MOGILEV, 5 November (BelTA) – At the meeting with Mogilev residents on 5 November, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko urged people to respect their history, BelTA has learned.
“When the Soviet Union collapsed, everything that had to do with it was branded bad- someone wanted to wipe their feet on our history. Do not do it, because this is our history, it cannot be reversed,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president recalled his visit to Austria. According to him, on one of excursions they gushed so much over the Austro-Hungarian Empire that Aleksandr Lukashenko decided to ask the guide why they were so proud of those times, and why the Soviet Union was called the empire of evil. “And they said: These are politicians, not us; everything that is around here was created in that empire. In other words, they do not tarnish their history, they do not blacken it,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
Belarus did not reject good Soviet traditions, demolish monuments and rename streets, Aleksandr Lukashenko noted. Belarus decided to redefine the celebration of the October Revolution: now social, healthcare, sports and other facilities are commissioned across the country in the run-up to this day.
The president also touched upon this topic during the opening of the new heart center in Mogilev Oblast Hospital. The event was timed to October Revolution Day. “‘Smart' people in many countries decided that it is a bad day, a bad holiday. I do not think so. After all, this is our history. Everything we have today has its roots in the Soviet era. The country was destroyed during the Great Patriotic War (Belarus lay in ruins after the war), but we managed to bring the country back to life. And if not for those times, we would not have been able to create much and we would have lost much of what was created,” the head of state noted.
During his meeting with local residents, Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled another holiday: the Day of People's Unity. It was observed in Belarus for the first time this year; it is marked on 17 September. “You already have a designated street and a square. Well done, I am pleased that my fellow country people turned out to be quick on the uptake and did it,” the Belarusian leader said.
