III Belarusian-Russian Patriotic Forum “We Live and Remember.” The first day

On the 2^nd of May, there had been held the III Belarusian-Russian Patriotic Forum “We Live and Remember” at the Belarusian State Medical University. Its delegates were representatives of Volgograd State Medical University, Voronezh State Medical University named after N. N. Burdenko, Crimean Federal University named after V. I. Vernadsky, Kuban State Medical University, First Moscow State Medical University named after I. M. Sechenov, Samara State Medical University University, Northwestern State Medical University named after I. I. Mechnikov, Smolensk State Medical University, Yaroslavl State Medical University, Academy of Management under the President of the Republic of Belarus, Academy of National Security of the Republic of Belarus, Belarusian State Medical University, Belarusian State University, Brest State University named after. A. S. Pushkin, Vitebsk Order of Friendship of Peoples State Medical University, Vitebsk State University named after P. M. Masherov, Grodno State Medical University, Gomel State Medical University, Grodno State University named after Yanka Kupala.

The Forum was visited by honorary guests: Minister of Education Andrei Ivanets, First Deputy Minister of Health Yuri Gorbich, Prosecutor General of Belarus Andrei Shved, Chairman of the Standing Commission on Health, Physical Culture, Family and Youth Policy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus of the eighth convocation Valery Malashko, Head of the Representative Office of the Standing Committee in Minsk Marianna Shchetkina, Chief Physician of the state institution "Republican Clinical Medical Center" of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus Irina Abelskaya, Head of the Academy of National Security of Belarus Valentin Platonov, Rector of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Samara State Medical University" of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation Alexander Kolsanov, Head of the Synodal Department for Family Issues, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood of the Belarusian Orthodox Church Pavel Serdyuk and others.

At the opening ceremony of the forum, welcoming speech was made by the Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Natalya Kochanova, the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Igor Sergeenko, the Minister of Health of Belarus Alexander Khodzhaev, Metropolitan of Minsk and Zaslavsky Veniamin, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus. A video greeting was sent by the Minister of Healthcare of the Russian federation Mikhail Murashko.

The rector of the Belarusian State Medical University addressed the audience.

– On the eve of May 9, we gathered here at Belarusian State Medical University to once again bow before the great feat of our nations - victory in the Great Patriotic War. We achieved it at the cost of unprecedented losses, but allowed us to live, work, study, plan our future, – noted Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Sergei Rubnikovich. – The last year has shown that, unfortunately, threats and challenges to the peace and security of our country are not decreasing; on the contrary, they are at a high level. This is something to keep in mind. Nevertheless, the general unity gives strength to move on. At the VII All-Belarusian People's Assembly, the President said that new attempts to separate Belarusians and Russians, to destroy national value and culture united us and allowed us to reach a new level of development. Our main goal is to preserve peace and creation for the benefit of our countries. It is no coincidence that the Forum is called “We Live and Remember,” because the most valuable thing we have is our common memory.

The plenary session was opened by the report “Investigation of the criminal case of the genocide of the Belarusian people: restoration of historical justice,” which was given by the Prosecutor General of Belarus Andrei Shved.

Member of the Republican Council for Historical Policy under the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Gennady Krasko also spoke about the importance of preserving historical memory.

Meanwhile, various thematic exhibitions were held in the university lobby.

The interstate event was continued by the planting of trees in the alley in honor of the feat of medical workers, founded in 2022 during the First Belarusian-Russian Forum “We Live and Remember.”

And in the afternoon, meetings of the forum sections were held - “Genocide of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War”, “80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders and the beginning of the offensive operation “Bagration””, “The feat of medical workers during the Great Patriotic War ", "The female face of Victory", "Feat in the name of the future", "The Great Patriotic War in the history of my family". Students from Belarusian and Russian universities presented 45 thematic reports. At the end of the meetings, the speakers were awarded certificates of participation.

В программе второго дня масштабного мероприятия была экскурсия «Минск возрожденный»: участники III Белорусско-российского патриотического форума «Нам жить и помнить» посетили Храм-памятник в честь Всех святых и в память о жертвах, спасению Отечества нашего послуживших. Большое впечатление на них произвела крипта, символизирующая соединение прошлого с настоящим и настоящего с будущим через память. Затем состоялось возложение цветов к стеле «Минск – город-герой», где ребята почтили минутой молчания память защитников и освободителей белорусской столицы.

On the 3rd of May, the Forum “We Live and Remember” continued. The program of the second day included an excursion “Minsk Revived”, a requiem meeting “And the Saved World Remembers...”, a festive concert dedicated to Victory Day with the participation of an exemplary orchestra of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus.

Author: Oksana Kurbeko, spokesperson of Belarusian State Medical University
Photos are provided by the author and National Press Center
Translation: Diana Petrushkevich-Hourou