Activities of search organizations on commemoration of Great Patriotic War events on the territory of Belarus

Abstract on the

«Activities of search organizations on commemoration of Great Patriotic War events on the territory of Belarus»

Written by:

Alexandr Kozlov

ACTIVITIES OF SEARCH ORGANIZARIONS ON COMMEMORATION OF GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR EVENTS ON THE TERRITORY OF BELRUS

INTRODUCTION 4

CHAPTER 1. SOVIET STAGE OF THE SEARCH MOVEMENT 5

CHAPTER 2. SEARCH MOVEMENT IN INDEPENDENT BELARUS …………7

CONCLUSION 12

LITERATURE 13

Summary

Key-words: search, red pathfinders, BSSR, perpetuation

The abstract is devoted to the history of the development of the search movement on the territory of Belarus. The work reveals the genesis of the search movement and state policy in relation to it. The research also reveals the moral and ethical attitude of the citizens of the BSSR and citizens of the Republic of Belarus to the events of the Great Patriotic War.

The main factors that underlie the search movement are revealed.

The abstract is devoted to the activities of the first search engines, who were front-line soldiers and partisans and knew the places of death of their comrades in arms and tried to reburial their remains. They did not display their search activities.

The research touches upon the problem of the attitude of the leadership of the USSR and the BSSR to unaccounted military graves in which unknown soldiers of the USSR were buried, but it was not possible to finance such a large-scale work at the state level as the country was in ruins. The way out that the leadership of the USSR found to solve such a complex problem is presented in the abstract.

The red pathfinder detachments were created in the schools of the BSSR after the Great Patriotic War. They were at the heart of the search movement. Ordinary schoolchildren were engaged in the search and excavation of unaccounted graves and participated in the reburial of the remains, helped the local authorities in the installation of memorial signs on the graves.

The author analyzes the invaluable experience of the Red Pathfinder detachments, which was later used and improved by the search detachments, which already included adult citizens of the BSSR. The search movement developing in independent Belarus is analyzed. The special role of the 52 separate specialized search battalion of the Ministry of Defense in the search movement is emphasized.

In conclusion, the importance of the search movement for the historical memory of the Belarusian people is underlined.

INTRODUCTION

All peoples at all times have had and still have the rule of timely and dignified burial of fallen soldiers and the perpetuation of their names.

One of the grave consequences of the Great Patriotic War is the problem of the unburied remains of the defenders of the Motherland.

After the victory, they returned home alive and wounded, freed from captivity, but many families did not wait for their loved ones. Messages disappeared without a visit disturbed souls, but even more morally oppressed, since anything was meant by this phrase.

The relevance of this topic and, in particular, its moral aspect, are inextricably linked with the issues of the historical memory of the people. Preservation and enrichment of the historical memory of the people through the search for places of past battles, the discovery of the unburied remains of fallen soldiers, the establishment of their names and destinies with the subsequent perpetuation of their memory helps to clarify the little-studied pages of the history of the Great Patriotic War.

The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the experience of the Soviet search movement and the search movement of the independent Republic of Belarus has never been generalized.

The search work of organizations to perpetuate the events of the Great Patriotic War on the territory of Belarus has existed for 30 years and is supported by local authorities and the government of the Republic of Belarus. The history of the activities of search organizations, their contribution to the study of little-known events in military front history has now been studied very uncommonly, with an emphasis on certain areas of activity of search units. This creates the need for an integrated approach to the study of the object and subject of research, i.e. to analyze the state of the direction, results and difficulties in the search movement on the territory of our country.

To reveal the purpose of the work, a general description of the forms of search activity for perpetuating the events of the Great Patriotic War on the territory of Belarus will be given, an analysis of the legal component for the product of archaeological expeditions of all participants in the search movement, determination of the role and place of search teams in the system of historical and patriotic education of youth, popularization of history and local history.

The human factor lies at the origin of the search activity. The first search engines were front-line soldiers and partisans, who knew the specific places of death of their comrades in arms and tried to reburial their remains. They did not advertise their search activities.

In 1957, the book "In Search of the Heroes of the Brest Fortress" was published. The author is journalist S.S. Smirnov. In which, the progress of the search and its positive results are described. It was the previously unknown facts about the resilience of the Red Army from the book "In Search of the Heroes of the Brest Fortress" that became a huge motivating moment, thanks to which people began to search [5, p. 80].

As stated earlier, the search movement began in the late 1940s, with separate initiatives. It began to develop most actively in the late 1960s.

The search movement was represented by red pathfinders. For the first time, this phrase appeared on May 26, 1957 [1, p. 15 – 16].

The red pathfinders performed the following tasks: search for heroes of the Great Patriotic War, places of hostilities, routes of partisan detachments, burials of those killed for their homeland.

At the initial stage, the detachments of red pathfinders were created in schools by simple teachers. The search activity was based solely on the personal initiative of students and teachers.

