MINSK, 3 May (BelTA) – As of 1 April 2016, in Belarus there were as many as 13,682 Great Patriotic War veterans, BelTA learned from Tatyana Maksimova, the spokesperson for the Belarusian Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
Among Minsk residents there are two Heroes of the Soviet Union awarded the title during the Great Patriotic War, Vasily Michurin and Ivan Kustov. Some 2,400 out of 9,000 participants of the Great Patriotic War in Belarus are persons with disabilities.
The number of veterans is decreasing year by year due to the advanced age, illnesses, and the consequences of injuries sustained during the war. As many as 3,300 Great Patriotic War veterans died in 2015, followed by another 800 since the beginning of 2016.
As of 1 April 2016, in Belarus there were 3,800 people holding USSR orders and decorations for dedicated labor and military service in the rear and over 240 people who worked at air defense bases, on roads and railways near the front line, participated in the construction of defense facilities, and served on ships interned in seaports of other countries at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
As many as 59 people who participated in demining operations after the liberation from the Nazi invaders in 1943-1945 live in Belarus today. More than 560 Belarusians have medals For the Defense of Leningrad or badges To a Resident of Besieged Leningrad.
Today in Belarus there are fewer than 800 persons who became disabled in their childhood as a result of a wound, injury, contusion from combat operations during the Great Patriotic War. Besides, there are 784 family members of soldiers and partisans who died in that war.
Among the Belarusian population there are 22,300 former prisoners of concentration camps, prisons, ghettos and other places of confinement.
The legal status of Great Patriotic War veterans is established in the laws of the Republic of Belarus “Concerning the status of Heroes of Belarus, Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of Socialist Labor, and recipients of the Orders of the Homeland, Glory, and Labor Glory,” “Concerning veterans,” and “Concerning state social benefits, rights and guarantees for certain categories of citizens.” The documents spell out social protection measures available to war veterans, which include healthcare benefits, supply of medications, health resort treatment, housing, utilities, free travel on public transport, and others.
