Belarussians in costumes sing songs during the traditional rite of Shchadrets (Schedry vecher or Generous Eve) in the village of Osovo, some 190 km from Minsk, Belarus, 13 January 2015. Shchadrets is a Belarusian folk holiday celebrated on the New Year's Eve in accordance with the Julian calendar (Old New Year). The holiday is similar to Koliady, when youth in costumes walk from house to house singing holiday songs, performing, and asking for a reward afterwards. (Photo by Tatyana Zenkovich/EPA)

A man and a woman jump over a bonfire during Ivan Kupala Day celebrations held by the Belarusian State Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Lifestyle in the village of Ozertso near Minsk, Belarus on July 4, 2020. Ivan Kupala Day, also known as Ivana-Kupala or Kupala Night, is a traditional pagan holiday celebrated in eastern Slavic cultures. Various rituals are traditionally performed on Kupala Night, including making flower wreaths, fortune-telling, jumping over bonfires, and burning a wheel-like effigy symbolizing the sun. (Photo by Natalia Fedosenko/TASS)

Just a few hours’ drive from the Belarus capital of Minsk, many villagers still live off the land. Nearly 80% of the country’s 9.5 million citizens live in urban areas, but for the rest, being close to nature can outweigh the hardships of country life. Here: Boys play in the Stviga River on a hot summer day near the village of Pogost, Belarus, August 16, 2017. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

Wearing traditional Belarus costumes girls jump over a bonfire as they celebrate the Ivan Kupala night, an ancient heathen holiday, held in the countryside near the town of Turov, some 260 km southwest of the capital Minsk, on July 6, 2014. People celebrate Kupala Night with bonfires that last throughout the night with some leaping over the flames as it is believed that the act of jumping over the bonfire cleanses people of illness and bad luck. (Photo by Viktor Drachev/AFP Photo)

Belarusians wearing national costumes celebrate a Pull the Kolyada Up the Oak rite in the village of Martsiyanauka, some 77 km (48 miles) east of capital Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, January 21, 2016. The merry ancient rite Pull the Kolyada Up the Oak marks the end of Orthodox Christmas celebrations in Belarus. On Jan. 21 a wheel, the so-called Kolyada, would be pulled up an oak or any old tree. The Belarusians believed that the ritual heralds a good harvest, luck and happiness for the entire year. (Photo by Sergei Grits/AP Photo)

Belarusian people take part in the Ivan Kupala festival near the town of Rakov, west of Minsk June 27, 2015. The ancient tradition, originating from pagan times, is usually marked with grand overnight festivities. On Kupala night, people sing and dance around campfires, believing it will purge them of their sins and make them healthier. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)

An athlete pulls a 15-tonne truck during a Truck-Pull event marking the upcoming Independence Day in the Belarus capital Minsk, on July 3, 2014. The former Soviet nation celebrates its Independence Day on July 3 in memory of the end of Belarus occupation by Nazi Germany troops during the Red Army main summer offensive in 1944. (Photo by Sergei Gapon/AFP Photo)

A Belarusian law enforcement officer approaches women, who react while sitting on the pavement during a rally of opposition supporters following the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus on August 10, 2020. Belarusian police clashed with protesters on Monday after the opposition accused President Alexander Lukashenko of rigging his re-election victory amid a chorus of criticism from Western leaders. (Photo by Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters)