On February 10, 2023, the qualifying round of the regional stage of the republican competition of scientific research works of local history students was held at the state institution of additional education «Vitebsk Regional Palace of Children and Youth».

Competent jury composed of representatives from VSU named after P.M.Masherov, the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore, the State Archives of the Vitebsk Region and the organizers of the competition – the Vitebsk Regional Palace of Children and Youth – faced a difficult task: to select the best of several dozen works sent by students of educational institutions from different parts of the Vitebsk region. The presented works dealt with various aspects of regional history: the history of settlements and their microtoponymy, local attractions, famous countrymen, the history of educational institutions, the history of the Great Patriotic War and the genocide of the Belarusian people, the history of the Patriotic War of 1812 and other historical events that took place in the Vitebsk region.

According to the results of the work, the jury noted the unexpectedly high level of almost all the works submitted for consideration, so we can expect that the next full-time stage will be very interesting and full of bright and emotional performances by the best young local historians of the region.