Exhibition of documents from the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus on the 100th anniversary of Belarusian militia
On 4 March 2017 the Belarusian militia (police) celebrated the 100th anniversary of its foundation. Among the numerous jubilee events is a documentary exhibition that opened at the Republic Palace in Minsk. The exhibition shows numerous documents available from the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus.
Among the participants at the formal meeting and the celebration concert dedicated to the Belarusian Militia Day were President of Belarus Aleksander Lukashenko, government members, deputies of the Chamber of Representatives and the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, diplomats and numerous guests.
The documentary exhibition is prepared by the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus and the Museum of the Interior Ministry of the Republic of Belarus.
The documents of the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus presented at the exhibition
reflect the history of the formation and development of the internal affairs bodies in Belarus. The 1920s and 1930s are shown in the original documents illuminating the creation of various militia structures, training of their personnel, struggle against banditism and crime, participation in liquidation of children’s homelessness.
During the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 the special and Cheka groups (Extraordinary Commission to Combat Counter-Revolution and Sabotage), partisan detachments created and led by militia officers heroically fought against Nazi invaders in the Nazi-occupied area of Belarus. Many of them were awarded the high government awards.
After the war Belarusian militiamen liquidated bandit underground formations, participated in demining the explosives left by the occupiers in Belarus, founded orphanages for children who lost their parents, fought against crime.
A special page in the history of Belarusian militia is their participation in liquidating the catastrophe on the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. From the first days of the accident the militia officers and regular staff of the interior bodies worked in the Chernobyl zone, helped relocating the population from the contaminated districts, provided guard, safety and public order in these districts, protected against marauding and looting.
The documents of the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus aroused great interest and attention among the militia members and numerous guests who participated at the celebration of Belarusian Militia Day.