
of forced army service he had devoted all
his free time to the study of science,
especially the natural science. An
Cherski’s House in
engineer named Marchevski and the
Svolna
owner of an extensive library, W.
until 1960s
Kvyatkovski—both of whom were Poles
living in Omsk—helped him in his self–
education, as did the Siberian explorer G.
N. Potanin.
In 1871 Cherski obtained
permission to settle in Irkutsk, where he
was helped by two Polish deportees, the
The Model of House in geologist A. Chekanovski and the
Museum of Cherski in zoologist B. Dybovski.
Volyntsy

23. With their support he gained the
position of custodian of the natural science
collections in the Siberian branch of the
Russian Geographical Society—the only
scientific institution in Siberia. Not long
afterward he began organizing several
expeditions. Another exile of 1863, the
chemist M. Hartung, also took part in
In the Museum of
them. The purposes of these expeditions
Cherski in Volyntsy
were to carry out geological studies, to
make use of fossils and archeological
materials, and to collect zoological
specimens, ethnological observations, and
ethnographical materials. From 1872 on
Cherski published the results of his studies
in the journals of the Russian Geographical
Society; later he published in those of the
Russian Academy of Sciences as well.

24. Within twenty years he presented some eighty articles, bulletins, and
reports drawn from, studies that he had carried out, as well as
several monographs. In 1879 he published a monograph concerning
the remains of Quaternary mammals that he had found in the cave
Nizhnyaya Udinska; and in 1891 a comprehensive paper on the
remains of Quaternary mammals found during the Novosibirsk
expedition of 1885–1886.
Cherski’s geological studies of 1877–1880 dealt with Lake
Baykal; he published the results of these in several papers. A
monograph published in 1886 (with a geological map) synthesizes his
studies on Baykal and included an attempt to explain the origin of
that enigmatic lake.
In spite of the excellent results of his scientific work, for which
he three times received the Gold Medal of the Russian Geological
Society, Cherski was forced to resign from his post in the Siberian
branch. In 1885, through the financial aid of J. Zavisha, a Warsaw
archaeologist, Cherski was able to move to St. Petersburg. In the

25. course of his journey there he made
observations from Baykal to the Urals;
these were published in 1888.
In St. Petersburg, Cherski worked in the
geological museum of the Russian
Academy of Sciences. There he received
extensive scientific observations from
Siberia—for the most part collected by
political deportees—which served him
well in writing his addenda to K. Ritter’s
The Geography of Asia, which appeared
The Memorial plaque in two volumes (1893, 1895) after
on the native land of Cherski’s death. He was also engaged in
I.D. Cherski on railway preparing for publication the diaries from
station in Svolno the expeditions of Czekanowski, as well
as in putting in orders the geological
It’s not far from our collections made during these
school. It’s about 5 km expeditions.

26. This work awakened in him a deep interest in the great Siberian rivers
and a desire to continue the studies if Chekanovski. In the summer of
1891 Cherski therefore began his last expedition to the north. With
his wife, Marfa, and his twelve–year–old son, Alexandr, he traveled on
horseback from Yakutsk to Vierkhniokolymska. The server subarctic
winter brought the party to a halt and only at the end of May 1892
was it possible to travel by boat down the Kolyma River. During this
winter, however, the state of Cherski’s health deteriorated to such an
extent that it became clear that he would be unable to lead the
expedition to its conclusion. He worked on detailed instructions for
his wife on the continuation of his studies and, despite weakness and
exhaustion, continued his observations. On 25 June he had a
hemorrhage and died; he was buried where the Omolon River Flows
into the Kolyma, and his wife led the expedition to its end.
Cherski was responsible for the elucidation of the geology of
Baykal; for the discovery and elaboration of a rich fauna of
Quaternary mammals from Siberia and of Paleolithic occurrences of
geological, man in this region; for the assemblage of valuable

27. zoological, and ethnographical collections; and for the first synthetic
geological cross section of Siberia from Baykal to the Urals. A
mountain chain in the Zabaykalsk region and a range of hills in
northern Yakutia, on the upper course of the Kolyma, bear his name;
Czerski Peak rises from the northwest shore of Lake Baykal, and the
valley of the Kandat River is also named after him.
The bust of Cherski
by A.V.Pekarev

29. Moisey (Marc) Chagall was born into a family of
a poor merchant in Vitebsk in 1887. At the age
of 20 he entered the art school of Ieguda Pen. It
was there where Chagall gained experience and
worked out his unique manner of painting. And
besides the promising young artist inherited
some features of Pen's manner of painting. Chagall's main theme
was: poor people and their mode of life. It should be mentioned
that Pen's art school was the best at that time and young artists had
been dreaming to study there.
After finishing art school Marc Chagall and his friend Victor
Mekler went to study to Petersburg. Chagall studies at the school
headed by N.Rerikh. He was one of the best students.
In 1909 he met Bella (Berta) Rosenfeld, a daughter of rich
jeweller from Vitebsk, and fell in love with her. His love inspired him
to create splendid pictures and it started : bring fame to him.

30. He worked much at that time and was noticed by Maxim Vinaver,
who granted Chagall the scholar ship of 125 francs a month to
continue his studies abroad. Marc went to Paris. A.Akhmatova wrote,
«He took his mag: Vitebsk to Paris ».
In Paris Chagall lived and worked alongside with other young
artists who had come from different contries to master painting. And
we must admit later a lot of them became famous representatives of
the French drawing school. He also got acquainted with P.Picasso,
F.Lezhe and others. In one of his letters Chagall wrote, «In Paris I
neither looked for the addresses of Academies nor craved for
meetings with professors. Generally speaking the city itself taught
me: streets, merchants under the open sky, boys in the cafes,
peasants and workers. There was a wonderful free light above them
all. It helped me to penetrate into the heart of the French painting.»
He visited different exhibitions, museums and spent a lot of time by
shop-windows with pictures.

31. Portrait of Chagall
by Yuri Pen