The eighth regional campaign by BRSM activists was dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus

Belarus remembers those who perished on the front lines, tortured in fascist dungeons, burned alive, died of hunger and cold – all who defended the Motherland, who defended its freedom during the Great Patriotic War.

 

– It is to them that we are grateful for our lives! – said the participants of the eighth regional water tourist trip more than once. On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders, they gathered in Braslav region to once again express their gratitude to the generation of victors.

Braslav warmly welcomed the guests. The combined team, which included BRSM activists from different districts of the Vitebsk region, was joined by young Braslav residents. After solemn words and farewells, a short concert by gymnasium students, the event participants laid a wreath at the mass grave in the city square and began to prepare for departure. The next two days were filled with a rich program of travel and good deeds. The first was a visit to a small island on Lake Drivyaty, where our plane crashed in the early days of the war and, according to old-timers, a fallen pilot is buried there.

 

It is one thing to think about those events while reading a book or watching television, and another to stand at the place where a person died, listening to the real story of their fate. Faces tensed, smiles faded, young men and women froze as if in a guard of honor, paying tribute to the fallen pilot and thousands of others who did not return to their airfields.

And on June 22, at 4 a.m., an alarm signal woke the camp. Like their peers 78 years ago, young men and women hastily formed ranks. They were heading to the mass grave in the agro-town of Akhremovtsy to recall the events of those days and honor the Red Army soldiers who fell on this land in the summer of 1944. The "Star of Victory," lit at the foot of the obelisk, shone at dawn with bright lights of grateful memory of those living today.

 

At the campsites, the participants of the march recalled their relatives who had survived the war and their stories about those terrible years. They sang war songs – lyrical and a little sad, they floated from the campfires over the calm surface of the lake…

 

The team also had the opportunity to get acquainted with the Braslav Lakes. The young people explored the waters of Drivyaty by kayak, paddled along Nespish and Nedrovo – two pearls of the vast water system, swam in their clean water, and sunbathed on the golden sand of the beaches.

What impression did you take away from the region?

Vyacheslav Khrol, First Secretary of the Vitebsk Regional Committee of the "BRSM" Public Association:

– This is not my first trip, but it was on this one that I experienced a sense of pride and awe when all its participants, in a unified impulse, came to the monument at 4 AM on June 22nd to pay tribute to the people who forged victory over the enemy.

Marina Abramenko, Chief Specialist of the Main Department of Ideological Work and Youth Affairs of the Regional Executive Committee:

– The advantage of this event is civic-patriotic education by the example of our veterans' feats and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle.

Tatyana, a participant of the hike:

– We have participated in similar events before. This hike was memorable for its organization and diverse program. We paid tribute to the fallen and got to know the city from the inside, made new friends, and were imbued with the patriotic spirit of these places. This is a priceless experience, full of positive emotions. We hope to visit the Braslav land again – the heart of Belarusian Poozerye. As long as memory lives, our ancestors live in our hearts.

ALEXANDER OZERSKY, "Vitebskiye Vesti".