MINSK, 22 January (BelTA) – A ceremony to unveil a commemorative plaque to honor the veterans of the Great Patriotic War who served in the foreign policy department took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 22 January, the Day of the Diplomatic Worker of the Republic of Belarus, BelTA has learned.
The event served as an important symbol of preserving historical memory and ensuring the continuity of generations within the Belarusian diplomatic service.
The ceremony was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Maxim Ryzhenkov, Chairwoman of the Association of Veterans of the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zoya Kolontai, veterans of the diplomatic service, and representatives of the Young Diplomats Club. The entire staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs joined the event online.
This event symbolized the continuity of generations, respect for the valor of the victors, and the responsibility of the diplomatic profession towards history and the future. The event is dedicated to those who fought on the front lines, partisan units, intelligence, and the home front, and who, in the post-war years, joined the diplomatic service, laying its moral and professional foundations. The Book of Remembrance at the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs contains the names of employees of the foreign policy service who participated in the Great Patriotic War.
Addressing the ceremony, Maxim Ryzhenkov noted that for Belarusian diplomacy, the memory of the people's valor during the Great Patriotic War is the moral foundation of the profession. According to him, the commemorative plaque is not only a tribute to the past but also a guiding beacon for current and future generations of diplomats.
He noted that the wartime generation brought qualities essential to state service into the diplomatic corps: resilience, loyalty to duty, the ability to defend principled positions, and a commitment to serving peace. Special words of gratitude during the event were extended to members of the Veterans Association, who preserve the traditions of the service and pass them on to young diplomats, ensuring a living connection between times and generations.
In her speech, Zoya Kolontai emphasized the significance of the Book of Remembrance, which includes the names of employees of the foreign policy service who went through the Great Patriotic War: from ordinary soldiers and partisans to intelligence officers and medical personnel. She noted that it is from this generation that the diplomatic service inherited its key moral compass, which is passed on to next generations.
During the ceremony, it was also highlighted that among the war veteran employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were future leaders of the foreign policy service of the Byelorussian SSR, including Foreign Ministers Kuzma Kiselev and Anatoly Gurinovich, whose combat experience became an important part of their personal and professional development.
On 22 January Belarus celebrates Diplomatic Workers’ Day. The holiday was established in 2018 by a decree of the president of the Republic of Belarus in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This date is linked to the history of the first foreign policy department during the formative period (1919-1920) of Belarusian statehood - the Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia (SSRB). The first public announcement about the Commissariat was published in the Zvyazda newspaper on 22 January 1919.
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