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Exhibition of photos showing smiling Belarusians opens in Minsk

An exhibition of photos featuring smiling Belarusians has opened at the National Art Museum in Minsk.

The exhibition entitled, "Smiling Belarusians: Famous and Various Ones," was organized by mobile operator Belarusian Telecommunications Network, better known as life:). On June 21, the company launched a contest to pick best photographs.

On display are 50 pictures that have made it into the final. A jury will select three winning works, with the awards ceremony scheduled for September 12, the official closure of the exhibition.

Photographer Anton Matolka, who heads the jury, told BelaPAN that people in Belarus usually do not smile in the street, "but their mood changes as soon as you start talking to them."

"Even foreigners say that the Belarusians are open and smiling people," he said. "They just need to overcome a certain psychological barrier."

Photos:
3 - Museum Director Uladzimir Prakaptsow and the director general of Belarusian Telecommunications Network, Mikhail Dzemchanka
4 (from left to right) - Uladzimir Prakaptsow, Mikhail Dzemchanka and Anton Matolka