MINSK, 9 May (BelTA) – The Great Victory is the central and key moment in the history of revival and establishment of the Belarusian nation. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement during the ceremony held on 9 May to lay wreaths and flowers at the Victory Monument as part of the patriotic campaign “Belarus remembers!”, BelTA has learned.
“Less than eighty years ago the bloody tornado of the most terrible war in history was stopped by sacrificial deeds of Soviet people. This fact is forever secured in ruins of the Reichstag and the instrument of unconditional capitulation of fascist Germany,” the head of state said. “The German war machine fell apart after encountering the unprecedented heroism and valor of our fathers, grandfathers, and great grandfathers. The Great Victory was forged on the frontlines and on the home front for four long years. Both elderly people and kids rose up to fight the enemy.”
By spending millions of lives of its sons and daughters in exchange for freedom, the Soviet Union saved humanity from enslavement and some nations from full extinction, the Belarusian leader pointed out.
The president stressed that the contemporary generation takes pride in its forefathers and veterans, who won the war: “We praise their heroic deeds. As we stand at the Eternal Flame, we swear an oath that we will do everything to remember them forever.”
“Remember: we come here to prevent a repeat of the terrible past. If we forget this past, if we stop coming to monuments, the past will come to us,” Aleksandr Lukashenko warned. The head of state recalled one of the important historical lessons learned by humanity: “The way you treat the memory of your ancestors, particularly those, who gifted life and freedom to you, is the way the future generations will treat you.”
“We cannot live forever. We are mortal. Remember, please: come to the monuments, come to the Eternal Flame. Calmly and quietly. Without any organization,” the Belarusian leader urged. “Remember and bow to those, who gifted us freedom, if we don’t want to fight a war.”
The current generation of Belarusians urges the future generations to hold sacred the truth about that war as the greatest value. It is a symbol of the unbreakable link between generations, one of the foundations of the spiritual unity and solidarity of the nation, the head of state added.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “The Great Victory is the central and key moment in the history of revival and establishment of the Belarusian nation. Today its lessons allow taking a glimpse of the future if one remembers and knows the past. While the zest for life and the creative energy of the generation of victors, who restored the country from ruins, set an example of how we should live and work.”
