Monument to King Mindoug to appear in Navagrudak in 2010 (photo)

A monument to the first king of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Mindoug was expected to be unveiled in the center of the city of Navagrudak in early October this year, but the function has been postponed for 2010 due to the lack of funds. Vyachaslau Laurashchuk, the leading specialist at the culture department of the Navahrudak District Council, said local businesses and citizens from across the country have been donating money for the monument. But when Euroradio tried to donote money for the Mindoug's monument, Belarusbank officials said that the bank account advertised by the authorities in Navagrudak did not exist.

Vyachaslau Laurashchuk: “This cannot be true! A bank account was opened and money has been coming in, slowly though. Unfortunately, funds have not been raised yet, because the funding from the government is limited”.

The Ministry of Culture has scheduled the unveiling of the monument for 2010 but no exact date has been approved.

The monument is authored by Henadz Buralki, a former chairman of the Union of Artists.

King Mindoug is one of the most prominent figures in the history of Belarus. He becamed the first king of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and paved the way for uniting all the Belarusian lands. Mindoug made Navahrudak the capital of the then biggest country in Europe.