Presentation of the project «Book of memory. Republic of Belarus. Vitebsk region»

In the year of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders and the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, on the eve of the Day of Defenders of the Fatherland and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, employees of the institution «Zonal State Archive in Polotsk» took part in the presentation of the publication «Book memory. Republic of Belarus. Vitebsk region», which took place at the Polotsk Cadet School.

International humanitarian project «Book of Memory. Republic of Belarus» is implemented by the Diplomatic Service Veterans Foundation (Russian Federation). The project is a contribution to the preservation of the historical memory of the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War in general, the feat of the Soviet people in the victory over the Nazi invaders.

Vladimir Viktorovich Chkhikvadze, Director of the Veterans of Diplomatic Service Foundation, member of the Russian International Affairs Council, Deputy Chairman of the Council of the Association of Russian Diplomats, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation: «On the bank of the Western Dvina near the St. Sophia Cathedral in your city there is a memorial sign «Polotsk – the cradle of the Belarusian Statehood», which depicts famous historical figures and the most important milestones in the history of the Republic of Belarus. It is symbolic that it was from the meeting of representatives of our project team at this monument that the discussion began on the preparation of the second book of the six-volume edition «The Book of Memory. Republic of Belarus» in the Vitebsk region. Finally, the painstaking work was completed and the book was released. It is very important that the presentation of the book takes place on the eve of Defender of the Fatherland Day. This is a day of memory, courage and heroism of all generations of our soldiers».

During the preparation of scientific and historical materials for the publication, Belarusian historians were involved in the work: the head of the Museum of Military Glory of the city of Polotsk Sergei Petrovich Kopyl and the head of the department of history and tourism of the Polotsk State University named after Euphrosyne of Polotsk, candidate of historical sciences, associate professor Alesya Iosifovna Korsak.

The Book of Memory presents the regions of the Vitebsk region in accordance with the chronology of their liberation during the offensive operations of the Red Army. In each district, military graves and places of mass graves of civilians exterminated during the implementation of the Nazi policy of genocide, which are registered with the Office for Perpetuating the Memory of Defenders of the Fatherland and Victims of Wars of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, are shown. In addition, the reader can familiarize himself with photographic materials, archival historical information, copies of archival documents and other sources. This book is intended for everyone who wants to know, study and honor the exploits of our ancestors and remember the tragic events of the terrible war of the 20th century».

The publication of such a publication on the eve of an important holiday for Belarus and Russia can be considered a real tribute to the fallen soldiers and victims of the hard times of war.

At the presentation, the institution «Zonal State Archives in Polotsk» was presented with the «Book of Memory. Republic of Belarus. Vitebsk region».