Photo: belta.by
Belarus is celebrating the Day of Victory which was achieved in fierce battles for the freedom and independence of the Motherland. For the Belarusians it is not only a festive day. It is also a day of remembrance, deep respect and gratitude to all who made the Victory possible.
On 9 May 1945, the Soviet people celebrated the victory in the Great Patriotic War which lasted for 1418 days and nights. In the first days of the war, enemy aircraft bombed railway junctions, airfields, Brest, Grodno, Volkovysk, Baranovichi and other Belarusian cities. The first to fight the enemy were border guards. No outpost surrendered to the enemy or left the post without an order. The defenders of the Brest Fortress, Minsk and Mogilev put up a fierce resistance. Soviet rocket launchers Katyusha were first used against the enemy near Orsha on 14 July. The strong resistance that the enemy faced in battles in Belarus derailed the German plans of a rapid offensive on Moscow.
Photo: belta.by
However, despite the courage and heroism, the territory of Belarus was occupied by the Germans by the beginning of September 1941. In Belarus the enemy faced the resistance unprecedented in scale and persistence. The main form was the national partisan movement, which over the years of the Great Patriotic War involved more than 374,000 partisans. The anti-fascist underground movement numbered over 70,000 members. Belarusians, representatives of different peoples of the Soviet Union and anti-fascists from European fought against the enemy as part of the partisan groups.
Photo: belta.by
During the war there were about 30 partisan zones which the Germans could not occupy. For example, the Klichev partisan zone was controlled by the partisans from March 1942. By the beginning of 1944 it was 3,000 km2 big. More than 70,000 civilians were under the protection of some 18,000 partisans. The Polotsk-Lepel partisan zone was established in the autumn of 1942. By the autumn of 1943 it covered 1,220 settlements with more than 73,500 civilian population. The territory was liberated from fascist invaders, the Soviet power restored. The zone was defended by 16 partisan brigades. It remained under control of the partisans almost till the time Belarus was completely liberated from the invaders.
Belarus was one of the nations who suffered the worst in the war. In Belarus the Nazis conducted more than 140 punitive operations. A tragic symbol of mass destruction of the civilian population is the village of Khatyn where the Nazis killed 149 villagers and burned 28 houses.
Photo: belta.by
In Belarus, there were about 250 camps for Soviet prisoners of war and 350 places of forced detention. Among them is Trostenets, Europe's fourth largest death camp, where over 200,000 people were killed.
Some 34.4 million Soviet soldiers, including more than 1.3 million Belarusians and natives of Belarus fought in the war. For courage and heroism more than 300,00 of them were honored with orders and medals. 444 soldiers were awarded the honorary title Hero of the Soviet Union, of them 88 were members of the underground and partisan movement in Belarus, 70 people were Full Cavaliers of the Order of Glory, 4 Belarusian – two-time Heroes of the Soviet Union.
Photo: belta.by
Belarus lost more than a half of its national wealth in the war. 209 cities and regional centers, 9,200 villages were destroyed and burnt. Human losses were huge. According to modern scholars, during the years of the Great Patriotic War Belarus lost from 2.5 to 3 million and more people.
The liberation of Belarus from German-fascist invaders began in the autumn of 1943. Komarin was the first town to be liberated in Belarus - on 23 September. The war in Belarus continued into 28 July 1944 when the Soviet Army's Operation Bagration put an end to the Nazi occupation of the country.
Photo: belta.by
The contribution of the Belarusian nation to the Great Victory was recognized worldwide. At the international conference held in San Francisco in 1945 to institute the United Nations Organization a decision was taken to include Belarus into the number of the UN founders.
In the history of Belarus there was not a war more cruel than the Great Patriotic War, there was not a feat bigger than the feat of the Soviet soldiers who defended the Motherland from the enemy, who saved the humanity from the Nazism. The memory of the war and the Great Victory shall not fade away: it is forever inscribed in the history of the Motherland and every Belarusian family. The tragedy and the Victory are the eternal source of pain and bitterness, pride and glory of the Belarusian people.
Answer:
Dear Shivendu Paul and Metali Listeners' Club,
dthank you for your comment! We'll send you some of our souvenirs ASAP.
