The 74th anniversary of the legendary breakthrough of the enemy blockade was celebrated in Ushachy district
The most honored guest of the celebration was a participant in those heroic events – Demyan Krupenya from the village of Glybochka.
At the solemn opening of the festival "Dedicated to the Courage and Resilience of the Belarusian People!", Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies Vladimir Terentyev noted that it has become a tradition to hold such meetings on the Ushachi land on the eve of Victory Day.
In the Year of Small Motherland, this is deeply symbolic. Here are the sources of folk talents and feats, here military and peaceful achievements are intertwined, and talents that are the pride of Belarusian literature and art have shone. This is a significant, especially revered day for the district.
Such events contribute to the education of youth in the spirit of love for the Motherland, labor for its benefit, and each time they are enriched with new projects. This year, demonstration performances in technical sports by pupils of the regional organizational structure of the DOSAAF public association took place here, and a thematic motor rally was launched, headed by a copy of the Banner of Victory.
A memorial service for those who died during the Great Patriotic War was held in the Church of the Holy Martyrs Minodora, Metrodora, and Nymphodora. Concerts of amateur performances by the cultural center, teachers of the children's art school and the "Veteran" folk club, a performance by the art group "Belarusians", and fireworks – Ushachi residents and guests had plenty to see.
And the culmination of the celebration was a solemn ceremony at the "Proryv" (Breakthrough) memorial complex, seven kilometers from the district center.
It was in this place, near the villages of Plino and Paperino, that 16 partisan detachments of the Polotsk-Lepel zone, after prolonged fierce battles with fascist punitive forces, carried out a legendary breakthrough of the terrible 25-day enemy blockade from May 4 to 5, 1944. A breakthrough into immortality. There were 17,185 of them against 60,000 heavily armed enemy soldiers.
In 1974, for the 30th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders, grateful descendants erected one of the most impressive memorial complexes, "Proryv" (Breakthrough), in this sacred place.
Last year, it was reconstructed with the broadest participation of the working people of all of Vitebsk region. 450 partisans rest here; on 33 slabs are the names of 1450 heroes who died during the blockade and breakthrough.
Wreaths were laid at the memorial from the regional executive committee and the regional Council of Deputies, the Ushachi district executive committee and the district Council of Deputies, delegations from Lepel and Polotsk districts, and Novopolotsk, as well as flowers from honored guests and numerous participants of the event.
Words of gratitude were spoken to the people's avengers who laid down their lives on the altar of Victory, and to the peaceful laborers who restored Ushachi region after the devastation. A metronome counted the minute of silence in the quiet, and a military salute thundered.
From the participants of the breakthrough, there was only one representative at the celebration – Demyan Krupenya from the village of Glybochka, a private in the Suvorov detachment of the partisan brigade commanded by Panteleimon Ponomarenko in distant 1944. None of Demyan Vladimirovich's combat comrades are alive anymore.
– Terrible battles raged here. It's frightening to remember being in such bloody skirmishes. God forbid. I still can't believe that by some miracle I survived that inferno, – the veteran of war and labor shared.
In the post-war years, Demyan Krupnya worked as a striker in a blacksmith's shop and served in the army. Then he was the head of a reading room, the chairman of the trade union committee, and the director of a rural House of Culture. Demyan Vladimirovich's eyes radiate kindness and a lively interest in what is happening.
The father of two sons, the grandfather of four granddaughters, and the great-grandfather of five great-grandsons is also an amateur artist. He depicts the landscapes of his native Ushachi region, episodes of his partisan epic, and peaceful life with oil, watercolor, and pencil. A solo exhibition of his works was held at the district museum of folk glory to mark the veteran's 90th birthday.
The memory of the heroes of resistance and their feats becomes the spiritual heritage of new generations, emphasized Archbishop Feodosiy of Polotsk and Glubokoye at the ceremony. Today, the day of the breakthrough of the Ushachi blockade is a day of deep sorrow for the partisans who stood to the death in the fight against the enemy, joy for the peaceful life under a clear sky, a history lesson in educating patriots, and an example of perpetuating the memory of the valiant past of the Belarusian people.
For his diligent work in the field of social and spiritual revival, the bishop presented the medal of the Polotsk Diocese of the Belarusian Orthodox Church "Holy Martyr Constantine, Priest of Sharkovshchina" of the 1st degree to the head of the regional deputy corps, Vladimir Terentyev.
And the solemn ceremony at the "Breakthrough" memorial complex concluded with the words of the chairman of the Ushachi District Executive Committee, Vladimir Avdoshko:
– We will always bow to the courage of our countrymen who brought Victory closer!
