A memorial sign «Rylinki» was opened in the Dubrovno district
The idea of the need to install such a sign at the entrance to the complex belongs to the chairman of the district organization of the NGO "Belaya Rus", Svetlana Ryzhanskaya. The initiative was implemented with the support of the regional Council of Deputies and the regional executive committee. At the expense of the regional budget, the memorial sign was manufactured by a private enterprise in Vitebsk.
And on the eve of the grand opening, thanks to the activists of "Belaya Rus", an information banner with six QR codes appeared in front of the arched gate.
– I want to express my gratitude to the district executive committee, the Council of Deputies, all those who are engaged in search work; this is important for our memory, for the younger generation, – said Vladimir Terentyev at the opening ceremony. – Today we are practically completing the work on the memorial, but we continue to work on perpetuating the memory of people. Thanks to this sign, even those who did not know what kind of memorial is here will now be able to honor the memory of the fallen.
The Rylionki memorial complex is one of the most magnificent monuments erected at the sites of mass graves of Red Army soldiers in Belarus. More than 10,000 Red Army soldiers who died in the area of nearby villages found their final resting place here. The memorial, covering an area of almost three hectares, was opened in 1973. In 2010, a descendant of one of the fallen soldiers built a chapel here; its main wall is decorated with a large August Mother of God icon. The complex also houses the only monument in Belarus to a medical battalion that saved thousands of soldiers' lives. And four steles are dedicated to the feats of Yuri Smirnov, Alexander Vasiliev, Anna Nikandrova, and the pilots of the "Normandie-Niemen" regiment, Sergey Astakhov and Bruno de Faulian.