The construction of the Mound of Glory began in November 1967 and immediately became a national project. Thousands of people flocked to Minsk from all over the big country bringing a handful of soil from the places of military glory in memory of those who gave their lives for a peaceful future. In this episode, we will tell you why the famous Belarusian memorial is unique? How did the wife of the head of the BSSR help to "move" the Mound of Glory and whose faces are depicted on top of the monument? How the memorial almost fell into disrepair and why did Aleksandr Lukashenko demand to restore this symbol of the unity of all Soviet peoples?
Why did they decide to build the Mound of Glory in Belarus
482 steps of memory... The Mound of Glory is truly a
special monument for Belarus. The decision on it was made in August 1966 when
the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the BSSR approved
a proposal by the Minsk Oblast Party Committee to build a monument in Minsk
Oblast. According to the idea, it was to mark the victorious Operation
Bagration that destroyed Army Group Center, the most powerful group of forces
of Nazi Germany.
It was decided to place the
Mound of Glory not far from the Belarusian capital, next to the Minsk-Moscow
highway. As we have already noted, the fiercest battles took place in this
area, the occupiers were literally boiling in a cauldron. They say that the place
for the construction of the memorial was chosen by First Secretary of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the BSSR Piotr Masherov. Or rather,
his wife. Initially, the monument was to be built on the other side of the
highway. But Piotr Masherov took a drive along the Minsk-Moscow highway to see
how the monument would look like from the distance. It turned out that it was
"slipping" off the highway. A decision was made to move the monument
to the opposite side. Later, Masherov's daughter Natalia clarified that it was
the wife of Piotr Masherov, Polina, who spotted the unfortunate location of the
Mound of Glory on that trip.
Construction of the Mound of Glory 
The project broke ground on 30
September 1966. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the hero cities
of Moscow, Leningrad, Volgograd, Sevastopol, Odessa, Kiev, and Brest Hero
Fortress. The memorial plate has the inscription that reads: "The Mound of
Glory honors the Soviet Army that in 1944 defeated the largest group of
Hitler's troops with the active participation of partisans and involving the 1st,
2nd, 3rd Byelorussian Fronts and the 1stBaltic Front. During the Byelorussian offensive operation, Soviet troops
completely destroyed 17 and defeated 50 enemy divisions.” 
The construction of the Mound
of Glory began in November 1967. Soil was delivered here from Belarusian cities
and villages, hero cities of the Soviet Union and other memorable places
associated with the heroic deeds of the Soviet people during the Great
Patriotic War. Only after the pilgrimage of those wishing to add a handful of
soil stopped, excavators and trucks began to work here, and the mound rose to
35 meters (the height of a 12-story building). The total height of the memorial
exceeds 70 meters.
"The memory of the war heroes is embodied in this monument. The Mound of Glory was built on the site of the landmark battles. The mound was literally built by the hands of thousands of people who witnessed the war, who remembered their fallen comrades, mourned the lost relatives. During a year they brought handfuls of soil from the hero cities, the places of the partisan resistance, the soil that absorbed the tears of mothers, wives and children of fallen soldiers, the pain of loss of millions of lives. Again, imagine the state of mind of the people who came by thousands to Belarus, the holy land of Victory, to make this Mound. It really embodies the tears and mood of millions of Soviet people. It reflects the dreams, aspirations, sentiments. There is probably no more sacred man-made place as this one today,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the solemn event at the Mound of Glory memorial several years ago.
Back then he noted that the Mound of Glory is a sacred
symbol. A symbol of our independence and freedom. “We should be proud that
there is not even a small monument in Belarus unkempt, unattended. Even
Russians, knowing this, highly appreciate the attitude of Belarusians to the
monuments of the Great Patriotic War. There are thousands, thousands and
thousands of them on our land. Someone is proud of their wealth in the form of
natural gas, oil, gold, metals, but there is no more valuable and expensive
gift than Great Victory. Why is it very dear to us? Because Belarus paid for it
with every third life. As the great Lenin once said, we must ask ourselves the
question: what legacy are we rejecting? Those who want to forget Victory are
simply madmen. They don't think about what we can lose,” the Belarusian leader
noted. 
Architectural solutions
For the stability of the structure during
construction, a pillar foundation was laid, going to a depth of 30m. Two stairs
(241 steps each) around the mound lead to the observation deck at the top of
the mound. The bayonets on the top of the mound symbolize the fronts that
participated in the liberation of Belarus: the 1st, 2nd, 3rd Byelorussian
Fronts and the 1st Baltic Front.
A wide stone ring has an
inscription on the inner side: "Hail to the Soviet Army, the Liberation
Army!" and mosaic images of the Orders of the Patriotic War and
Glory. On the outer surface of the ring
there are bas-reliefs symbolizing the generalized images of the defenders of
the Motherland: a young partisan, an old partisan, a pilot, a sailor, a
tankman, young and old infantrymen.
