MINSK, 7 May (BelTA) – 9 May is more than just a date: the Great Victory reminds us of the heroic efforts made by the people to achieve peace, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Igor Sergeyenko said at the meeting of the third session of the House of Representatives of the eighth convocation, BelTA has learned.
According to the speaker, the meeting is taking place ahead of Victory Day, which demonstrated to the world the courage and resilience of the Soviet people in the fight against fascism.
“It was truly a Patriotic War, in which practically everyone, regardless of age, faith, religion or nationality, sought to contribute to the defense of the Motherland and bring closer the long-awaited moment when the Victory Banner would rise over the defeated Reichstag in Berlin,” Igor Sergeyenko said.
He noted that 9 nMay is not merely a historical date: the Great Victory unites the past, present and future, reminding us of the need to safeguard the peace achieved through heroic sacrifice. “Twenty-seven million dead, including three million Belarusians: that is the price the peoples of the Soviet Union had to pay,” he added.
Igor Sergeyenko noted: “Those who today are trying to play the ‘eastern card’, deliberately forgetting that it was the Soviet soldier who liberated Europe from Nazism, must remember the lessons of history and understand the full gravity of the consequences of revanchist policies and attempts to rewrite the results of the Second World War.”
The speaker stressed that Belarusians know the value of peace. “But knowing is not enough. We must work actively to be strong, to defend our sovereignty and independence, to develop the economy, and to raise a new generation of Belarusians in the spirit of patriotism and love for their Motherland,” he said. “There is no second Motherland. And we must make every effort to make it more beautiful and more comfortable to live in. And if necessary, we will defend it with weapons in hand, just as our heroic ancestors did during the long 1,418 days of the Great Patriotic War.”
Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer veterans left, Igor Sergeyenko noted. “And every 9 May is not just a holiday, but also a reminder that we are literally living in the moment when the generation that saw the war with their own eyes is passing away,” he added.
The chairman of the House of Representatives recalled that 574 veterans of the Great Patriotic War live in Belarus, including 269 war participants and disabled veterans, as well as 302 home-front workers and residents of besieged Leningrad.
In the run-up to Victory Day, members of parliament will travel to their constituencies to take part in honoring veterans and other commemorative events.
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