When the small homeland is more precious than anything in the world: how the residents of Beshenkovichi live and what they dream about
Each region of our country is unique in its own way. And you feel this best when you get to know the people for whom their native places are dearer than anything in the world. Today we are going to the town of Beshenkovichi, 50 kilometers from Vitebsk. The district center is located on the banks of the Western Dvina, at the intersection of major highways. But even under the pressure of urbanization, it has managed to preserve its authenticity. The district is among the five smallest in the Vitebsk region - only about 12 thousand people live here. This land has a special attraction - it beckons with the beauty of nature, the intricate interweaving of legends and traditions, and, of course, the hospitality of the people living here.
The current head of the surgical department of the Beshenkovichi Central District Hospital, Dmitry Lyashuk, was one of the best students in his year at VGMU. But he was assigned not to a prestigious regional clinic, but here - to the district. Of his own free will.
— It is here, where there is no one to replace or back you up, that each doctor must be a generalist. Yes, it's a responsibility, but also an excellent school that you won't find anywhere else, — Dmitry Leonidovich is convinced.
And his wife, Alesya Alexandrovna, started working at the district hospital a year earlier:
— We came to the district, met the chief physician. He showed us a departmental house... We liked everything, and we didn't think for long. Now we have two children - eight-year-old Tanya and five-year-old Egor. We plunged into rural life - we plant garden beds and take care of the garden. My husband set up a apiary. Everything is great!
with colleagues. He handled it excellently. After some time, the patient was successfully discharged home.The current head of the surgical department of the Beshenkovichi Central District Hospital, Dmitry Lyashuk, was one of the best students in his year at VGMU. But he was assigned not to a prestigious regional clinic, but here - to the district. Of his own free will.
— It is here, where there is no one to replace or back you up, that each doctor must be a generalist. Yes, it's a responsibility, but also an excellent school that you won't find anywhere else, — Dmitry Leonidovich is convinced.
And his wife, Alesya Alexandrovna, started working at the district hospital a year earlier:
— We came to the district, met the chief physician. He showed us a departmental house... We liked everything, and we didn't think for long. Now we have two children - eight-year-old Tanya and five-year-old Egor. We plunged into rural life - we plant garden beds and take care of the garden. My husband set up a apiary. Everything is great!
Talents are more needed in the hinterland
... He was brought by ambulance. A man about fifty years old received serious injuries from a chainsaw. His liver and lungs were damaged. A difficult case for a district hospital. To take him to the region? But the victim is not transportable... The operation was performed by the young surgeon Dmitry Lyashuk together with
— *When working in the provinces, you always have to be prepared for such emergencies,* — Dmitry Leonidovich reflects, recalling a past incident.
He moved here following his wife and does not regret it at all:
— *Her grandfather lived in Beshenkovichi district, and he needed care. So we made a decision at a family council…*
Alesya Alexandrovna is a prosthodontist. She was also first in the student rankings. But she asked to be assigned here.
Young specialists are valued in the district. Both as professional medics and simply as good, responsive people, caring parents.
Let's return to the question of self-improvement and career growth. How realistic is it here, in a small town? Alesya takes the floor:
— *You see from Dmitry's example: everything is possible. If, of course, you want to. As for me, I am very satisfied with my work. The Central District Hospital has a dental laboratory. I am a prosthodontist with a higher education. There are over 130 patients in the queue needing prosthetics. People come from neighboring districts. You feel your importance, your necessity, your demand. We use metal-ceramics, nylon, and acetal prostheses in our work — new technologies are not bypassing the hinterland.*
*Another plus: the district hospital is located in a pine forest, practically a resort area. And the children grow up in an ecologically clean environment. They attend various clubs and sections. What more could one wish for?*Interestingly, Alesya and Dmitry met when they were in the ninth grade. He is from near Orsha, she is from Vitebsk. The future couple met in Brest at a republican Olympiad. Together they later decided to enter medical school and got married after their third year. This is a story of love, dedication to the profession, and the Beshenkovichi region.
