In the Vitebsk region, the memory of Armenians who died during the liberation of Belarus was honored

The events were attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to Belarus Armen Gevondyan, Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies Vladimir Terentyev, activists of veteran, youth and other public organizations, and local residents.

The rally took place near the largest memorial complex in the republic, No. 4420. Here lie 17,454 Soviet soldiers of various nationalities and faiths who died during the Great Patriotic War. Among them are 84 sons of Armenia.

Welcoming the participants of the event, Vladimir Terentyev recalled that 413,000 soldiers and officers of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army are buried in the Vitebsk region, and expressed gratitude for the fruitful cooperation in the noble cause of perpetuating the memory of the feat of the Soviet peoples to the Embassies of Moldova and Ukraine in Belarus, and Russian search teams. Special thanks for the extensive and systematic work in this regard were addressed to the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia and the "ANIV" Foundation for the Development and Support of Armenian Studies. The fruit of joint efforts is the installation of a bust of Marshal Ivan Bagramyan in Gorodok and a memorial plaque on the street named after him, the naming of this remarkable commander after Vitebsk Secondary School No. 46, and other significant projects to strengthen the memory of the immortal feat of the Soviet peoples who defeated fascism.

In his response, Armen Gevondyan emphasized that the legacy of Victory teaches and calls to resist everything that leads to terrible tragedy. The Ambassador thanked the leadership of the region, the Vitebsk district, and all Vitebsk residents for their dedication to common memory and their careful attitude towards historical heritage.

The land with the burial sites of one and a half thousand Armenian soldiers who died in the Vitebsk region during the Great Patriotic War has been transferred to the guests. Wreaths from the regional executive committee and the regional council of deputies, the Embassy of Armenia, memory garlands, and flowers were laid at the foot of the memorial. The state anthems of the two countries, a military salute, and a memorial prayer were heard.

The documentary book "Armenian Soldiers in Battles for Belarus. 1941 – 1945" will become a remarkable monument to Soviet officers and soldiers of Armenian nationality who participated in the liberation of our republic from the Nazi invaders. It is dedicated to all who contributed to the Victory and the strengthening of the fraternal friendship between the Armenian and Belarusian peoples.

This fundamental publication is the result of seven years of work by specialists from the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the ANIV Foundation for the Development and Support of Armenian Studies, and the Department for Perpetuating the Memory of the Defenders of the Fatherland and Victims of Wars of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus.

The central place in the research is occupied by brief biographical notes on 3429 Armenian soldiers who died, went missing, and were buried in Belarus during the Great Patriotic War, compiled for the first time from archival and other sources.

The publication includes lists of the fallen by place of conscription (birth) and place of burial, missing defenders of the Brest Fortress, and personalized information on 654 Armenians who participated in the partisan movement and underground struggle. The authoring team has collected excerpts from award sheets for 2228 Armenians awarded for combat exploits and merits in Belarus. The edition includes brief biographical essays on prominent military leaders, commanders, Heroes of the Soviet Union, and full Cavaliers of the Order of Glory of Armenian origin, essays on the history of the 51st Guards Vitebsk Rifle Division named after K. Voroshilov (formerly the 76th Armenian Mountain Rifle Division named after K. Voroshilov) and the "David of Sassoun" tank column, rare photographs, and other materials.

There is no equivalent to this book in the post-Soviet space. It is a kind of methodological standard for those who continue search work, a guide for relatives and friends who come to Belarus to visit the graves of ancestors who fell in the battles of the Great Patriotic War. 45 copies of the publication will be distributed in the Vitebsk region – to districts with the largest military burial sites, libraries, and museums.

A series of exhibitions was timed to coincide with the presentation of the book at the regional library. The impressive exhibition of documentary photographs by BELTA war correspondents "Belarus Remembers" contains moments of the heroic path to Victory. Here you can see photos of the liberation of Polotsk, participants of the partisan movement in the Senno and Богушевский districts, and other places in Belarus. The literary exhibition "The Light of the Great Victory" testifies to the wide selection of works on the themes of the Great Patriotic War in the region's main book depository, including those about the combat events that took place in the Vitebsk region. The title of the second literary exhibition is also eloquent: "Armenia – a Blessed Land." And the project "Living Memory" was implemented on the initiative of the staff of the Vitebsk District Historical and Local Lore Museum. High school students from Oktyabrskaya Secondary School in Vitebsk District took part in the reconstruction of photographs.

GALINA SHPAKOVSKAYA, photos by Dmitry OSIPOV, "Vitebskie vesti".