Independence Day was celebrated in the Vitebsk region
In Vitebsk, hundreds of citizens gathered on Victory Square to honor the memory of the liberators who died on the battlefields. Heads of regional and city authorities, representatives of labor collectives and public organizations laid wreaths and flowers at the Eternal Flame of the Memorial Complex in honor of Soviet soldiers, partisans, and underground fighters.
Congratulating those present on the holiday, the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Subbotin, noted that July 3, after many happy years under a clear sky, invariably brings us back to one of the most difficult and heroic periods of our Motherland. Belarus faced the greatest trials during the Great Patriotic War. Colossal courage was required from our grandfathers and great-grandfathers to defend independence and identity. Our people bravely repelled the attacks of the invaders, shedding blood on the fronts, in partisan detachments, and underground cells. We have no right to forget those who gave us freedom.
The Nazis turned our flourishing region into ruins. In the post-war years, the national economy was restored bit by bit, cities and villages were improved, the economy was strengthened, and social infrastructure was created. This became the basis for the further development of our state. One of the most important priorities of our time has been the formation of strong regions. The Vitebsk region is also developing steadily. In particular, the construction of a delayed coking unit for oil residues at the Naftan enterprise has been completed, a number of mobile production facilities for furniture and industrial goods are being created, many facilities in the agro-industrial complex are being developed, bridges in Novopolotsk, Beshenkovichi and Tolochin districts have been reconstructed, and active improvement of Vitebsk has begun.
Against the backdrop of challenging economic conditions, the region ensures the growth of exports of goods and services. Every fourth exported product is high- and medium-tech. Trade is carried out with organizations of the Vitebsk region by 97 countries of the world. We supply our products to 66 countries.
By prioritizing a peaceful, multi-vector policy and mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation, we have gained partners in various parts of the world, mastered new markets, and become initiators and reliable participants in major integration processes. Everything that has been done today in the Vitebsk region and in the country as a whole is invariably associated with the mark of the highest quality.
Because of this, certain foreign forces constantly seek to lecture us, to force us to submit to their rules, to abandon our goals and values. They use the most unscrupulous methods. We see that there is a struggle in the world, a harsh one, and the planet is heating up with new conflict zones. But we have been given the mission to preserve the peace won by the millions of lives of our heroes, to offer a shoulder to lean on in difficult times, including to our neighbors. This is confirmed by the recent situation in southern Russia, which was successfully helped to resolve by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. He said: if Russia collapses, we Belarusians will be under the rubble. The main danger of these events was the prospect of plunging the entire society into chaos and turmoil.
Belarus has always advocated for peace negotiations and, moreover, has organized them. It is worth recalling the Normandy format of 2015, when a unified peace formula was created. Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in 2022. All this emphasizes that aggression has never originated and will never originate from our land. But this does not mean that we cannot stand up for ourselves. We do not need what belongs to others, but we will not give up what is ours. Our ancestors taught us this, and we will remain true to their testament.
– True sovereignty of any country is possible only when its people are united by a common spiritual impulse, a desire to make their country prosperous, – emphasized Alexander Subbotin. – When people know and honor their roots, cherish and multiply the good reputation of their native land and proudly say: my Motherland, my country. A state with such a people is invincible.
After the rally on Victory Square, the official part of the holiday continued on Zamkovaya Street, where flowers were laid at the bust of Hero of the Soviet Union, Hero of Socialist Labor Pyotr Masherov.
Festive events are held throughout the day in various parts of the city. For example, a brass band could be heard on the Alley of Military Glory. A concert was held on Victory Square, and the exhibition "Vitebsk Region: Achievements of Modernity" was open. A folk festival "Bloom, My Land Under the Crane Sky" took place in the Park of the Soviet Army.
The Vitebsk region received new trolleybuses and mobile paramedic and obstetric centers (FAPs) for Independence Day. Certificates for the equipment were solemnly presented to the heads of the relevant organizations on Victory Square in Vitebsk by the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Subbotin. Ten districts of the region received one new mobile FAP each, with funds for their purchase allocated from the regional budget.
The celebration will conclude with the "Let's Sing the Anthem" event and a festive fireworks display.
Photo by Dmitry OSIPOV.