11 May 2026

Kushnarenko laid flowers at the Mound of Glory and called for the protection of historical truth

Today, on Victory Day, Belarus pays tribute to its heroes: those who are still with us and those who have passed away, known and unknown. Across the country, people are laying flowers at monuments to liberating soldiers, memorials, and the graves of unknown soldiers. The head of the Minsk Region, Alexei Kushnarenko, traditionally joined the nationwide act of remembrance: the governor laid roses at the Mound of Glory — a place that has long become for Belarusians not merely a symbol of courage and resilience, but a sacred site.

Immeasurable damage

— Today we mark the 81st anniversary of the Great Victory. A victory that forever inscribed the immortal feat of our people in history. Belarus had to endure the most terrible trials. Every third resident perished in the flames of war. The economic damage was immeasurable as well: cities and villages, plants and factories, collective and state farms were destroyed, while many cultural relics disappeared without a trace, — said Alexei Kushnarenko during the ceremonial event.

Heroes of national memory

The atrocities committed by the fascist occupiers aroused the people’s righteous anger, the governor stressed. An unprecedented wave of patriotism and readiness to die for the Motherland swept through millions of people, young and old. Sons and daughters of Belarusian soil, natives of the Minsk Region, fought heroically on all fronts of the Great Patriotic War.

— The name of Yefrosinya Kononova, the first of nine female partisans to be awarded the Order of Lenin, will remain forever in the people’s memory. As the leader of an underground group, she fell into enemy hands but did not betray any of her fellow fighters, — noted the head of the central region. — News about Vasily Knyazev, who completed a record number of combat sorties among Soviet fighter pilots — 1,088 — was broadcast across the country in Levitan’s voice.

The people will forever remember the feat of 14-year-old scout Marat Kazei. The young native of the village of Stankovo in the Dzerzhinsk District blew himself up with a grenade after being surrounded by fascists.

— Military educational institutions still cite as an example the heroic actions of Guards Colonel Vasily Zyl, a native of the Smolevichi District. Under his command, forward artillery units crossed the Oder and covered the advance of Soviet troops with concentrated, accurate fire.

Those to whom we owe our lives

More than 80 natives and residents of the Minsk Region were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Thousands received military orders and medals.

— Some of them are among us today. Dear veterans! — the head of the Minsk Region addressed the participants in the ceremonial event. — Please accept our deepest gratitude for defending your native land, and for reviving it to a new, brighter life during the years of severe hardship.

A sacred duty

Preserving historical truth is the duty of the modern generation, Alexei Kushnarenko reminded.

— In the formidable 1940s, no one but our fathers and grandfathers could save humanity from the brown plague. Today, no one but us will defend the truth about the war. Our sacred duty is to be worthy heirs of the heroic victors, to preserve and strengthen state sovereignty and independence, — concluded the Chairman of the Minsk Regional Executive Committee.

The memory of the fallen heroes was traditionally honoured with a minute of silence.