The monument was unveiled on 5 July 1969 to mark the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazis. The simple and majestic Mound of Glory harmoniously fits into the surrounding landscape and is clearly visible from afar from all sides. The authors of the monument, sculptor Andrei Bembel and architect Oleg Stakhovich, were presented with the State Award of the BSSR in 1970 for the great idea and artistic solution.
Why did the Mound of Glory necessitate reconstruction?
How could such a memorial fall into disrepair then? After all, it was built for centuries and with a firm belief that the great country, which defeated the most terrible dark force in the history of mankind, would only grow stronger and prosper.
At the turn of the 2000s Aleksandr Lukashenko said that those who built the Mound could not have imagined that everything would turn out different, that the Soviet Union would cease to exist. The Soviet soldier would never justify the failure to defense the Soviet Motherland in peacetime.
The Belarusian president emphasized: “The collapse of the Soviet Union created an enormous devastation in minds. The devastation inflicted from the outside and fiercely heated up by nationalists from inside the country. Insolent nationalists manipulated both the government and the parliament of the country. Everything related to the Soviet Union, including the great Victory and the Victors, was rejected. Here, in Belarus, in the partisan country, nationalists tried to present partisans as bandits and German accomplices as fighters for the national idea. In this environment, the monuments of the Great Patriotic War, including the Mound of Glory, were falling into disrepair.”
In 2003, the head of state supported the initiative by the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB) to take patronage over the Mound of Glory. The first large-scale renovation of the memorial was carried out that year. The surrounding area was landscaped, administrative buildings and engineering networks repaired, and a new irrigation system was installed. The second phase saw the upper decorative ring and the steps repaired and a museum of military hardware opened. In the spring of 2004, a park named after the 60th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War was laid out around the monument.
At the inauguration of the restored Mound of Glory the head of state noted that the Mound of Glory is a symbol of military valor and brotherhood in arms. “Time highlights the meaning and essence of the symbols left over to use by our ancestors. The armies that joined here for liberation battles is seen today as a memorable unity of all Soviet peoples, invincible by their common desire for freedom, social and spiritual progress. And first of all, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, who form the civilization of the Eastern Slavs, decorated with pearls and gems of other peoples. From the top of this Mound of Glory we can see our common past and can look into the future. I believe that despite all hardships and trials, our brotherly nations will pave the way to a worthy future. The war veterans who liberated the world from fascism will not feel ashamed of us, our children and grandchildren. We must honorably fulfill the promise of our glorious fathers and grandfathers to preserve the unity of brotherly peoples, to protect their peaceful and happy life,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The renovated Mound of Glory re-opened on 1 July 2004. The official ceremony was attended by the presidents of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. The memorial complex acquired its modern look in May 2015 thanks to the efforts of trade unions and volunteers.
“The monument had not undergone major repairs since its inauguration. First major repairs were carried out by the Federation of Trade Unions in 2003. The effort involved not only the Federation of Trade Unions. A call was made to the entire nation. A lot of people pitched in, either by donating money or doing some work. Since then, routine maintenance has been carried out, including several major repair rounds. Also, on the initiative of the Federation of Trade Unions, an open-air museum was opened on the lower platform. The display of military hardware from the Great Patriotic War arouses great interest among visitors: both Belarusian and foreign tourists,” Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus Yuri Senko said. 
In 2017, Aleksandr Lukashenko bestowed Spiritual Revival Award upon the Federation of Trade Unions. A number of the FTUB initiatives were highly recognized, with the reconstruction of the Mound of Glory being a major large-scale project.
Why does Lukashenko keep the reconstruction of the Mound of Glory under personal control?
In August, Minsk Oblast Governor Aleksandr Turchin reported to the president on the stages of financing construction and installation works and plans for their completion. According to him, one of the solutions under discussion is the installation of railings along the stairs leading to the top of the Mound. On the one hand, their presence would secure safe ascending, but on the other hand, the architecture of the monument may suffer. In addition, it will require additional funding. This issue is still to be worked out in detail.
“It is not even about money. We must not spoil the original look,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized. “There is absolutely no need for frills here.”
Yuri Senko stated that the Mound of Glory is a special monument for Belarus. Not only in terms of architectural features. Firstly, it was built by ordinary people who came here from different parts of the country. And secondly, the monument has a special ideological component.
“It carries the memory of hard times for our country. But at the same time it celebrates the Victory, the liberation of Belarus. It is associated more with joyful events for our people, and we must maintain it in proper condition. There are a number of plans, the head of state has been submitted a proposal to create a museum here. The president instructed to think about it, but not to distort the very meaning of the monument. Therefore, we are thinking about this issue,” the FTUB leader said.
