Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API (Chirp) + Gemini 2.5 Flash Non-Thinking. Treat it as a searchable index of what was broadcast, not a quotation record.
00:01:00As a professional, I've visited many different corners of our country, but
00:01:03every time I admire the beauty of Belarusian
00:01:06nature, endless forests, fields, thousands
00:01:10of lakes and picturesque rivers. And water is
00:01:13truly our national wealth. But
00:01:17have you ever thought that this is not just beauty, but also
00:01:20a powerful source
00:01:21of energy?
00:01:33After all, water is one of the most unruly elements on the planet. It can destroy
00:01:37roads and flood entire villages. But in this case, man
00:01:40found a way to negotiate with nature: a hydroelectric power station
00:01:44tames the energy of water, turning its destructive force into
00:01:48peaceful kilowatt-hours. Yes, in our country there are no wild mountain
00:01:51waterfalls, our rivers are calm, but deceptively powerful, so
00:01:55hydroelectric power plants in Belarus are the norm against
00:01:57the rules.
00:02:08In Belarus there are 53 hydroelectric power stations,
00:02:12whose total capacity is 96 MW. To
00:02:16understand this, it is enough to provide electricity
00:02:19to a city with a population of 50,000 people,
00:02:23for example, Gorki Rogachev or Galinkovichi. Our hydroelectric power plants are
00:02:27low-head and everything here is determined by
00:02:30the terrain, which in the republic is flat. At the same time,
00:02:33hydroelectric power plants play an important role in the local
00:02:36energy system. This is the replacement of imported gas,
00:02:40tens of millions of cubic meters, and the diversification of energy
00:02:44sources and environmentally clean generation, without harmful
00:02:47emissions into the atmosphere. The largest complexes are the Vitebsk
00:02:51HPP and
00:02:52Polotsk.
00:03:00The Vitebsk hydroelectric power station is the most
00:03:02powerful in the country, located on the Western Dvina, a river that is one of
00:03:06the largest in Belarus, second in water content
00:03:10after the Dnieper. Its length is 328 km,
00:03:13the average width of the channel ranges from 50 to 300
00:03:17m. The current is quite fast, which allows it to be
00:03:21a source of energy. The local HPP is a typical,
00:03:24run-of-river, low-head hydroelectric power station,
00:03:27which includes a concrete pre-assembly
00:03:31and an earth fill dam and distribution
00:03:34device. Let's go over the main characteristics: annual
00:03:38electricity production - 138 million
00:03:40kilowatt-hours, capacity 40 MW, reservoir
00:03:44area - 822 hectares, capacity just over
00:03:474 million cubic meters, commissioned in 2017.
00:03:51According to
00:03:54design values, the HPP should
00:03:57produce 130 million
00:04:02on average, in practice, if we take the statistics for the last 5 years, this figure has
00:04:06varied from 127 to 157 million
00:04:09kilowatt-hours per year, but this all depends on the river's
00:04:12water level, because the main and only source
00:04:16of energy is the water in the Western Dvina river. Depending on the year,
00:04:19on precipitation, on
00:04:23snow cover in winter, our output depends.
00:04:26A large hydroelectric power station could have appeared here much earlier.
00:04:30In 1956, the project "Vitebsk
00:04:33Sea" was created. Its main goal was a global economic and
00:04:37ecological restructuring of the region. 15
00:04:40research institutes of the USSR
00:04:43planned to turn the upper reaches of the Western Dvina into a powerful
00:04:46energy and transport hub. A powerful Vitebsk HPP was also
00:04:50planned here. The artificial sea would have created
00:04:54a gigantic water head, necessary for the turbines to operate at full
00:04:57capacity. The river was to become part of a deepwater
00:05:01transport system of the country, which would allow large-tonnage
00:05:04vessels to freely travel from the regional center to the Baltic
00:05:08Sea and back, but the idea remained
00:05:11just an idea. At that time, its implementation required
00:05:14disproportionate financial injections. The issue was
00:05:18revisited at the end of the 2000s,
00:05:21when the question arose of replacing expensive
00:05:24energy resources intended for electricity
00:05:27generation. The construction of a cascade of hydroelectric
00:05:30power plants on the Western Dvina river, consisting of
00:05:33four stations, was studied: the Vitebsk
00:05:36hydroelectric power station, Beshenkovichi HPP,
00:05:39Polotsk HPP, and Verkhnedvinsk HPP. All of this
00:05:43came to fruition with the implementation of the Vitebsk HPP.
00:05:55If we talk about the current stage of the HPP's operation, here
00:05:58four horizontal capsule hydro-units
00:06:02with a capacity of 10 MW each are installed. The energy produced as a result of water
00:06:06pressure is supplied to a step-up transformer
00:06:09substation. Passing through the winding turns, every
00:06:1310 kW obtained is increased to 110. All
00:06:16the electricity that is generated here is sent to
00:06:20the general ring system, so it is impossible to say exactly where
00:06:23it is used, but it is clear that the complex is capable
00:06:27of supplying the entire Vitebsk region. I want to understand,
00:06:31for me as a layman, I imagine a HPP in the mountains,
00:06:35it's tens, perhaps hundreds of meters
00:06:38high, it's clear why the water there gives more energy.
