The outgoing year 2022 in the Republic of Belarus was declared the Year of Historical Memory. History determines the "face" of the nation, the fate and traditions of the state. Respect for the past is the basis of the future of the Belarusian people.
In the Year of Historical Memory, we convinced that only together we can overcome any difficulties. The unity of the people has always been a decisive force that helped to survive and win. This is the key to the well-being of our Fatherland today.
The Belarusian National Technical University connects people of different nationalities and generations. We are proud of the cohesion and unity of our employees, teachers, students, and graduates. This is the driving force that helps us grow, develop and become better.
Throughout this year, BNTU regularly held meetings and dialogue platforms with prominent state, political and public figures. For example, on September 1, at the Palace of Independence, President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko met with university and college students. That was the first open lesson in the history of the country called "Historical memory is the road to the future!". The representatives of the BNTU delegation were the best and the most active students of the university.
There were also meetings with the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Republic of Belarus Igor Karpenko; historian, political scientist and publicist, Chairman of the Board of the Belarusian Society "Knowledge" Vadim Gigin; member of the national Paralympic team of the Republic of Belarus, multiple world and European record holder Alexei Talai, etc. During the dialogues with them, such topics as love for the Motherland, historical memory, the national idea of the Belarusian state, amendments and additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War were touched upon.
The President of our country focused his attention on the need to educate young people with real examples, with a real contribution to strengthening our historical memory. Only by touching it personally can you understand the scale of the tragedy that broke out during the Great Patriotic War.
In order to preserve the memory of every person who survived in the war, on the initiative of the volunteer students of the “Rays of Memory” detachment of BNTU, in June, the reconstruction and restoration of the monument to "Partisan soldiers and civilians who died in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945" in the village of Yanushkovichi (Logoysk district, Minsk region) was started. Its grand opening took place on December 7.
It is worth noting that for the contribution to the preservation of historical memory and the development of the volunteer movement, the “Rays of Memory” detachment received an award in the nomination "Best Volunteer Detachment" among college students and students of higher education institutions.
In addition, in order to preserve the memory of every person who died in the war, BNTU volunteer students went to the military cemetery of Sovetsky district in Minsk, where they cleaned the territory.
The obelisk to the students and teachers of the Belarusian Polytechnic Institute who died during the Great Patriotic War is a landmark for our university, which has kept the memory of those terrible years that Belarusians experienced since November 1967. The university traditionally hosts the actions "We keep memory in our hearts", "Students to veterans", "BNTU remembers", during which students, cadets, volunteers, activists of youth public organizations, teachers and employees of BNTU, as well as statesmen solemnly lay flowers at the obelisk.
In order to preserve historical memory, five screenings of the project "No Statute of Limitations" took place at the cinema "October" on the initiative of the "BRYU" BNTU and with the support of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Belarus. More than 4,000 BNTU students took part in watching films about the war and post-war period. The deputy head of the Department for Supervision of the investigation of particularly important criminal cases of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Belarus, Senior Adviser of Justice Sergey Shikunets also addressed the students. He explained to the youth the reasons for initiating a criminal case on the genocide of the Belarusian people in the war and post-war period.
In continuation of the discussions within the framework of the project, a dialogue platform was held on the topic "The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus as the basis and unity of the nation and the preservation of the historical memory of the people". The speaker of the meeting was Alexander Demidov, Deputy Head of the Department of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Belarus, Senior Adviser of Justice.
In order to perpetuate the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War, the BNTU student construction team "Minsk-955" named after Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Ilyich Kustov, worked in the summer of 2022 at the reconstruction of the Khatyn memorial complex. According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 176 on May 13, 2022, the complex was given the status of All-Belarusian Youth Construction Site.
The student teams of our university showed themselves to the maximum this year: several thousand students worked at the leading enterprises of the country, at youth construction sites of urban and republican scale, etc. As a result, they were given numerous awards. One of the most striking was the recognition of BNTU as the best among the capital's student detachments according to the results of the third labor semester.
It is worth reminding you that on the 20th anniversary of the renaming of BSPA to BNTU, a commemorative sculpture composition "College boy and College girl" was opened. It symbolizes the beginning of a new life, continuous movement, confidence, youth, strength and embodies our unity and the desire to move forward.
The Department for Educational and Upbringing Work with Young People of BNTU organized the contest "My family History". For two semesters, they carried out painstaking work to select the best materials from the contestants. As a result, more than a hundred different projects were chosen in which students and teachers highlighted their family history, presented in the form of stories, family trees, presentations and published books.
In addition, within the framework of the competition, the staff of the Department of History conducted a number of excursions for BNTU students: to the National Archive of the Republic of Belarus, the Historical Archive of Belarus, the Donation Archive of Minsk Region and the Central Laboratory of Microfilming and Restoration of Documents of the National Archival Fund of the Republic of Belarus. The students were able to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the century-old history of the Belarusian state.
In 2022, BNTU also held traditional events dedicated to significant events in the history of Belarus and those which have special historical and socio-political significance: the Day of Defenders of the Fatherland and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, activities dedicated to the Constitution Day of the Republic of Belarus, the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia, Labor Day, Victory Day, the Day of the State Emblem of the Republic of Belarus and the National Flag of the Republic of Belarus, the Day of National Remembrance of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War, the Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus, the Day of Knowledge, the Day of National Unity, The Day of the October Revolution etc.
Popularization of the historical, cultural, natural and spiritual heritage of our country is also one of important aspects of preserving historical memory. Thus, the Rector of BNTU Sergey Kharitonchik, together with representatives of the BNTU Volunteer Center, heads of youth structures and employees of the BNTU Youth Education Department took part in the Republican voluntary action "Forest Week" on April 11, timed to the Year of Historical Memory.
Within the framework of spiritual and moral education and cooperation with the Belarusian Orthodox Church the university students organized an annual exhibition "The Joy of Easter" and an exhibition-exposition "The Triumph of Presence" dedicated to Metropolitan Filaret of Minsk and Slutsk, the first Patriarchal Exarch of all Belarus.
In total, more than 200 events dedicated to the Year of Historical Memory were organized at BNTU during the year. The formation of an objective history requires constant and systematic work because much is quickly forgotten. That is why such work will not be limited to one year, but will be continued at the Belarusian National Technical University.