A Constructor in Life
Alexandra Pivulsky is well-known not only in the district but also at many enterprises of Beland Russia. It's no joke — for almost 30 years now, he has been involved in the design and production of heating boilers at the local enterprise "Belkotlomash". Hundreds of his "offspring" now provide heat to homes, kindergartens and schools, factories and plants.
— I started as a fitter. Then — process engineer, design engineer, chief design engineer... Now I hold the position of lead design engineer, — Alexander Adolfovich briefly introduces his biography.
On the desk and the large computer monitor — dozens of drawings. It might seem to an amateur that there's nothing new to invent in boilers. But did you know that some of the units developed by "Belkotlomash" can weigh up to 120 tons?! And their height is about eight meters. A complex structure where every nuance must be calculated in detail. Adaptation to specific production features and technologies, maximum efficiency and durability of the equipment — everything must be taken into account.
Gas boilers, solid fuel boilers, peat-fired boilers... The lead design engineer explains: he has to deal most with the currently fashionable and in-demand peat-fired ones. They are usually ordered by utility companies in those regions and cities where there are peat deposits nearby. And often, the boilers have to be integrated into an existing building. Plus a number of nuances: environmental standards, availability of domestic components, pipe throughput, fuel supply system, the number of heated rooms. In short, analysis, analysis, and more analysis. Mistakes in such work are unacceptable, as the efforts of dozens of specialists could be in vain.
As an example — a recent order from the Kirov region, where housing and communal services facilities are being reconstructed. They need to install 29 boilers there. Not just to manufacture equipment of the required capacity, but to integrate itinto existing networks. The success of the task completion largely depends on Pivulsky today. A man of maturity, quiet, modest… This is how his colleagues know the lead designer. He is also the author of numerous rationalization ideas, capable of finding the right solution in the most intricate technical crosswords, and an excellent mentor for young people.
Teaching is a Family Affair
A small basic school in the agro-town of Rzhavka. Only about 70 children, and every second teacher is a former graduate. Interesting projects, a friendly atmosphere, a shared passion… You immediately notice that the teachers and students here are like-minded individuals and comrades, which contributes to the creative process of a child's development. It's no wonder that about 50 percent of graduates go on to higher education in the future. Anna Gorbunova and Lyudmila Adamovich are teachers of mathematics and computer science. They are also twin sisters. Their mother also worked at the school, teaching mathematics and physics, and later served as principal. Their paternal cousin was a labor education teacher. Their uncle is a military instructor and teaches physical education. "For us, the question of choosing a profession was never an issue since childhood," jokes Anna Leonidovna. "We knew right away: we would enter VSU named after Masherov, and become teachers. And, by the way, we have never regretted such a 'genetic' calling…"
Both sisters are homeroom teachers. Anna, in addition, performs the duties of a teacher-organizer. She paints wonderful pictures that can be found even in the regional museum. Lyudmila is the moderator of the school website, enjoys playing the piano and beadwork. In a word, continuers of the dynasty are creative people.
Since 2019, they have been participants in the "Teacher for Belarus" program. They have developed and implemented many unique projects. For example, together with their students, they created an interactive map – a smart journey through little-known attractions of the Beshenkovichi district, searching for and studying new historical and cultural objects. They installedspecial plaques with QR codes. With the support of the district museum of local lore and the district prosecutor's office, a similar map called "Memory of Generations" was created for the villages of the Beshenkovichi district burned down by the Nazis.
The enthusiasts have many new tasks ahead of them – they are not used to living by routine and clichés. And they consider their work in a rural school a great fortune. Here, in their opinion, one can give one's all, use the most modern individual methods, and give a child maximum opportunities for self-realization. This is the main thing for a true mentor.
The Homeland of the Dashkevich Agrarians
A beautiful agro-town is the center of CJSC "ASB-Agro Novator". A cozy street where, practically, half of the houses belong to… the Dashkevich dynasty. We are hospitably welcomed by Andrey Vladimirovich and his two sisters. All of them are employees of the local agricultural enterprise. Andrey is a leading machine operator, Tatyana is a foreman of a production team in animal husbandry, Valentina is a laboratory assistant, serving five farms.They are all beautiful, cheerful, and radiate a love for life and some kind of positive, irrepressible energy. Each family has a strong household plot. Land, livestock, poultry – rural workers are thorough in everything. They say that their love for their small homeland and for working the land was instilled in them by their parents.