Stay tuned and 73,
RBI
Hallo Radio Belarus,
ja der Dieter Leupold ist jetzt auch hier im Gästebuch vertreten... Super, bald sind wir alle zusammen hier im "Belarus Hörerclub", Dieter könnte 1.Vorsitzender werden und Jana und Elena Ehrernmitglieder, Helmut Matt Schriftführer, Alfred Albrecht Beisitzer und ich mache Hausmeister:-) Lutz Winkler wie fit bist Du bereits wieder, für Dich finden wir auch eine nette Aufgabe:-) Beste Grüße und ein schönes Wochenende.
Dietmar
Answer:
Lieber Dietmar,
das stimmt, für alle finden wir im Hörerklub eine Aufgabe!:)
Liebe Grüße und einen guten Start in die Woche!
I recently learned my surname is not Polish, but Belarusian. I heard you on shortwave in the past and am so happy to listen online in English. We hear nothing about Belarus here in the US so I am so glad to learn about your country. Keep on broadcasting in English. I also joined the Hoererklub on Facebook as I can understand German. If you have information or a station pennant, I will very much appreciate it.
Sheryl Paszkiewicz, 1015 Green St, Manitowoc WI 54220 USA
Answer:
Dear Sheryl, thank you very much for listening to us! We'll send you some of our souvenirs as soon as we can. By the way, if you're interested, you can participate in our "The Old Country's Loving Call" project and send a greeting to Belarus. You can find more detailed information at http://www.radiobelarus.by/en/content/hukaje_eng
Also, in case you like sports, here's the link to an international competition of ours "My Greetings to 2nd European Games" http://www.radiobelarus.by/en/content/games_eng
73 from the entire staff of RBI! Прывiтанне з Малой Радiзмы :)
Hello from Birmingham United Kingdom!
My name is Michael.
I really enjoyed listening to your program on the Hotbird satellite 13e. I very much love listening to your news and current affairs.
Ask you to send me a small gifts. I hope you guys are all good.
Lots of love from UK
Especially enjoying learning about Belarus. History and culture
Michael Rogers
Flat 2 463 City road Birmingham
B17 8LG
United Kingdom
Answer:
Michael,
thank you very much for listening to us! We're glad that you enjoy our programs. We'll send you some of our souvenirs as soon as we can. Best regards and stay tuned!
Hello. I am a new listener to your English service. I listen on the Radio 1 News app. I enjoyed listening to the news. Do you have any information on shortwave broadcasts you can send me?
Thank you,
Joe Cosimo
23 Ivy Ln, Dupont, PA 18641 U.S.A.
Answer:
Dear Joe, thank you for listening to Radio Belarus International! We're glad that you enjoyed our news. RBI broadcasts on shortwave only in German on 6005 and 3985 kHz. News and programs in English are available via our website and satellites. We'll also send you a postcard and a small souvenir as soon as we can. 73!
Hello,
My name is Younes Lazazi, I am from Algeria.
I am very happy that radio Belarus has started broadcasting in Arabic.
I would like to receive stickers and printed matter of the station and the Arabic and french services if possible.
My address:
Monsieur Younes Lazazi 14 rue Maza Boualem El-Harrach 16009 Alger Algérie
Thank you.
Answer:
Dear Younes Lazazi,
we're happy that you like our boradcasts. We'll send you some of our printed materials via mail in the nearest future. 73!
Dear English Service Radio Belarus,
Greetings to all staff and listeners of English Service of Radio Belarus. We listen your webcast program. Your program quality is very nice. Your website is colorful & documented. We liked your programs, News, and Current Affairs Program. We are interested about Culture, life style of Belarusian people, historical places, Tourist attraction and destination of Belarus.
Please send some program schedule, sticker, view card, Promotional items of Radio Belarus for our club members and students.
We are waiting for your reply.
With best wishes,
SHIVENDU PAUL
President
Metali Listeners' Club
India
Answer:
Dear Shivendu Paul,
thank you very much for listening to us! Your club is among our most dedicated listeners. We will send you some of our promotional products as soon as possible. 73!
Hello!
Did the arabic programmes start? I don't see them on your Internetcast schedule page. Thanks!
Answer:
Hello! The Arabic programmes have been on air since October, every Monday. You can see the schedule and listen to them on our Arabic page http://radiobelarus.by/ar
FM transmitters and frequencies:
Rakitnitsa - 106.2 MHz
Hrodna - 95.7 MHz
Svislach - 104.4 MHz
Heraniony - 99.9 MHz
Braslau - 106.6 MHz
Miadzel - 102.0 MHz
Satellite broadcasting:
see satellite parameters here
