By Natalia Bordilovskaya: Ahead of Day of Belarusian Written Language and the 500th anniversary of Belarusian printing, the Museum of the History of Belarusian Literature has prepared a unique gift for Minsk. The original Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania of 1588 was delivered from Mogilev to Minsk. The Statute is a code of laws that formed the basis of the legal system of the Grand Duchy.
The First Statute came into power in 1529 and dealt with civil and criminal issues. The Second Statute of 1566 contained provisions on socio-economic and political matters. The third volume is the most famous, full, and well-known Statute. It was adopted in 1588 and used until the demise of the Duchy.
Five years ago, the Statute was purchased at an international auction with the help of patrons. It was then preserved in Mogilev, which is no coincidence - the legal document was put together and sponsored by the Grand Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and governor of Mogilev Lev Sapega. It was printed in Vilnius, with the financial support from the Mamonich brothers, merchants from Mogilev.
The Statute and five other high-value items from the Mogilev collection will form an exposition The Nation of Books in Minsk. The Great Art of Artillery in German will also be on display. Its author is Kazimir Semenovich - an artillery colonel of the Grand Duchy, a military engineer and theorist of artillery. He is considered one of the founders of world rocket ballistics and astronautics.
The exposition opens on 1 September.












