Francysk Skaryna succeeded Karl Marx in Polotsk

May 26, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Francis Skaryna has replaced Karl Marx in Polotsk. The Polotsk City Council of Deputies, on the eve of the city's 1147th anniversary, decided to rename the avenue named after the author of "Capital" in honor of its native and Belarusian printer, the chairperson of the Polotsk City Council, Olga Zhdanovich, told a BELTA correspondent. The decision on the new name of the avenue was made after extensive discussion and based on a public opinion poll. The townspeople unanimously spoke in favor of perpetuating the memory of their countryman. "We do not diminish Marx's role in world philosophy and economics in any way, but Skaryna's name is dear not only to Polotsk residents," emphasized Olga Zhdanovich. By the way, Lenin and Engels streets remain in Polotsk. Modern Polotsk is an example of respectful attitude towards its famous natives. Monuments are erected to them, streets are named in their honor. Vseslav Bryachislavich (the Wizard), Euphrosyne of Polotsk, Francis Skaryna, Symeon of Polotsk, General and defender of Port Arthur Roman Kondratenko are far from a complete list of historical figures whose names are immortalized in the city. Soon, a monument to architect Ioann, the author of the Savior-Transfiguration Church of the Euphrosyne Monastery, will appear in Polotsk, and a street in the new microdistrict will also be named in his honor. On the eve of the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders, the memory of the heroic defenders of the city, soldiers and officers of the 22nd Army, who held back the enemy's onslaught for 21 days in June-July 1941, will be immortalized in Polotsk. In September, a bust of the founder of Belarusian cinema, Soviet director and screenwriter Yuri Tarich, who was born in Polotsk, will be unveiled. -0-