May at the Polytechnic University traditionally begins with memories of the military feats of our ancestors. However, this collection also includes information about the Ministry of Emergency Situations competition, the honorary title of inventor, the old university radio, and the current student initiative. Let's take a closer look at each of these topics.
May 5
In 2023, on the eve of Victory Day, the university hosted a grand opening of the exhibition "The History of the Great Patriotic War in Faces." Organized by the Department of Youth Affairs and the Student Council, the exhibition was based on authentic materials collected by students and university staff. The opening was attended by the Rector of BNTU, Sergey Kharitonchik. "The archives must be inherited by future generations, and the exhibition must be expanded. The historical truth must prevail and always remain the crowning achievement of a freedom-loving nation," he emphasized. One of the exhibition participants, Alexander Malashko, a second-year student of the Faculty of Mining and Environmental Engineering, prepared a material about his grandfather, Nikolai Ivanovich Malashko, a partisan who fought in the K. E. Voroshilov detachment of the Pinsk unit since 1942. "If we know the history of our country and remember the feat of the Belarusian people, we will never allow such terrible events to happen again in the future," said Alexander.
On the same day, May 5, 2023, the X Republican Competition "Students. Safety. Future", held from May 2 to 5 at the branch of the Institute of Retraining and Advanced Training of the University of Civil Protection of the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the village of Svetlaya Roshcha of the Borisov District. The BNTU team was represented by ten students led by Captain Andrey Kobrinets. Over the course of four days, the students underwent various tests, including the theoretical contest "Knowledge of Life Safety", the "Survival Trail" with eight stages, practicing emergency response in technological emergencies, first aid, and even the student social internet project "Safety Challenge". All tests were held at a training ground where
professional rescuers train. At the end of the competition, the BNTU team took first place and received a rotating fire helmet - the main symbol of victory in this competition.
May 6
In 1990, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the BSSR, a researcher at the Belarusian Polytechnic Institute Leonid Schislenko was awarded the honorary title of "Honored Inventor of the Belarusian SSR". The award was given for fruitful inventive activity and active participation in public life. The decree was signed by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the BSSR, Nikolai Dementey, and the Secretary of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the BSSR, Lyudmila Syroeigina.
May 7
On Radio Day, May 7, 1968, the editorial board of the BPI radio was awarded a certificate from the radio of the capital. The institute radio was one of the most prominent manifestations of the rich cultural life of the university in those years: along with amateur theaters, orchestras, and ensembles, it became a platform for students' creative self-realization and an important voice of the institute.
More than half a century later, in May 2025, BNTU students once again proved that they know how to take responsibility, this time for preserving historical memory. From May 5 to 7, at the initiative of foreign students at the university, military burial site No. 4830 and the adjacent territory were restored in the village of Zagvazdino, Dubrovensky District, Vitebsk Region. The location was chosen for a reason: it is here that Lieutenant Abdulla Gilyamov, the grandfather of Abdulaziz Gulyamov, Vice-Rector of Tashkent State Transport University, who died heroically on June 23, 1944 during Operation Bagration, is buried. Deputy Dean of the Faculty of International Cooperation, Nikolai Vishnyakov, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Drawing, Watercolor, and Sculpture, Ales Shatilo, and students from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Architecture participated in the restoration work. The work on the memorial has become a living testament to the fact that the young people of the Polytechnic University not only remember the past, but also take responsibility for preserving it.
The May pages have been turned, but the memory that was once revived does not fade away; it is passed down from one generation to the next.
