In Vitebsk, the memory of the victims of the Great Patriotic War and the genocide of the Belarusian people was honored
This memorial complex on the steep bank of the Western Dvina is one of the historical and cultural heritage sites of the Vitebsk region. Here lie 16 officers, including three Heroes of the Soviet Union: Ivan Sivakov, Ivan Yanushkovsky, and the legendary Minay Shmyrev – one of the organizers of the partisan movement, an honorary resident of Vitebsk.
The first burials were carried out at the end of June 1944, immediately after the liberation of the city. In 1956, two sculptures of soldiers with bowed banners were erected. It is symbolic that the memorial in honor of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War was erected near the monument to the defenders of the Fatherland in the war of 1812.
– The Day of National Remembrance of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War and the Genocide of the Belarusian People is a sorrowful date. 83 years ago, fascism attempted to destroy our nation, – said Alexander Subbotin. – It was a pre-planned, deliberate, and targeted plan of genocide, the extermination of people, the plunder of the country's national wealth, and the liquidation of the state system. In the occupied territories, the Nazis violated all international legal norms. The crimes of the occupiers, in their scale and terrible cruelty, were unparalleled in modern history. Cultural, scientific, and educational institutions were systematically destroyed and plundered by barbaric methods. Currently, researchers believe that during the Great Patriotic War, from 2.5 to 3 million or more residents of Belarus perished, meaning every third person.
The head of the region also emphasized that on this day, along with the bitterness of loss, we also feel pride in our ancestors. Belarus remembers the price at which freedom was won and who gave it to us. As long as the memory of those times, the heroism and courage of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War, lives on, there will be peace and harmony on our land.
The rally was also attended by Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies Dmitry Demidov, Archbishop of Vitebsk and Orsha Dmitry, deputies, heads of the city and district administrations, representatives of labor collectives and the public, clergy, and youth.