The Dashkevichs have always lived and worked where they were born. The current generation knows the history of their family well. Grandmother Sofiya Ryhorovna worked in the collective farm all her life, was a flax link leader and a member of the farm's board. Father Vladimir Nikiforovich is the holder of a certificate from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the BSSR and other awards. He was the secretary of the Komsomol organization, the chairman of the trade union committee, and after retiring, he was the elder of the agro-town. The mother was also known in the village as an activist – she worked as a field crop grower and a milkmaid.
— You understand, we simply had to continue the work of our ancestors, — smiles Andrey Vladimirovich. — So we all settled together in our native farm. Is it possible to live well in the countryside today? If you are not afraid of work – quite! We all keep cows and pigs. We sell milk to the state. The enterprise helps with feed. The income is sufficient. Although you'd better ask the young people: how do they like it in their native lands?
The younger Dashkeviches also tied their lives to the agro-industrial complex and are happy with everything. Alexander, Andrey Vladimirovich's son, graduated from the Gorky Agricultural Academy. He works as a foreman. He got married. The farm gave the young family a house, where two children are already growing up. Tatyana Vladimirovna has a son Anton – a machine operator. He also has a diploma from the Gorky Agricultural Academy. His wife is an agronomist-seed grower. Valentina Vladimirovna did not let down the dynasty either – two daughters graduated from the Vitebsk Veterinary Academy.
In a word, the youth are also happy with everything and do not rule out the possibility that their children will also remain to live and work in their native lands.
A Patriot by Calling
Do you want to see the most beautiful and mysterious places in the Beshenkovichi district? You should go to Stanislav Leonenko. A mathematics teacher by education, a local historian by calling, and a museum researcher by position. He is such an amazing person. He goes on scientific expeditions with professionals from the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and excavates the settlement of primitive man of the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, works with schoolchildren, and enthusiastically tracks down unique exhibits on the internet – old German photographs taken in the occupied territory of Belarus.
— Descendants of fascists from Germany very often put up photo-documentary masterpieces of the war years for sale on the internet auction for a symbolic price, — he sayssays Stanislav Petrovich. — I have already found several dozen photos related to the Beshenkovichi district this way. These are unique shots that help fill in missing pages of the Great Patriotic War chronicle.
We walk into the hall dedicated to the history of World War II, and Stanislav Leonenko shows one of his latest finds. The photo shows a family of fire victims. Among the hastily gathered bundles are three children, a grief-stricken mother and grandmother. A dog is nearby.
— It seems the Germans really liked this tragic picture, since they took out their cameras, — the researcher reasons. — The fascists boasted about the grief they brought to the Belarusian land...
Another photograph. The date here is July 5, 1941. The houses are still intact, and German trucks are parked on the street. Somewhere across the river, Red Army soldiers are digging in… The next shots were taken a little later — the landscape is completely different: the bridge over the Ulla is blown up, houses are burned, and there are shell craters all around…
The topic of the genocide of the Belarusian people is of particular importance to Leonenko. His passion for local history is based on restoring historical truth. He was also part of the group investigating the criminal case of the genocide of the Belarusian people. Stanislav Petrovich shows a piece of brick, vitrified due to high temperature, which was found at the site of the completely burned village of Svitino. And in Korenevo, which was burned down with its inhabitants, enthusiasts found a melted cast-iron pot…
The cost of that war, the consequences of fascist atrocities are immeasurable. Stanislav Leonenko argues:
— It is enough to cite the figures: during the Great Patriotic War, about 5,000 natives of the district died on the fronts. And the fascists burned, tortured, and shot more than 10,000 civilians! Those who could not defend themselves and did not binto the hands of weapons. This is monstrous. Such things must not be forgotten…
Interesting fact: our hero was born and raised in the Mogilev region. But in less than 30 years of life in the Beshenkovichi land, he became its true chronicler. And today, there is no one more knowledgeable in historical matters in this district.
