The Zonal State Archive in Rechitsa presents a document: a letter written by a Great Patriotic War veteran to his parents in the Bragin District

Published: September 14, 2026

The records of the Department of Labor, Employment, and Social Protection of the Bragin District Executive Committee contain a letter dated December 6, 1943, from Great Patriotic War veteran Arkady Sergeyevich Snitsarenko. It was addressed to his family in the village of Chemerisy (located in what was then the Khrakovichi Village Council, now the Chemerisy Village Council, Bragin District) (F.186, I.3, F.93, S.497–497v). The letter reads as follows:

«Dear parents, I am writing this letter to you, though I do not know who will read it—who has survived and who has not, or who might bring me good news. I worry deeply about you, dear parents—Dad and Mom. Writing this letter is a painful experience for me, as I fear my beloved sister Olechka is no longer alive; I long for the letters she might have written to tell me everything that happened during the occupation—how the German monsters sought to enslave and destroy our people, only for those man-eaters to miscalculate. Dear parents, please describe what happened to you during that long period of occupation by the German murderers. <…>

Dear parents—Dad and Mom—please let me know where my beloved brother Savochka is. I lost his address at the outbreak of the war; I have only a single photograph of him left, a photo I carried with me through fire and water. <…>

For now, goodbye, dear parents. Stay safe and healthy. Sending my greetings from the front to everyone.

Your son, Arkady».

According to the «Memory of the People» website (pamyat-naroda.ru), Arkady Snitsarenko was born in 1916 in the village of Chemerisy. On November 20, 1941, he was conscripted into the Red Army. He served in the 696th Independent Signal Battalion of the 9th Tank Corps. Sergeant Snitsarenko was awarded the Medal «For Combat Merit» on November 6, 1943; the Medal «For Courage» on February 15, 1945; the Order of the Red Star on June 14, 1945; and the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd Class, on April 6, 1985.

According to household registers for the village of Chemerisy covering the periods 1944–1948 and 1996–2000 (F.194, Op.3, D.7, L.23v–24; F.194, Op.3, D.14, L.93v–94; F.194, Op.3, D.147, L.72v–73), Arkady’s father, Sergei Petrovich (born 1878), died just days before Victory Day—on May 5, 1945. His brother Savva (born 1918) worked as the secretary of the village council after the war. Arkady Sergeyevich himself returned to his native village and lived there until his death on September 5, 1996.

1–4. ZGARech. F.186, Op.3, D.93, L.497–497b.