Congratulations of the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee A.N. Kosinets on Victory Day
Dear veterans of the Great Patriotic War!
Dear residents of the region!
I sincerely congratulate you on Victory Day!
May 9, 1945, has forever entered the history of the peoples of the world as a holiday that embodied the unparalleled feat of the Soviet people in the fight against fascism, the strength of spirit and faith in the victory of good over evil. Both in major battles and in battles on nameless heights, the soldiers of the Great Victory stood to the death, fought for every house, every street, for every settlement.
In the year of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Republic of Belarus from the Nazi invaders, we feel with particular strength personal pride in belonging to the Victorious People and the bitterness of loss that the residents of Belarus suffered along with the entire Soviet people. The main lessons of Victory are lessons of cohesion and unity in the fight for peace, and resistance to any attempts at aggression and extremism.
The memory of the heroic past, of the severe trials experienced, obliges us to strengthen national defense capability, protect the sovereignty of the state, and defend its independence.
The Belarusian people know the price of peace. The Vitebsk land lost every third resident during the war. There are more than 2.5 thousand memorial complexes, places of military glory, burial sites of soldiers and partisans of the Great Patriotic War, and burial sites of civilians in mass death locations on the territory of the region, which are cared for by our contemporaries.
Today, 3040 veterans of the Great Patriotic War, 876 family members of the fallen, and 6,564 former inmates of Nazi concentration camps and other places of detention reside in the Vitebsk region. Veterans are an example of honor, patriotism, and courage! You defended the country during the difficult war years, rebuilt it from the ruins, and strengthened the economic, military, and social potential of the state. You teach us love for the Motherland, loyalty to ideals, optimism, and conscientiousness.
Our duty, our sacred mission, is to preserve the truth about the Great Patriotic War, about the legendary feat of the Soviet people, and to give a worthy rebuff to the resurgent neo-fascism.
The experience of the older generation, which knows the true price of the achieved peace, is infinitely important for the youth.
Our deepest gratitude to all who brought Victory closer!
I sincerely wish you, dear fellow countrymen, health, happiness, well-being, high spirits, peace, and goodness!
Sincerely,
Alexander Kosinets,
Chairman
of the Vitebsk Regional
Executive Committee