Thousands of Belarusians met the "Memory Train" in honor of the Second World War
A unique "Memory Train" arrived in Belarus on June 19. This is not just a train, but a mobile museum dedicated to the heroic deeds of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. The train is met by queues on the platforms and hundreds of visitors at each stop.
"Belarus, Baranovichi station. There is no compartment or a reserved seat on this train, each of the seven cars is actually a museum on a wheelset," Roman Polshakov, a correspondent for Izvestia, explained.
The carriages, as well as on the platform, are crowded, instead of guides there are guides with shoulder straps, you do not need a ticket. On the eve of the 85th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, they tell about the feat accomplished by the Soviet people and show the atrocities of the fascists. A mock-up of villages burned by the Germans, and here is a slab from the Brest Fortress, which was the first to take the brunt of the Wehrmacht.
"It is very painful to look at the atrocities, how the civilian population was mocked and burned," said Alla Gorshkova, a visitor to the military—patriotic rally.
This is not just an educational staff. Everyone can try on a pilot's helmet or feel like the captain of a ship, test their accuracy in a laser shooting range or take the helm of an aircraft simulator.
Before the train crossed the territory of Belarus, it made stops in the cities of military glory of Rzhev and Vyazma, and in the union state, the train was also met in Orsha.
"The military echelon on the platform includes the legendary T-34, the M-30 howitzer and the Katyusha rocket launcher, which underwent its baptism of fire on Belarusian soil," the correspondent showed.
There is a special interest in the lecture hall of the National Center for Historical Memory at the stops. There are at least eight lectures at each station, and visitors can listen even while standing. At the River of Time terminals, guests search for relatives who participated in the Great Patriotic War, call their relatives, and find out the details. Irina and Nadezhda have found their grandfather, and now they want to add his photo to the database.
"Here are our grandparents. We held these orders in our hands, they were kept in a box at my grandmother's," they added.
The Ministry of Defense train was escorted from Moscow by veterans of the Great Patriotic War, who delivered a message to Belarusian comrades in arms, as well as letters to future generations of the Union State.
"Now I would like to emphasize that we won that war not only with weapons, but also with our organization, discipline, faith and patriotism. These qualities are the key to our future victories," said Kirill Semenov, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War.
Already in Brest, capsules with messages were handed over to the Belarusian side, and here our military took away a piece of Eternal Flame. She was accepted by the Hero of Russia, veteran of the Russian Military Andrei Solovyov from the hands of a descendant of the defender of the legendary citadel. This flame will be delivered to the main temple of the Russian Armed Forces. Exactly 1,418 candles will be lit from it at the hour when the Nazis attacked the Soviet Union.
"When we entered the Brest fortress, I will say that the pulse just quickened. Sometimes, looking at these ruined walls, it took my breath away," Solovyov said.
The echelon of the Ministry of Defense went back. On the way to Moscow, he will make a couple more stops, open his doors at the stations of the hero cities of Smolensk and Tula.
On June 15, Elena Malysheva, head of the National Center for Historical Memory under the President of the Russian Federation, called the Second World War an event that connects generations. According to her, this is through awareness of the forces and resources that ensured the Victory of the Soviet people and allow them to cope with the challenges of our time today.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
