Opinions & Interviews

MOSCOW, 22 June (BelTA) - Belarus strongly opposes any attempts to rewrite the history of the Great Patriotic War, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to Russia Igor Petrishenko said when speaking at the roundtable dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian diplomatic mission.

The diplomat cited the most vivid examples of how the historical memory is preserved in Belarus. Among them is a new museum dedicated to the feat of the Soviet people in the war, which was opened in the run-up to the 70th anniversary of Belarus liberation from Nazi invaders; a ground-breaking ceremony for the memorial complex Trostenets in the place of the same name concentration camp that existed during the war; the events held annually in the Brest Hero Fortress Memorial on 22 June.

The Ambassador stressed that caring for war veterans has been one of the priorities of Belarus’ social policy. “In Belarus there are about 9,000 monuments, memorials, and mass graves. They are included in the military-historical itineraries and excursions, but the main thing is that they are a sacred place of remembrance of the dead, an eternal reminder of how valuable peace is. Every village, even the smallest one, has at least a simple obelisk with a red star in Belarus. There is not a single neglected grave even the unnamed one. This is one of the best examples and lessons of the historical memory, and a guarantee that neither extremism nor nationalism will ever take roots in Belarus,” Ambassador Igor Petrishenko said.

The event was organized by the Commission for Information Support of the State Ethnic Policy of the Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations, the Union of Armenians of Russia and the Memory Fund of the Generals of the Victory. The main topics of the discussion were: national roots of the international Victory, memory of generations as an important factor in the formation of the national identity, preservation and development of the nation.