The 64th traditional meeting at the Mound of Friendship was held under the motto "Preserved by Memory"
For the 64th time, people gather at this place, symbolizing the combat brotherhood of partisans and underground fighters of various nationalities, at the junction of the borders of Russia, Belarus, and Latvia, to pay tribute to the defenders of the Fatherland. In the local forests, north of Lake Osvyey, near the villages of Proshki and Gavrilino, the Proshki International Youth Underground emerged and operated from the very first days of the German occupation. In the distant year of 1959, a memorial uniting three countries was created. In its center stood a man-made hill, on top of which an oak tree was planted. From the mound, an alley of birch trees was planted towards Belarus, an alley of linden trees towards Latvia, and an alley of maples towards Russia.
Today, the linden alley is overgrown with weeds, and memory is fading. The mound, which is now located within the European Union, is fenced with barbed wire. The bridge, across which veterans used to cross to their brothers-in-arms in former times, has also been dismantled. To preserve these cherished symbols, a monumental granite sign for the mound and a monument-oak with leaves in the colors of the state flags of the two countries have been erected on the border of Russia and Belarus.
– We share a common heroic history, an equally heroic present, and, I believe, the greatest and brightest future. The basis of such events is a common victory and the unity of peoples; they unite us and make us stronger. The meeting at this sacred place gives us an opportunity to visit each other once again, to embrace, to understand that we are kindred and that we are one big family, – emphasized the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Subbotin.
And his Russian counterpart, Governor of the Pskov Region Mikhail Vedernikov, noted that currently, the youth are at the forefront of the relay of memory.
– Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer veterans. Our heroes are leaving, and those who are alive, due to their age, cannot participate in such events. That is why we decided a few years ago to change the concept of the meeting. Who else but the youth should take over the baton from the veterans, study our common history, the history of the Great Patriotic War, our Victory, – said Mikhail Vedernikov.
The Belarusian-Russian youth educational and patriotic camp "Kurgan-2023" gathered over 300 people. It operated for several days, during which various patriotic, educational, and sports projects were implemented. Young people held the intellectual tournament "Flowers of the Great Victory," the military-sports game "Northern Region," the championship in assembling a jigsaw map "I Know Belarus," and participated in events at the Kurgan Druzhby (Friendship Mound).
The camp has acquired its own anthem. Russians decided to adopt the Belarusian experience and also gather youth in a patriotic camp, which opened these days near Sebezh, bringing together teenagers aged 14-18. Both camps met at the Kurgan Druzhby.
Traditionally, the official part of the meeting, which was held by the Russian side this year, began with a procession and laying wreaths and flowers at the monuments to the secretary of the Sebezh District Committee of the Komsomol, partisan scout Maria Pynto, located in Russia, and to the Komsomol underground members of the village of Proshki, Verkhnedvinsk district. The column was led by the heads of the two regions and the chairmen of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies Vladimir Terentyev and the Pskov Regional Assembly of Deputies Alexander Kotov. The heads of all districts of the Vitebsk region and the border regions of Russia, deputies, representatives of public organizations, and youth marched shoulder to shoulder.
A prayer service was held in the Chapel of Sergius of Radonezh, built in memory of those who died during the Great Patriotic War. Afterwards, everyone gathered by the stage where creative groups performed.
The song symbol of the meeting at the Kurgan was "Katyusha," performed in a choir by everyone who came to this sacred place. At the end, the traditional bonfire was lit, which warmed our grandfathers and great-grandfathers in the distant war years.