00:06:42Here we have a small bubbling,
00:06:45well, how appropriate then is it
00:06:49to build, construct,
00:06:53and operate a HPP here? Well, about the bubbling, this is what you call
00:06:56bubbling - it is the exit of water from the flow-through
00:07:00turbine, that is, it is a water stream that rushes from
00:07:03the upper headrace and presses on the turbine blades, exiting into
00:07:06the lower headrace, creating that very
00:07:10bubbling. The electricity generation, as you
00:07:13said, in mountainous areas, there are more powerful
00:07:16hydroelectric power stations. Here the principle of operation is similar, but due to
00:07:19the fact that we have a small difference in
00:07:23levels between the upper headrace and the lower headrace water levels,
00:07:27as I said, the nominal head is 9.1
00:07:31m. For a simple layman, the head is the difference in water
00:07:33levels. So, due to the difference in water levels, we create
00:07:37a head. That's why there were 10 megawatts.
00:07:4029
00:07:53people, 10 of whom are operational staff, and
00:07:5619 are managers, specialists, and workers. The work is completely
00:08:00automated, readings from all sensors are displayed on
00:08:03a special panel. In the engine room, seven floors deep,
00:08:07hydro-units are installed. Every
00:08:09second, through the guide vane of the generator.
00:08:25On your screens is a navigation lock. Let's immediately clarify
00:08:28that it does not belong to the energy sector,
00:08:31although it is located on the territory of the Vitebsk HPP, but we cannot
00:08:34ignore it, it is very impressive. This is
00:08:38a single-chamber, single-line lock, the length of the usable chamber is
00:08:53a water level drop of 13
00:08:55m.
00:08:59In the Vitebsk region is located the second most powerful station,
00:09:03we are talking about the Polotsk HPP. It is also located on the Western Dvina.
00:09:07This is a low-head run-of-river station,
00:09:09including an earth and concrete pre-assembly dam
00:09:13with six segmental gates, with a design
00:09:16head of almost 8 m. Let's compare the characteristics
00:09:20of the two complexes. The capacity of Polotsk is slightly more than
00:09:2321.5 megawatts, Vitebsk -
00:09:2640. The average annual output is 112 million
00:09:29kilowatt-hours versus 138. The number
00:09:33of hydro-units at Polotsk is 5 turbines, at Vitebsk - 4.
00:09:36We are in the machine hall, here we have
00:09:39the main equipment located. It consists of five
00:09:43hydro-units, for each hydro-unit,
00:09:47we are directly located near the steel shaft, in which
00:09:51the main hydro-power equipment is
00:09:54located. We can observe here that at the moment we have
00:09:57the multiplier itself, which is a
00:09:59gear transmission that transmits the rotating
00:10:03moment to the generator, and this energy
00:10:07is converted into electricity by means of an
00:10:11excitation system for the generator and is then transmitted to the substation and fed into
00:10:14the grid. The Polotsk HPP was designed taking into account the ecology
00:10:17of flat rivers. The low water head minimizes
00:10:21flooding of adjacent territories, preserving the natural
00:10:25landscape. Again, everything is automated,
00:10:28that is, you don't need to turn valves manually,
00:10:31the computer itself calculates how much water flows in the river and
00:10:34automatically changes the angle of the blades to
00:10:37generate maximum current. If the level
00:10:40drops, the system automatically shuts off excess
00:10:43turbines. Let me remind you once again, the output is
00:10:46112 million kilowatt-hours per year.
00:10:49This environmentally friendly energy is enough to completely
00:10:53cover the electricity needs
00:10:55of the entire Polotsk region, including residential buildings, schools,
00:10:59hospitals, but not including industrial giants like
00:11:02Naftan. When the Polotsk hydroelectric power station was
00:11:05put into operation, a significant
00:11:09economic effect from
00:11:11its commissioning and the construction of the HPP
00:11:14is, perhaps, a reduction in the cost of generated
00:11:18electrical energy, and accordingly, with a reduction in cost, we have
00:11:21a decrease in fuel. the organic component, that is,
00:11:25fuel oil, and of course, the preservation of the total
00:11:29generated electrical energy due to these two components, a reduction
00:11:32in cost and a reduction in organic
00:11:35fuel.
00:11:37Belarusian hydroelectric power stations
00:11:44are not only unique energy complexes, they are
00:11:47also impressive architecture, that is,
00:11:51industrial tourism in its purest form. And
00:11:54here, first of all, we are talking about small
00:11:57structures. One of the most beautiful is the HPP Druzhba
00:12:00Narodov on the Prorva River in the Braslav district of the Vitebsk
00:12:03region. This is a unique monument of Soviet industrial
00:12:07architecture in the Stalinist Empire style.
