Materials prepared for liberation movement museum in Grodno

Historians are ready to provide five volumes of materials to establish a museum of the liberation movement in Western Belarus – as informed by Piotr Petrovsky, a political scientist and expert of the Belaya Rus public association

The Chairman of the Council of Veterans of Grodno’s Oktyabrsky District, Vladimir Tyutyunnik, was among the participants of the recently held Single Belarus forum. In his speech, he turned to the topic of the preservation of the historical truth – proposing to develop a memorial dedicated to the key historical milestones and tragic events of our modern history that took place in the Grodno Region. The Armed Forces’ veteran expressed confidence that last year's riots were the result of substitution of historical facts.

“It may happen that – after learning that more than 100 villages were destroyed along with their inhabitants in the Grodno Region alone and tens of thousands of people died in concentration camps here – many will think over the reasons of such tragedies, while also drawing parallels between today's peaceful and prosperous life and political storms that took the lives of thousands of peaceful people for decades less than a century ago,” he stressed.

Those present at the meeting agreed with Mr. Tyutyunnik’s words, confirming that it’s high time to use all mechanisms to convey truthful information about the events of the past. In turn, Piotr Petrovsky came up with an initiative, “In the 1980s, the task was set to establish in Grodno a museum of the liberation movement in Western Belarus. Writer Aleksei Karpyuk – who was a member of the national liberation movement in Western Belarus – had to supervise the project. Sadly, despite all his efforts during the Perestroika times, the work was put on pause. However, we now have five volumes of preliminary studies which, in my opinion, should be further developed so that children and students can see the realities of that time with their own eyes. It’s also necessary to ensure that this work transforms not into an abstract history textbook paragraph but actual documentary materials and life stories. I hope the Grodno Regional Executive Committee and the country's leadership will support this idea.”