Master from Dzerzhinsk awarded Presidential Prize for his unique wooden clocks

For the benefit of the country and in the name of spiritual heritage, at the beginning of the year, a ceremony was held to award the Presidential Prize "For Spiritual Revival," as well as special awards for culture and arts, and the "Belarusian Sports Olympic" 2025. Among the laureates is a master whose work has received special recognition.

Andrey Martynyuk, a folk craftsman from the Dzerzhinsk district, was awarded the Presidential Prize for outstanding achievements in decorative and applied arts and for creating a unique technology for making mechanical clocks from wood. His clock models were developed over the years: the master independently mastered programming, and his engineering education helped him understand the basics of mechanics. As a result, he produces clocks and other complex mechanisms entirely from wood.

"Even at a young age, I understood that making clocks is not so simple," shares Andrey Martynyuk. He has been creating clocks for over 40 years, constantly experimenting with their mechanisms. The work on complex models often takes years, and his first clocks took nearly two years to complete, going through many experiments.

A notable work is the gift to the President for his 65th birthday — clocks designed according to sketches by the entire team of the Dzerzhinsk Cultural and Folk Arts Center. The master also has works belonging to the Prince of the United Arab Emirates.

Andrey Martynyuk notes: "New developments can take six months or a year, because I always want to find interesting solutions." The special award is a sincere recognition that the work, love for craft, and efforts of folk masters find a response in people's hearts. Over the decades, he has created many masterpieces, and it’s impossible to count them all.