An exhibition of the Kazakhstan photographer Oleg Belyalov opened with the support of the Mitzvah Association of Jewish Organizations of Kazakhstan in Petropavlovsk (Kazakhstan). The photographer's work had been brought to the city in December, and had adorned both the Chanukah celebration and the 20th anniversary of Mitzvah.

Among those who had been invited to the exhibition in the Petropavlovsk Fine Arts Museum were members of the local Jewish community, representatives of the Assembly of People of Kazakhstan and ethnocultural centers, famous photographers and artists, and journalists. The museum representatives thanked the Jewish community for their cooperation and expressed hope for many more joint projects.

As Mitzvah President, Euro-Asian Jewish Congress Presidium member Alexander Baron notes, “The opening was indeed memorable. The exhibition received good reviews from professional artists and photographers. I am hoping that many of the residents of Petropavlovsk, the capital of the region, will visit our exhibition and be moved by the beauty of a land blooming where once a barren desert had been.