Rossotrudnichestvo was handed a copy of the flag raised over the Reichstag
A copy of the renowned assault flag of the 150th Idritskaya Rifle Division, Order of Kutuzov, 2nd Class, was brought as part of the international relay "Banner of Victory" by representatives of the Sebezhsky district, which borders the Rossony district. It was precisely such a banner that Alexei Berest, Mikhail Yegorov, and Meliton Kantaria hoisted on the Reichstag building in Berlin around 3 a.m. on May 1, 1945, and it became the embodiment, the official symbol of Victory.
The ceremony for the handover of the military relic took place in the Memorial Square, where the remains of over 2,500 soldiers and partisans who died in the fight against the Nazi invaders are interred. In total, over 7,500 soldiers are buried in the district, of whom more than 2,800 are unknown.
– The theme of the Great Patriotic War is significant and unforgettable in Rossony, where every stone, every inch of land holds the memory of those bloody events. During the occupation, the Nazis burned down 109 villages; once populous settlements completely disappeared from the face of the earth. Every third resident of the district did not return from the war. Veterans and the patriotic education of youth are constantly paid attention to by authorities and the public, not only on anniversary days. For me, as a soldier-internationalist, concepts such as peace and the opportunity to live in a free and independent country are particularly significant, – emphasized the Chairman of the District Executive Committee, Alexander Shubsky.
The territory of the district was occupied in the very first months of the war, but people lived and fought. As early as August 1941, underground groups began to be formed. It was in Rossony that the partisan movement, which left a heroic page in the history of liberation, was initiated. Here, the future leader of the republic, Hero of the Soviet Union Pyotr Masherov, led the underground group and partisan detachment.
By the beginning of 1943, at the junction of three republics – Russia, Belarus, and Latvia – a fraternal partisan region was formed with an area of about 10 thousand square meters and a population of 100 thousand people. It included, among others, the Sebezh and Idritzky districts. 26 partisan brigades and 40 detachments operated here. The highest assessment of the heroism and self-sacrifice shown by the defenders of the Fatherland was the awarding of Rossony in 2010 with the pennant "For courage and resilience during the Great Patriotic War", established by decree of the President of Belarus.
– We are countrymen, brothers, those who remember our grandfathers and great-grandfathers who survived the horrors of war, those who today must preserve peace. Idritza and Rossony were liberated from fascism on the same day – July 12, 1944. By handing over a copy of the Victory Banner, we are giving not just the greatest relic of our people, but a piece of the Idritz soul. Remember this, – noted historian, veteran of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vladimir Spiridonov.
The Russian delegation, which included representatives of the authorities and the public, and students of the Idritzky secondary school, was led by the first deputy head of the administration of the Sebezhsky district, Nikolai Kovalev. He, in particular, recalled that the settlement of Idritza, which was liberated after bloody, prolonged battles, gave its name to three rifle divisions, a tank brigade, and several regiments. And the deputy chairman of the district executive committee, Galina Podvitelskaya, emphasized that many units of the Red Army took part in the liberation of the Rossony district, but the first to set foot on this land in October 1943 were units of the 219th Idritzky Rifle Division. On behalf of the veterans, the former partisan who fought in the detachment commanded by Pyotr Masherov, and a front-line soldier, Konstantin Polevechko, spoke.
From now on, a copy of the Victory Banner will be kept in the Museum of Combat Brotherhood. And the Russians will take with them a handful of sacred Rossony land, watered with the blood of the residents of the Sebezhsky district, who fought together with representatives of other peoples for freedom and peace on earth.
Tatyana Pasternak, "Vitebskiye Vesti"