Belarusian long jumper Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova lands at the The Match Europe v USA, an international two-day competition between the United States and Europe in Minsk on September 10, 2019. (Photo by Uladz Hrydzin/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)





People participate in protests against the integration of Belarus with Russia in Minsk on December 7, 2019. (Photo by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)





European bisons run across a field near the village of Azerany, some 250 km south of Minsk, on January 7, 2020. (Photo by Sergei Gapon/AFP Photo)





Belarusians sing traditional songs and dance during Maslenitsa celebrations in the village of Ozertso, near Minsk, Belarus, 29 February 2020. Maslenitsa is a traditional Russian and Belarussian holiday marking the end of winter that dates back to the pagan times. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA/EFE)





A participant before the start of of the “Real Men Race” in Minsk. About 3,000 men took part in the men-only event on Belarus's Defender of the Fatherland Day on February 23, 2019. (Photo by Uladz Hrydzin/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)





Participants in the Winter Fun family cold training festival in Minsk, Belarus on December 30, 2019. (Photo by Natalia Fedosenko/TASS)





People walk during heavy snowfall in Minsk, Belarus on February 12, 2020. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)





Artists perform during the presentation of the new show titled “Water extravaganza. Fairies park” in Minsk, Belarus on January 31, 2020. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)





People enjoy Sunday evening on a carousel in the centre of Minsk, Belarus December 29, 2019. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)





Full moon rises behind an Orthodox Church in the village of Turets, on Belarus February 9, 2020. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)





People in folk costumes ride in a horse drawn carriage to sing Christmas carols known as kolyadki in the village of Dubrovka in Brest Region, Belarus on January 7, 2020. Kolyadki is a Slavic Christmas tradition. Groups of people dressed in folk costumes come to houses to sing Christmas carols and receive treats from the hosts. (Photo by Natalia Fedosenko/TASS)





A Belarusian soldier with a machine gun stands at an exposition during the XXVII Minsk International Book Fair in Minsk, Belarus on February 5, 2020. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)





Local women in the village of Tonyezh in Belarus join the Chyrachka celebrations on March 10, 2019. The old custom celebrates spring and is associated with the arrival of a small waterfowl duck, which in this area is called “chyrachka”. (Photo by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)





Celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China take place at the Big Stone, a Belarusian-Chinese industrial park in Belarus's Smalyavichy district on October 10, 2019. (Photo by Uladz Hrydzin/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)





Belarusian villagers celebrate the Christmas carol rite (Kalyady) in the village of Danilevichy, some 320 km south of Minsk on January 7, 2020. Kalyady is an ancient pagan holiday originally celebrated on winter solstice. Dressed-up people walk from house to house singing, dancing, eating and drinking with their neighbours. (Photo by Sergei Gapon/AFP Photo)





Artists of Imperial Russian Ballet take part in a festive procession called “Koniki” (Horses) as they visit houses, dance and sing to mark the New Year's Eve according to the Julian calendar, in the village of David-Gorodok, Belarus on January 13, 2020. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)





Participants in the 4th New Year Republican Suvorov Cadet Ball at the Uruchie Sports PalaceMinsk, Belarus on December 23, 2019. (Photo by Natalia Fedosenko/TASS)





People take part in the kissing marathon competition ahead of Valentine's Day in Minsk, Belarus on February 9, 2020. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)





Bare-chested participants run at the “Real men's race” to celebrate the Fatherland's Defender Day in Minsk, Belarus, 23 February 2020. About 2,000 men took part in the competition, local media report. The 23 February is celebrated as the Defender of the Fatherland Day in Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan marking the date in 1918 when the first mass draft into the Red Army took place in Moscow and Petrograd during the country's Civil War and war against the German Emperor. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA/EFE)





A woman wears a medical face mask near a hospital for infectious diseases in Minsk, Belarus, 28 February 2020. Belarusian authorities have reported the first confirmed case of the COVID-19 disease caused by the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (which was first discovered in the Chinese city of Wuhan) in the Eastern European country. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)