by Islander on April 9, 2008
I tried to start writing this post couple of times and every time I ended up looking at the blinking cursor and unable to collect my thoughts. Sometimes pictures can tell the story better than words and this is why we simply put here WWII military photos made by German soldiers in Belarus during the [...]
by Islander on June 10, 2006
Quiet honestly, I like “What If…” discussions. A week ago, I was talking with friend of mine about an impact of Allied Forces on the outcome of the WWII. Inevitably for such topic, we came to “What if” scenarios with one major question: What if the United States did not enter the WWII? I can’t [...]
by Islander on May 3, 2006
A little bit of a “blast from the Belarus’ past…” Picked it up from newspaper archives… Minsk. White Russia. August 17 (Delayed.)—After many months of terrorization under Bolshevist rule Minsk is beginning to resume normal life again. Groups are conversing on street corners and in doorways of houses breathing the atmosphere of relief and in [...]
by Islander on April 13, 2006
“Claims on White Russia…” This is a title of a letter sent to The New York Times and published by the paper on July 4, 1920. By reading it, the very first questions should be: who pretends on it? to whom it belongs? Moreover, these questions bundled together with the title present you with a [...]
by Islander on April 11, 2006
Living in New York for short time I have already witnessed so many parades that probably, I could have written a reference titled “Annual parades held in NY”. For example, Puerto Rican, Irish, Turkish, and Chinese…All these parades have their unique history, backgrounds and purposes. Generally speaking, they are all aimed to show their cultural [...]
by Islander on April 10, 2006
Earlier on, we attempted to show how many various interpretations exist regarding the Belarusian nationality . Anuszka mentioned in her comment: “So, who was Mickiewicz?? Polish, Lithuanian, or Belarussian?”. Because he was born in Belarus, wrote poems in Polish, and his most famous poem begins with: “Lithuania, my homeland!”. And indeed, so much confusion and [...]
by Islander on February 25, 2006
It all started in a pretty much calm and neutral manner: “Officials of the United Nations are seeking revision of their year-old arrangement to take over 912 apartments in two housing developments now built by the Metropolitan and the New York Life Insurance companies… And Byron Price, Assistant Secretary General, in charge of housing for [...]
by Islander on February 25, 2006
More than 50 years ago, a Soviet Party leader, Nikita Khruchev, publicly critiqued Stalin. Many of those who attended the conference remembered “death-like” silence that covered the conference hall. It was February 25, 1956. That day, delegates of the XX Party Session were unexpectedly called up for a closed meeting. When Khruchev went on a [...]
by Islander on January 10, 2006
On September 20, 1946, the doors leading to the President’s oval-shaped office still were closed when 10:30 arrived. Five minutes more passed …10…15…Finally, the doors opened, and the reporters surged in. Mr. Truman was at his desk, attired in a blue suit, red tie and a red handkerchief peeping from his breast pocket. He showed [...]
by Islander on December 21, 2005
On November 5, 1979, Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran and captured American hostages. This moment is well-known, documented and discussed by many, but what is less known or rather forgotten is that 16 days after it, on November 20, 1979, Islamic students stormed the U.S. embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. What started as [...]