At the heart of the exhibition are images of Belarusian women. In their eyes, one sees pain and hope, memory and love, resilience and dignity. Each individual life reflects the destiny of the entire people who passed through the fires of war, endured an unimaginable tragedy, stood firm, and ultimately triumphed.
In the work of Svyatoslav Fedorenko, a woman is more than just the subject of a portrait. She is a guardian of national traditions and historical memory, the moral pillar of the family, and a bearer of spiritual values passed down from generation to generation. Her image embodies Belarus – a land of mothers who saw their sons off to the front, awaited the return of their husbands, raised children amidst the ruins, and held fast to a belief in life even when death and despair reigned all around.
Women raised those who rose to defend the Motherland, fought on the front lines of the Great Patriotic War, liberated their native land and Europe from Nazism, and hoisted the banners of Victory. Yet, they themselves performed feats of heroism without ever taking up arms. They did so through the patient, maternal act of waiting, through selfless labor, by saving children, by resisting fear, and by maintaining their human dignity in the face of inhuman ordeals.
This is where the particular depth of the exhibition’s title – "In Her Eyes Lies the Fate of the People". Through these depictions of women, the artist invites us to glimpse the spiritual roots of a nation’s resilience, the continuity between generations, and the power of maternal love that helps one endure even in the most tragic of times.
A special place in the exhibition is held by the canvases "Remember! The Call of Khatyn," "Standard-Bearers of Victory," and "Liberators of Europe." Together, they form a unified artistic narrative in which the tragedy of civilians, the courage of the defenders of the Fatherland, and the triumph of liberation become parts of a shared history.
The painting "Remember! The Call of Khatyn," created by Svyatoslav Fedorenko in 2019, addresses the memory of the burned-down Belarusian village, the thousands of civilians who perished during the war, and the mothers who lost their children. In 2020, the artist donated the work to Memorial Complex “Khatyn”.
Within the walls of the memorial, this work takes on a special resonance. It serves as a reminder not only of the tragedy of the past, but also of our responsibility to uphold historical truth and the need to pass on the memory of those who perished to future generations.
The paintings "Standard-Bearers of Victory" and "Liberators of Europe" continue the discourse on the destiny of a people who endured countless ordeals and successfully defended their right to life, freedom, and a future. Behind the heroic deeds of every soldier lay a love for their native land, a sense of duty instilled within the family, and a readiness to defend their own people.
Portraits of women, the tragedy of Khatyn, and scenes of Victory come together to form a single narrative about the cost of peace, the connection between generations, and the spiritual legacy that a people is duty-bound to preserve.
The exhibition is complemented by landscapes of Belarus. They capture the beauty of the native land, its vastness, tranquility and heartfelt warmth. This is a land that fathers and sons defended, that mothers preserved for future generations, a land that endured destruction and rose to life once more. Here, the landscape becomes more than just a depiction of nature; it serves as a symbol of home, memory, and the continuity of life.
Svyatoslav Fedorenko is a monumental artist and member of the Belarusian Union of Artists; he is a recipient of a grant from the Special Fund of the President of the Republic of Belarus for the Social Support of Talented Youth (1999) and was awarded Belarusian Union of Artists’ medal "For Merits in Fine Arts" (2004).
The artist works in the genres of thematic composition, portraiture, and landscape. His pieces are distinguished by profound psychological depth, expressive use of color, and a focus on the inner world of the individual. In his work, he strives not merely to capture an external likeness, but to reveal the subject’s character, spiritual strength, personal experiences, and connection to the history of his native land.
Teaching holds a special place in Svyatoslav Fedorenko’s life. His father was his first painting teacher. Later, the artist spent 39 years teaching at Ivan Akhremchik Minsk State Gymnasium-College of Arts, where he passed on professional expertise, a love for art, and a respect for cultural heritage to the younger generation.
Works by Svyatoslav Fedorenko are kept in the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, the Museum of Modern Fine Art, the collection of Belarusian Union of Artists, and various regional art museums, as well as in private collections in Belarus and abroad, including Russia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Ghana, Iraq, Slovakia, Bulgaria and the United States.
In this Year of the Belarusian Woman, the exhibition "In Her Eyes Lies the Fate of the People" takes on a special resonance. It serves as a reminder that the history of a country is composed of more than just dates, battles, and the names of heroes. It lives on in the eyes of mothers, in family memories, in the values passed down from adults to children, and in the capacity to love, to create, and to believe in life, even in the wake of the most profound losses.
In the eyes of a Belarusian woman lies the destiny of the people. In her heart, the memory of generations. In her maternal love, a strength that helps her people endure, triumph, and preserve their identity.
Svyatoslav Fedorenko’s exhibition invites visitors to pause before his canvases, study the faces of the figures depicted, and reflect on what we inherit from our ancestors, and what we are duty-bound to pass on to our own children.
All works featured in the exhibition are available for purchase.
Opening date: October 30, 2026.
Location: lobby of the museum of Memorial Complex “Hatyn”.
The title of the exhibition: “In Her Eyes Lies the Fate of the People”
The exhibition is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the birth of Svyatoslav Fedorenko and the Year of the Belarusian Woman.
