This is our common memory: about 500 people gathered for an event dedicated to the 83rd anniversary of the Battle of Lenino

Every year on October 12, the quiet agro-town of Lenino in the Goretsky district becomes a place where history comes to life. Here, people gather to the memorial complex of the Soviet-Polish Combat Commonwealth to remember the events of the autumn of 1943, when, together with Soviet soldiers, the First Polish Infantry Division named after Tadeusz Kosciuszko entered the battle with the Wehrmacht forces. Belarusians, Russians and Poles stood shoulder to shoulder against the occupiers. On the 83rd anniversary of the battle, delegations from three countries gathered here again, representatives of public, veteran organizations, labor collectives, youth – only about five hundred people.

83 years separate us from those October days. But time has no power over memory. While we come here, while the names of the dead sound, while schoolchildren come to the memorials, while adults tell children about the feat of their ancestors, the heroes remain with us, said Nikolai Orlenok, Chairman of the Goretsk District Executive Committee. - For our district, for Mogilev region and for the whole of Belarus, Lenino is not just a geographical name. It's a place of military glory. The place where the history of the Great Patriotic War was preserved not only in documents and museum exhibits, but also in the land itself, watered with the blood of Soviet and Polish soldiers.

In the hands of the young guys who came to honor the memory of representatives of different peoples who fought here against the Nazis are scarlet carnations. Yana Sergeevna Latskevich, a third-year student of the Goretsk Pedagogical College, is a future primary school teacher, convinced that such events are especially important for young people:

- Older generations, veterans are leaving, and we have to take over from them the baton of memory. To later tell about the war, feats and unnamed heroes to our children. We see that despite the fact that the borders are closed, what is happening in Poland today, the Poles, overcoming obstacles and cordons, go to Belarus. Belarusians and Russians gather in such memorable places, because the feat of their ancestors reminds us of the main thing – how important it is to appreciate this world. Every day we see from the news how easy it is to destroy everything. Frightening things are happening near our borders – events in Ukraine, growing anxiety and discontent among the Polish population. And we begin to appreciate even more that we feel calm inside our native Belarus.

The memory of the battle of Lenino remains common as long as those who are ready to overcome any boundaries for its sake live. Vesław Fajdek came to Lenino from the Polish city of Witnica. At the solemn rally, he - in military uniform and a hat with an eagle - "slingshot". Explains that it came from a friend of Cheslaw Khmelevsky, who fought against the Nazis:

- I'm here to pay tribute to the dead soldiers. I would like to sincerely thank the Belarusians for being so reverent of the memory and caring for the graves of our Polish Zholners. Touched by the way the event is organized: a military orchestra, a heartfelt ceremony, a soulful welcome. When you're here, you feel like political differences are somewhere far away, outside the memorial. The older generation is leaving, my friend Czeslaw is no longer here. Memory begins to fade. That cannot be allowed to happen. Belarusians are not threatened, I see how many young guys are present at the event.

Such care for the soldiers and the preservation of historical memory, according to the Poles who came to Lenino, is the best answer to any political situation.

- We cherish the memory of the soldiers who gave their lives for the liberation of our land, regardless of their nationality. They're all heroes to us. Today we see the complex and tense geopolitical situation, and a merciless war with historical memory is underway in the West and in the Baltic countries. It is with pain and indignation that we observe how monuments to soldiers-liberators are being destroyed in a number of European countries, how history textbooks are being rewritten, how attempts are being made to rehabilitate Nazism and equate victims with executioners. Politicians in the West seek to erase from the memory of their own people the fact that it was the Soviet Union that saved Europe from total annihilation and the brown plague. But here, on Belarusian soil, we say firmly that we will not allow history to be rewrote and will not allow the feat of our ancestors to be desecrated. Patriotism for Belarusians is not just loud words, it is a deep sincere sense of gratitude and historical responsibility. Our President has repeatedly stressed that the historical truth is the basis of our national security and sovereignty, – said at the event, Deputy Head of the Main Directorate of Ideological Work and Youth Affairs of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee Oleg Pishchenko. – Today Belarus is a peaceful, sovereign and strong state that has never threatened or threatened anyone, but is able to protect its land, its values and its history. We perfectly distinguish the military and political rhetoric of Western elites from the aspirations of ordinary people. We know that ordinary Polish people remember their heroes and their true history. This is evidenced by compatriots and representatives of Polish public associations who, despite the borders and possible pressure, continue to come here to Lenino to lay flowers at memorials and bow low to the feat of Soviet and Polish soldiers.

Today, participants of the solemn rally in Lenino laid flowers at the graves in the Polish military cemetery, visited the Museum of the Soviet-Polish Combat Commonwealth, took part in the reburial of the remains of 25 Soviet soldiers raised by searchers in the Goretsky district during fieldwork this summer.