A meeting of representatives from Russia, Belarus, and Latvia took place at the Mound of Friendship in the Verkhnedvinsk district

The traditional meeting at the Mound of Friendship in the Verkhnedvinsk district, bringing together representatives of three states that fought together against the Nazi invaders during the Great Patriotic War, was not entirely usual. For the first time, due to the pandemic, not only Latvians but also Russians had to stand on the other side of the border. This time, it was decided to protect the veterans as well, as they are all elderly people. However, those who fought the enemy in these places and won the Victory with their courage remained the main heroes of the meeting. Their names are written on a canvas unfurled on the Belarusian side, and participants of the patriotic event carried portraits of the heroes in their hands.

– We remember who carried the banner of Victory over Europe and liberated our countries, – Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies Vladimir Terentyev addressed everyone gathered at this sacred place across the borders. – The meeting at the Mound, uniting three countries, is very important. It has survived difficult times in the 1990s when the Soviet Union split into separate states. The pandemic, which has closed borders today, will also not destroy the tradition established by our fathers and grandfathers. Unfortunately, there are not as many of us here today as in previous years. But it is very important that those who remember our common past have come here.

This is also reminded by the man-made Mound, erected at the junction of the borders of Russia, Belarus, and Latvia in 1959 in memory of the combat brotherhood of partisans and underground fighters. Photographs of the first meetings, when thousands gathered here, have been preserved. Eyewitnesses say that in the sun, the forest alleys, planted on three sides, literally shone with the orders of the veterans walking along them.

Representatives of the regional executive committee and the regional council of deputies, heads of the Verkhnedvinsk district, deputies, and members of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union walked along the Belarusian alley today. Russian colleagues met them to lay flowers at the monuments to Maria Pyntho, secretary of the Sebezh district committee of the Komsomol and partisan scout, located in Russia, and to the Komsomol underground fighters of the village of Proshki in the Verkhnedvinsk district.

A prayer service was held in the chapel of Sergius of Radonezh, erected in memory of those who died during the Great Patriotic War. Vera Emelyanova, First Deputy Governor of the Pskov Region, addressed the attendees on behalf of the Russians, stating, among other things:

– In this difficult time, we especially keenly feel the significance of the veterans, whose images we see in photographs held by young people. They remind us how much effort these people put in for our land to live and prosper today. We will not give up our Victory.

The meeting concluded with the traditional bonfire of friendship and "Katyusha." This song, sung by a multi-voiced choir from different sides of the border, has become a symbol of the meeting at the Kurgan.

"Vitebskiye Vesti".