00:12:21The main uniqueness of Druzhba Narodov lies not in
00:12:25megawatts, but in its geopolitical and cultural significance for
00:12:29the USSR. It was built at the junction of the borders of Belarus, Lithuania, and
00:12:32Latvia. In November 1951,
00:12:36three neighboring border collective farms decided to unite
00:12:39forces for common electrification. Now,
00:12:42of course, it's hard to imagine. The station was supposed to make
00:12:46the village of Dresvyaty exemplary in the Soviet
00:12:49Union. For this reason, the long construction period and the subsequent
00:12:52solemn opening were thoroughly
00:12:55covered in the Soviet media, starting from local
00:12:59publications and ending with the All-Union newspaper Pravda.
00:13:02The shock construction was dedicated to large and small prose,
00:13:06films, and even operetta. An interesting
00:13:08fact: during the construction of the foundation pit, tons of imported
00:13:12artillery gunpowder, which did not burn completely,
00:13:15were used in an original way. For a long time, its remains could
00:13:19be found in the vicinity of the hydroelectric power station. At
00:13:23the solemn launch of the nineteenth.
00:13:56Therefore,
00:13:58the deadlines are very tight, fast, and
00:14:02the quality is good. Despite the fact that the HPP Druzhba Narodov in
00:14:05the village of Dresvyaty has not been operating for a long
00:14:09time, in the 1970s,
00:14:13the station was deemed unprofitable and mothballed. After
00:14:16the collapse of the USSR, the HPP was finally abandoned, but
00:14:20this does not prevent it from attracting tourists from Belarus and neighboring
00:14:23countries. Some come here to reminisce
00:14:27about the bygone Soviet era, some are simply
00:14:30curious, and others admire the grandiose Soviet
00:14:33architecture, over which time has no power. On the facade
00:14:37of the hydroelectric power station, Soviet symbols have been preserved
00:14:40to this day. The HPP guarantees every tourist
00:14:43a stunning panoramic view of the endless Belarusian
00:14:46expanses, where even European landscapes can be seen
00:14:49in the distance.
00:14:56Yes, the station right now looks like an architectural monument and
00:14:59a water level regulator, but that's only at first glance.
00:15:03Energy workers are continuing a large-scale overhaul of the facility. By
00:15:062030, the HPP should be operating at
00:15:09full capacity. Significant costs
00:15:13are not required today to install two
00:15:17turbines, install two generators, and indeed, to use the electrical
00:15:20energy from
00:15:23the river's potential
00:15:25for the benefit of our energy sector. I think
00:15:28we will still
00:15:31fully implement this project by 2030. What
00:15:35will its capacity be?
00:16:09clean energy. This allows the country not to burn and to save
00:16:13about 32-33 million cubic meters of natural
00:16:17gas per year. Unlike TPPs, where expensive equipment
00:16:20wears out in 25-30 years,
00:16:23concrete dams of HPPs are built with a service life of 100-150
00:16:27years. Small and large HPPs increase the reliability
00:16:30of local power supply. And in case of accidents on central grids,
00:16:33local hydroelectric power stations are able to maintain the operation of district
00:16:37hospitals, schools, and the residential
00:16:39sector.
00:16:45In our modern world, the topic of green energy seems to be just
00:16:48a beautiful trend. But do not be mistaken, because
00:16:52for Belarus this is energy security and
00:16:55independence, although we don't even think about it,
00:16:59because everything works so efficiently and reliably that
00:17:02it is already taken
00:17:04for granted.
00:18:48Comrade Lauriana, I am glad to welcome you. So,
00:18:51let's begin. I know that you attend many international
00:18:54events, political, economic, including
00:18:58those that take place in the CIS
00:19:01space. And from the last thing you attended was
00:19:05the economic forum. And...
00:20:07of which Russia and Belarus are a fundamental pillar, we must
00:20:11highlight our participation in the International Economic Forum in Saint
00:20:14Petersburg. When we participated in the economic forum
00:20:18in St. Petersburg, we were able to meet with the chairman
00:20:21of the National Bank of Belarus.
00:20:25Where we had a very important meeting with the
00:20:29president of the National Bank of Belarus, our
00:20:31brother.
00:20:34So, in this meeting.
00:21:22We also signed with Roman Golovchenko an agreement
00:21:25on banking cooperation between Belarus and
00:21:28Nicaragua. This greatly contributes to our
00:21:31interaction, and we will be able to develop economic and financial
00:21:35ties, as well as to find
00:21:38with illegal
00:21:40and
00:21:48blockades.
00:24:20Our government, led by Commander Daniel Ortega
00:24:24and Comrade Rosario Murillo, works under the general
00:24:27leadership of the National
00:24:29Party.
00:24:37And the message that our president sent during the celebration of the triumph of the Sandinista
00:24:40Revolution was very clear and concise. In Nicaragua,
00:24:44there will be no more elections that can be influenced by, or in which
00:24:47traitors to the homeland can participate.
00:25:52defend above all peace in Nicaragua, our
00:25:55sovereignty, our national dignity. The defamation
00:25:58campaigns in the Western media.