VITEBSK, 27 August (BelTA) - The remains of 147 Red Army soldiers were reburied in a mass grave in the agro-town of Vorony, Vitebsk District on 27 August, BelTA learned from the Vitebsk District Executive Committee.
The remains were discovered during excavations near the villages of Yeremino, Ranino, and Luchinovka in Vitebsk District. The excavations were conducted by servicemen of the 52nd Separate Specialized Search Battalion together with the search detachments from Vitebsk and Novopolotsk, volunteers from Moscow Oblast, Smolensk Oblast, and Chelyabinsk Oblast of Russia and students and schoolchildren from Vitebsk and the surrounding district. The search detachments uncovered remains believed to belong to soldiers of the 134th and 262nd Rifle Divisions, hospital burials from the 215th Rifle Division, and the 17th Guards Rifle Division, dating back to 1943-1944.
The soldiers were laid to rest, and their memory was honored with a moment of silence. The Vitebsk District Executive Committee noted that nearly 8,300 fallen soldiers are buried at the military cemetery in Vorony.
Near the village of Yeremino, alongside the remains of 30 soldiers, two medals were found: “For Combat Merit” and “Partisan of the Patriotic War”. The first belonged to Junior Sergeant Nikolai Bolshakov from Novosibirsk Oblast. The second medal’s recipient could not be identified. Additionally, captain’s medical service shoulder boards were found with the remains. According to archival records, Captain Konstantin Ananyev, a senior physician of the 134th Rifle Division, died in that area. It is believed that his remains were among those discovered.
The committee also reported that since the beginning of the year, search detachments have discovered the remains of 206 Red Army soldiers in the district. In total, there are 125 military burial sites in Vitebsk district, where more than 66,000 defenders of the Fatherland have found their final resting place.
Photos by Aleksandr Khitrov
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