Remains of 70 Red Army soldiers reburied in Vitebsk region

The remains of 70 Red Army soldiers who died during the Great Patriotic War have been reburied at the military memorial in the agro-town of Kopty, Vitebsk region.

The remains of 69 Red Army soldiers were found during search operations conducted by servicemen of the 52nd Separate Specialized Battalion, together with the Moscow Regional Public Organization "Charitable Military Historical Search Club 'Memory and Reconciliation'," in the vicinity of the settlements of Makarevo, Shapechinsky village council, and Maklaki, Oktyabrsky village council. The names of several fallen heroes have been identified, including Malakov Nurmukhamed (sniper) and Krivopustov Efim Mikhailovich (machine-gun platoon commander).

Work to identify the names of the remaining soldiers is ongoing. In addition, today at the military memorial in the agro-town of Kopty, the remains of Stolyarenko Sergey Artemovich, a native of Vitebsk region, who was long considered missing in action, were reburied. His remains were discovered during search operations in the Novorzhevsky district of the Pskov region.

Relatives of the fallen hero – second cousins and a niece – attended the reburial ceremony. The reburial was preceded by a performance by the choir of readers from Kopty Secondary School and a solemn rally. Representatives of the district executive committee, the district council of deputies, Belarusian and Russian searchers, veterans, representatives of labor collectives, schoolchildren, the public, and local residents took part in the mourning ceremony.

After the conclusion of the mourning ceremony, its participants visited the museum of the Kopty School, and a concert of patriotic songs "The Feat Lives Through Centuries" is planned at the local cultural center, featuring creative groups from the Vitebsk region, the laureate of international competitions ensemble "Kazachy Dyuk" (Moscow), and vocalist Valery Kuzmin (Moscow).

Alena Tikhonova, BELTA.