«Archively important: the history of the Vitebsk region in faces. Woman – mother, protector, worker.» Under this title, a thematic lounge was held in Vitebsk, one of the co-organizers of which was the State Archives of the Vitebsk Region

The State Archives of the Vitebsk Region acted as a co-organizer of the project – the thematic lounge «Archively important: the history of the Vitebsk region in faces. Woman – mother, protector, worker», dedicated to Mother’s Day

On October 14, 2024, in Vitebsk, as part of the «Week of Parental Love», the State Archives of the Vitebsk Region, the regional organization of the Belarusian Trade Union of Employees of State and Other Institutions, the regional library named after V. Lenin with the participation of the cultural institution «Vitebsk Regional Museum of the Hero of the Soviet Union M.F. Shmyrev» organized an event «Archively important: the history of the Vitebsk region in faces. Woman – mother, protector, worker», dedicated to Mother’s Day.

The event was held in the format of a thematic lounge. In this format, events have been held in the Vitebsk region for the second year. The lounge is a form of relaxed, friendly communication between organizers, speakers and guests. The basis of such meetings is archival sources.

The goal is to get acquainted with the history of Belarus through the prism of the fates of people for whom the Vitebsk region is a small homeland. The task is to popularize personal funds.

The holders of personal funds, whose funds are stored in the archives of the Vitebsk region, and simply interesting people who have made a significant contribution to the development of their region are invited to meetings in thematic lounges. They share their knowledge, memories and work experience with guests.

The current lounge «Archively important: the history of the Vitebsk region in faces. Woman – mother, protector, worker» was held at the Vitebsk Regional Library named after V.I. Lenin.

Before the event, visitors to the lounge were able to see the exhibition stands: «Maternal Glory», which presented archival documents and photocopies of original documents of mothers-heroines (created jointly by the State Archives of the Vitebsk Region and the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local History); about women who participated in the underground and partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War (prepared by the Vitebsk Regional Museum of the Hero of the Soviet Union M.F. Shmyrev); about outstanding women of the Vitebsk Region, in particular, about the Hero of Socialist Labor, Honorary Citizen of the City of Vitebsk Maria Chumanikhina.

The lounge was opened by the Deputy Director of the State Archives of the Vitebsk Region, Tatyana Buevich, who reminded those present that honoring mothers with many children is a long-standing tradition of our state, a tribute of great respect of the state to the feat of the mother. By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a whole system of maternal awards was established. The first awarding of the honorary title «Mother Heroine» was made by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated October 27, 1944. The presentation of the first award took place on November 1, 1944.

The attendees were told about the awards of mothers-heroines stored in the funds of the regional museum of local history.

As part of the living room, a virtual «Mother Museum» was presented – a joint project of the Vitebsk city and regional organizations of the public association «Belarusian Union of Women» and the Vitebsk State University named after P.M. Masherov.

The organizers presented the virtual project «Women-librarians of the Vitebsk region in the fight for Victory».

A special place in the hearts of the residents of the Vitebsk region is occupied by the name of Hero of the Soviet Union Zinaida Tusnolobova-Marchenko (1920 – 1980). During her eight months at the front, the senior medical officer carried 123 wounded from the battlefield. Trying to help a platoon commander, she was seriously wounded on February 2, 1943, near the Gorshechnoye station in the Kursk region, and lost her arms and legs due to frostbite. The slogan «For Zina Tusnolobova!» appeared on the sides of many Soviet tanks and planes. After the war, she lived in Polotsk, did community work, got married and had children.

Veteran of the women’s movement Zoya Karpovna Krot told about the history of the Zinaida Tusnolobova-Marchenko Prize, which has been awarded in the Vitebsk region since 1987 to the best representatives of the fair sex.

Guests were able to meet the laureates of the regional Zinaida Tusnolobova-Marchenko Prize.

The work biography of the Hero of Socialist Labor, honorary citizen of Vitebsk Maria Chumanikhina (1935 – 2005) made an indelible impression on the guests. In 1978, she headed the Vitebsk Lime Materials Plant (OAO Dolomit). Thanks to the organizational skills of the director, the enterprise and the urban settlement of Ruba received a new impetus for development. Maria Chumanikhina contributed to the recreation of the artist Ilya Repin’s estate in Zdravnevo.

Visitors to the living room were able to see a documentary chronicle about Maria Chumanikhina from the funds of the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents and a five-minute amateur film shot in the urban settlement of Ruba and dedicated to this remarkable woman.

The living room inspired the guests. Impressed by the atmosphere of the event, a small «improvisation» took place – journalist, veteran of the Vitebsk City Women’s Union Nina Pisarenko shared her memories of Maria Chumanikhina.

Photo 1. Presentation of stand exhibitions before the event «Of great importance: the history of the Vitebsk region in faces. Woman – mother, protector, worker»

Photo 2. Presentation of stand exhibitions before the event «Of great importance: the history of the Vitebsk region in faces. Woman – mother, protector, worker»

Photo 3. Presentation of stand exhibitions before the event «Of great importance: the history of the Vitebsk region in faces. Woman – mother, protector, worker»

Photo 4. Opens the event «Of great importance: the history of the Vitebsk region in faces. Woman – mother, protector, worker» Buevich Tatyana

Photo 5. Davydovskaya Olga, chief custodian of the funds of the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local History, speaks

Photo 6. Pototskaya Tatyana (head of the general reading room of the Vitebsk Regional Library named after V.I. Lenin) speaks with a presentation of the virtual project «Women librarians of the Vitebsk region in the fight for Victory»

Photo 7. Bondareva Elena Mikhailovna, head of the IPS and automated archival technologies department of the State Archives of the Vitebsk Region, speaks with a message «Who defeated fate: the feat of Zinaida Mikhailovna Tusnolobova-Marchenko»

Photo 8. The holder of a personal origin fund Zoya Karpovna Krot, a veteran of the women’s movement, speaks with a message about the origins of the establishment of the regional prize named after Zinaida Tusnolobova-Marchenko

Photo 9. Winners of the Zinaida Tusnolobova-Marchenko regional prize – Elena Zhebentyaeva and Alexandra Solovieva with their daughter (in the center) with Olga Vyacheslavovna Ivanova, Chairperson of the Vitebsk City Council of Deputies, member of the board of the Vitebsk city organization of the public association «Belarusian Union of Women» (left) and Elena Vasilievna Nefedova, Chairperson of the Vitebsk regional organization of the Belarusian Trade Union of Employees of State and Other Institutions, deputy of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies, member of the board of the Vitebsk regional organization of the public association «Belarusian Union of Women» (right)

Photo 10. Larisa Ivanovna Rogacheva, head of the local history department of the Vitebsk Regional Library named after V.I. Lenin, delivers a report about Maria Chumanikhina

Photo 11. In the hall during the event

Photo 12. Organizers and speakers of the event (from left to right): speakers Larisa Rogacheva, Elena Bondareva, director of the State Archives of the Vitebsk Region Alexander Nikolaevich Korol, chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Organization of the Belarusian Trade Union of Workers of State and Other Institutions Elena Vasilievna Nefedova, speaker Zoya Karpovna Krot, chairman of the Vitebsk City Council of Deputies Olga Vyacheslavovna Ivanova, director of the Vitebsk Regional Library named after V.I. Lenin Tatyana Nikolaevna Adamyan, chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Organization of the Belarusian Trade Union of Construction and Building Materials Industry Workers Sergei Igorevich Vovk.