National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

26.06.2024

More than 400 people take part in the International Scientific and Practical Conference Belarus During the Great Patriotic War: History and Modernity (to the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus)

On June 25–26, 2024, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Education, and public associations of the country held an international scientific and practical conference Belarus During the Great Patriotic War: History and Modernity (to the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus). The forum was attended by more than 400 people – representatives of ministries and departments of the Republic of Belarus, the Prosecutor General's Office, scientists, archivists, teachers, students, local historians, museum and library workers from Minsk, Brest, Grodna, Gomiel, Viciebsk, Magiliow and other cities of Belarus, as well as historians of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

On behalf of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus, Tatyana Shendik, Head of the Main Department of Information Policy and Public Development of the Administration of the President, spoke at the forum. She noted the patriotic upsurge that the Belarusian society is experiencing today. Chief Scientific Secretary of the NAS of Belarus Vasily Gursky announced the report of Chairman of the Presidium of the NAS of Belarus Vladimir Gusakov. In particular, it was emphasized in the speech that the partisans and underground fighters provided invaluable assistance to the Red Army fronts in the summer offensive. By this time, about 270 thousand partisan associations, 144 brigades and 49 separate detachments were operating on the territory of Belarus. With the participation of the partisans, Minsk, two voblasc centres and more than 40 rajon centres of the republic were liberated in 1944.

Vadim Lakiza, Director of the Institute of History of the NAS of Belarus, told media representatives: "This year we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from Nazi invaders, next year – the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory. Therefore, the conference is large, large-scale, international. We take a comprehensive approach to the study of all issues related to the history of the Great Patriotic War. Special attention at the forum was paid to Operation Bagration, one of the greatest in the Second World War. It lasted for a short period, but it had a huge scope, a huge number of people were involved. This is an example of heroism."

In total, more than 100 reports and presentations of participants were made at the conference within the framework of the plenary session and the work of the sections: The Great Patriotic War in the Scientific, Cultural and Memorial Dimension, Events of the Great Patriotic War and the Post-War Era. History on the Pages of School Textbooks, The Nazi Occupation Regime and the Partisan Movement on the Territory of Belarus (1941–1944). The Institute of History of the NAS of Belarus, the Ministry of Defense, the National Archive and the Yakub Kolas Central Scientific Library prepared thematic exhibitions where participants could get acquainted with artifacts from the period of the Great Patriotic War, new scientific and popular scientific publications revealing little-known pages of the Great Patriotic War.