Partisans of Belarus on show at BSU

The Partisans of Belarus interactive exhibition – devoted to the partisan and underground movement in the Republic during the Great Patriotic War and based on documents of the Belarus Segodnya Publishing House’s unique project, the National Archive, the Partisans of Belarus (partizany.by) portal, materials of the Belarusian State Archives of Films, Photographs and Sound Recording – has been launched at the Belarusian State University

The BSU Rector, Andrei Korol, addressed all those who came to the solemn opening ceremony, “This exhibition and the unique project in general enable us to find our relatives and turn to the past through them. I’m very grateful to the organisers of the Partisans of Belarus project since it primarily contributes to our perception of what happened in Belarus during the Great Patriotic War."

Visitors to the show can see historical photos from times of the Great Patriotic War, as well as award lists and combat characteristics of partisans and underground fighters. Meanwhile, an interactive stand of the partizany.by project enables anyone to try to find their heroic forefathers from among partisans and underground workers.

In turn, Andrei Demyanyuk, the Director of the National Archive of the Republic of Belarus, believes the project has long gone beyond the Republic. “It has been in existence for more than two years and continues developing. The project enjoys popularity in Belarus and abroad. After all, more than 70 nationalities participated in the partisan movement on the territory of our country.” He added that, in September, the exhibition was on show during the International Army Games and was placed third among over twenty participants.

Ivan Sinichkin, the Deputy Director – Editor-in-Chief of the Belarus Segodnya Publishing House, also addressed those present, saying, “"In 2021, the exhibition is being presented to university lecturers and students and, by now, it has been showcased in Brest, Grodno, Gomel, Vitebsk, Polotsk, Borisov and Minsk. It will further tour Belarusian higher educational establishments, also visiting district centres, military units, enterprises and organisations. It is very touching and awe-inspiring to watch how young people are looking for the surnames of their great-grandparents and rejoice when they eventually find them. More than 180,000 award e-cards have been uploaded so far and over 500,000 documents have already been digitised. They all tell us of the partisan and underground movement in Belarus during the Great Patriotic War." Mr. Sinichkin added that the database is expanding and the project is in the middle of its path.

Partisans of Belarus is actually a virtual encyclopaedia of Belarus’ partisan movement and each of us can contribute to the creation of this invaluable project. The exposition at the Belarusian State University is running until October 21st.