SLUTSK, 7 May (BelTA) - Historical memory helps Belarusians survive in geopolitical turbulence, State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus Aleksandr Volfovich said at the event marking Victory Day in Slutsk on 7 May, BelTA has learned.
“In just a few days our country will celebrate one of the most important dates in the calendar of Belarusians - Victory Day. This year is marking an anniversary as we have been living in peace for eight decades. We will pay tribute to the people who did not falter in a difficult hour, but took up arms and fought for the freedom of their Fatherland, for the liberation of their people,” Aleksandr Volfovich said.
The state secretary of the Security Council emphasized that the Great Patriotic War occupies a special place in the life of every Belarusian. “I will probably be right if I say that almost every Belarusian family has someone to remember – their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers, who fought for the freedom of their Fatherland. After all, our country, like no other country in the world, suffered the largest losses and destruction,” he added.
Aleksandr Volfovich recalled that more than 200 cities of the country were almost razed to the ground. More than 12,000 villages and settlements were burned and destroyed, about 290 settlements repeated the fate of Khatyn. Every third person died. The Jewish population was driven into ghettos and exterminated. The Slutsk land also suffered a lot during the war.”
“The spirit on the Belarusian land was not broken. Underground fighting groups, partisan formations were set up to fight against the fascists during all four years. In 1944, only thanks to the rapid advance of the Red Army during the Bagration operation, Slutsk was not completely destroyed,” the state secretary of the Security Council emphasized. “Many units, liberating Slutsk in 1944, were given the name Slutsk, which they still wear on their battle banners.”
According to Aleksandr Volfovich, historical memory helps Belarusians survive in the geopolitical turbulence that the world is facing today. “As the head of the state said, we must grip the historical memory with our teeth and hold on to it. As soon as we forget the way to the Brest Fortress, Khatyn and other holy places on the territory of our country, we will be immediately destroyed. Memory is our defense. Memory is our backbone, spiritual and moral basis of the fact that Belarus is living, developing and prospering today. There is no future without the memory of the past. It is an axiom. Therefore, we honor what our great-grandfathers and grandfathers did during the Great Patriotic War, what our veterans did. We bow low and thank them for the immortal feat they performed for our benefit,” he emphasized.
Aleksandr Volfovich extended Victory Day greetings and wished everyone strong health, vigor, energy, peaceful skies and new accomplishments.
Follow us on:
