The National Archives of the Republic of Belarus presented the documentary exhibition «Liberation. The Road to Victory»

On July 2, 2026, the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus opened the documentary exhibition «Liberation. The Road to Victory», dedicated to Independence Day and the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders.

The road to liberation from the Nazi occupiers began in the fall of 1943, when the first cities and regional centers of Belarus were liberated. In the summer of 1944, the Red Army continued the liberation of the republic during the Belarusian Strategic Offensive Operation «Bagration», which began on June 23, 1944. It was carried out by troops of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Belarusian Fronts, the 1st Baltic Front, the Dnieper Military Flotilla, the 1st Army of the Polish Army, and partisan formations. The troops were commanded by renowned Soviet military leaders—Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K.Rokossovsky, Generals of the Army I.Kh.Bagramyan, G.F.Zakharov, and I.D.Chernyakhovsky. The fronts’ actions were coordinated by representatives of the Supreme High Command Headquarters—Marshals of the Soviet Union A.M.Vasilevsky and G.K.Zhukov.

The Red Army’s powerful attack was matched by the decisive actions of the Belarusian partisans, who, for the first time in the Great Patriotic War, established communications and operational coordination with the frontline troops. These people’s avengers attacked enemy communications, disrupted the delivery of reinforcements, weapons, and ammunition to the front lines, and organized ambushes. Operation «Rail War», which unfolded in August 1943, became an unprecedented example of strategic cooperation between Soviet partisans and the regular army. The coherence and colossal scale of the partisan detachments’ actions effectively opened a second front behind enemy lines, forever changing the course of the Great Patriotic War.

The National Archives of the Republic of Belarus presented the most interesting documents from its archival holdings at the exhibition: orders of the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement (CHPM) and the Belarusian Headquarters of the Partisan Movement (BHPM), unique military maps, diagrams, encrypted telegrams, reports, and command orders documenting the planning and execution of the operation to liberate Belarus, examples of mass heroism displayed in these battles, award and personal records of partisan cadres, and other documents.

V.GMazets, Phd in History and a leading researcher at the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus, introduced the documentary exhibition to employees of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus.

1. Exhibition poster

2. Exhibit of the documentary exhibition «Liberation. The Road to Victory»

3-5. Archival documents on display

6. Leading researcher at the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus, V.G.Mazets, introduces the exhibition to Ministry of Justice staff