The descendant of twice Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Bagramyan met with Vitebsk schoolchildren
Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies Vladimir Terentyev noted that a great deal of work is currently being done to name educational institutions after worthy fellow countrymen, and this work is yielding results. Using the grandson of the great commander as an example, one can see how a person fervently tries to reach the hearts of young people by telling them about the feat of those who liberated our Motherland.
Vladimir Terentyev emphasized that the key moment of Ivan Bagramyan's visit was the signing of the Cooperation Agreement via a video link with schools in Moscow and Rostov-on-Don, which bear the name of twice Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Bagramyan and work in the same direction. The document provides for future exchanges of delegations, materials, and joint conferences.
Addressing the students present – pupils of Secondary School No. 46 named after I. Bagramyan, schools of peace – Secondary School No. 28 and Gymnasium No. 5 named after I. Lyudnikov, Ivan Bagramyan said that the most important thing today is the connection between generations.
— The most important thing is that young people know what efforts the older generation made, what difficulties they overcame, so that we have a peaceful sky over us today, — Ivan Sergeevich continued. — Unfortunately, nowadays we often see and hear about attempts to rewrite history. I always tell young people that as long as the veterans are alive, you need to communicate with them, because only from their lips can you hear the real truth about the war. Record them on video, on a voice recorder. Time is ruthless — the older generation is leaving. Only a few of the victors are alive. But the memory will remain forever.
Taking the opportunity, the schoolchildren asked questions about the famous commander. For example, the children were interested in what the grandson keeps at home as a memento of his grandfather.
— I grew up in his arms, my grandfather was always an attentive, decisive, and fair person, — the honored guest replied. — Knowing my love for geography, he gave me a small world atlas, this was around the mid-1950s. The gift, by the way, is still alive and very dear as a memory.
Ivan Baghramyan was asked to share his memories of the war that he heard from Ivan Christoforovich.
— My grandfather, like many war participants, did not really like to recall and talk about the events of those years, — Ivan Sergeevich commented. — He much more gladly talked about his studies, as he graduated with honors from two academies — named after Frunze and the General Staff. In general, Marshal Bagramyan did not look like a military man, he rather looked like a very intelligent person with whom one could converse on any topic. I remember, a film about the war was shown on television, and my grandfather said that this or that fact did not happen quite like that, but it's just a movie.
Marshal Bagramyan's military biography features Operation Bagration prominently. Ivan Khristoforovich is rightfully called the liberator of Belarus. Not everyone knows today that the Gorodok Operation of 1943, the Belarusian Offensive Operation of 1944, the Vitebsk-Orsha Operation, and the Polotsk Operation of 1944 are associated with his name. The operation to liberate Vitebsk became a vivid testament to Bagramyan's military talent. For his skillful command of troops during Operation Bagration, Bagramyan was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
According to Ivan Bagramyan, the marshal always knew how to find unconventional solutions. Therefore, he achieved success not only in war but also in peaceful life. For instance, with his characteristic intelligence, he once reminded the Latvian deputies that it is better to conduct dialogue in a single language understandable to everyone.
— When at the first session of the Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR, first the chairman and then the others started speaking in Latvian, my grandfather, a representative of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, took the floor and addressed them in Armenian, — shared the marshal's descendant. — After this episode, all sessions began to be held in Russian. He loved discipline very much, but he did everything with a smile and never raised his voice, even if someone misbehaved.
At the end of the event, Ivan Sergeevich emphasized that he is very proud that the memory of the great commander is honored in Belarus.
— I hope that the great achievements and interesting projects organized in cooperation with educational institutions, which also bear the name of Ivan Khristoforovich, will bring joy with their successes, — Ivan Bagramyan concluded.