On May 7, 2025, on the eve of Victory Day, a delegation of the NAS of Belarus headed by the Chairman of the Presidium Vladimir Gusakov laid flowers at the Obelisk to the fallen prisoners of war and civilians at the 9th kilometer of Moscow Highway in Uruchye. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Chairmen of the Presidium of the NAS of Belarus, academician secretaries of the Departments of Sciences, heads of organizations, historians, representatives of public organizations, and young scientists.
Vladimir Gusakov noted that scientists from the NAS of Belarus are carrying out painstaking work to restore the names of those who still sleep in unmarked graves. "We must continue to conduct scientific research, because today there are still so many unknown pages of history. It is necessary to convey the truth to people, first of all, to the youth. The memory of the courage of Soviet people is part of our genetic code," Vladimir Gusakov emphasized.
Speaking about the price that the Soviet people paid for the Great Victory, Academician-Secretary of the Department of Humanities and Arts of the NAS of Belarus Alexander Kovalenya cited the following figures: “In total, during the war, about 34 million people were drafted into the Armed Forces. The Soviet people paid 27 million victims, including about 3 million of us – Belarusians.”
The obelisk to the fallen prisoners of war and civilians at the 9th kilometer of Moscow Highway in Uruchye was erected in memory of more than 30 thousand Soviet prisoners of war, partisans and civilians who were shot and tortured by the Nazi invaders in 1941-1943. The memorial plaque bears the names of the soldiers who died in Uruchye area. The staff of the Institute of History took direct part in the work to establish information about mass graves and fallen heroes.
On the eve of Victory Day, employees of scientific organizations of the NAS of Belarus visit places of military glory, carry out work on the improvement of burial sites of scientists who participated in the Great Patriotic War and lay flowers at memorial complexes, obelisks, monuments, mass graves and graves of unknown soldiers.
