A republican seminar on perpetuating the memory of those who died defending the Fatherland and preserving the memory of war victims was held in Vitebsk
Every five years, a special state program is developed in the country to perpetuate the memory of the fallen. It includes various points and tasks, among which is the search for the remains of those who died during the Great Patriotic War. The relevant document for 2021-2025 is currently undergoing approval.
According to Sergey Voronovich, last year military personnel and search teams worked at 94 sites where battles took place. The majority were in the Mogilev and Vitebsk regions. "In 2020, the remains of 878 people were found and reburied. Based on accompanying findings, information about 28 fallen individuals was identified. In total, 13,000 names were entered into the automated database last year," the department head stated. This year, search teams, in conjunction with the 52nd Separate Specialized Search Battalion, plan to work at 147 sites.
Currently, public search associations are registered and operating in the Vitebsk, Gomel, and Mogilev regions. A crucial task for the coming years is to increase youth interest in search activities and involve them in this work. Without an influx of young enthusiasts into this field, the search and reburial of Red Army soldiers' remains will stretch for decades.
A two-day republican educational and methodological seminar on perpetuating the memory of those who died defending the Fatherland and preserving the memory of war victims is being held in Vitebsk. Participants include historians, museum workers, representatives from regional executive committees and the Minsk City Executive Committee, specialists from districts of the Vitebsk region, and representatives from the Ministry of Defense. Seminar participants intend to discuss challenges in perpetuating the memory of the fallen, the work of search detachments, and colleagues will share their experience in finding the names of the fallen using the internet.
The event was organized by the Main Department of Ideological Work and Youth Affairs of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee in conjunction with the Department for Perpetuating the Memory of Defenders of the Fatherland and Victims of Wars of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus.