It should also be noted that students and teachers did not have proper methodological training. This was manifested in the fact that the most important subject of their search was mortal medallions and medals. But, sometimes soldiers and commanders of the Red Army put their names or initials on household items and equipment: bowlers, spoons, combs, buttons, harmonicas.

During excavations, students and teachers mainly used shovels. The soil that got out of the pit was not sieved. Thus, small objects could be lost with the soil, which could help in identifying the remains of the deceased. Also, personal items made of metal were subject to oxidation, and the student could simply throw away an item that was in poor condition without really examining it for the presence of the initials of the deceased.

Despite the fact that the search movement has become massive since the 1960s and a lot has been done to memorialize the events of the Great Patriotic War, there were still significant miscalculations in this type of activity.

For example, 395 soldiers are buried in the town of Osintorf, Dubrovensky District, Vitebsk Region, all of their names have been established, but not a single surname is indicated on the monument. This is not an isolated case.

In 1964, the republican television club "Poisk" was created. The republican club "Poisk" united more than 800 school clubs, detachments of red pathfinders, search groups with a total number of more than 500,000 schoolchildren of the BSSR.

One of the first public search detachments created during the BSSR period was the "Scouts of Military Glory" detachment. It was created in 1970 in the city of Gomel. The detachment was looking for downed Soviet aircraft. For ten years of its existence, 7 aircraft were found.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Minsk group of submariners "Krab" was engaged in lifting military equipment from the water [3, p. 60 – 63].

The collapse of the USSR was reflected in a strong economic crisis for the society of the young sovereign Belarus. He also touched upon the activities of search organizations.

Despite the economic crisis, already in March 1992, expeditions of the Poisk and Vityaz detachments opened the season of excavations at the sites of the Great Patriotic War. The expedition took place on the territory near the village of Makarovo, Vitebsk region. The result of the expedition was the discovery of the remains of 19 soldiers of the Red Army. They were reburied in a mass grave in the village of Kopti, Vitebsk region. Their names were entered in the regional documentary book "Memory" of the Vitebsk region.

The Memorial Watch planned for May 1992 did not take place. It was all the fault of the depressing state of the economies of the former Soviet republics.

Nevertheless, an international field expedition took place on the territory of the Vitebsk region. Which took place from April 28 to May 8, 1992.

Two search teams came to the archaeological excavations: "Memory" from Sverdlovsk, Russian Federation, "Rubezh" from Zaporozhye, the Republic of Ukraine. Together with them worked Belarusian detachments from the city of Vitebsk: "Seeker", "Vitbichi", "Poisk".

The result of the expedition was the discovery of the remains of 165 soldiers. According to the awards, it was possible to establish the names of two.

In 1993, the next Memory Watch took place. Only representatives of Belarus worked on it. The number of detachments has increased significantly. The city of Vitebsk was represented by the following detachments: "Search", "Seeker", "Guard", "Vityaz", "Vitbichi", "Luchesa", "Past", "Stalker", "Fatherland", "Truth of War", "Echo war ". A detachment "Scouts of military glory" worked from Novopolotsk. The city of Zhodino was represented by the Salang search group.

The excavations were carried out from July 1 to 23, 1993. The result of the second Watch of Memory in independent Belarus was the reburial of 221 soldiers of the Red Army.

At the next, already international "Watch of Memory", which took place in June 1994, 140 dead soldiers of the Red Army were found. The search teams took part: "Poisk" from the city of Vitebsk, "Salang" from the city of Zhodino, "Poisk" from the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation, "Neunyvaki" from the city of Lipetsk, "Poisk" from the city of Sverdlovsk. More than 500 teenagers from the Russian Federation and Belarus took part.

A special feature of this watch was the presence of a delegation from Germany.

In March 1994, thanks to Brueva Larisa Nakhimovna, the Belarusian Republican Association "POSHUK" was created. The purpose of this public association was to coordinate the search teams included in the association, the organization "Memory Watch". In 2008, the association was reorganized into the Vitebsk regional center for patriotic education of youth "POSHUK"[6, p. 9 – 13].

In August 1995, the international "Memory Watch" was held again. Field expeditions took place on the border of the Dubrovensky district of the Vitebsk region and the Krasnensky district of the Smolensk region. The initiator of this search event was the leadership of the search club "Poisk" from the city of Smolensk. The result of the excavations was the discovery of 412 soldiers of the Red Army. Which were buried in the Field of Remembrance between the regions of the fraternal countries. For the first time in independent Belarus, search squads have fruitfully cooperated with 52 separate specialized search battalions of the Ministry of Defense.

One of the most organized search associations in modern Belarus is the Mogilev Regional Historical and Patriotic Search Club "Vikkru". The club was founded in 1994 on the basis of the Mogilev regional center of tourism, local history and excursions.

During the period of its activity, 820 Red Army soldiers were exhumed. Of these, 59 surnames have been identified. Work is actively carried out in the archives of the Russian Federation. Thanks to this work, more than 15,000 defenders of the Mogilev region were identified, who were considered missing. The club's management has developed and published instructions for managers who are involved in organizing search activities.

Cooperation is underway with TV channels: ONT, BT, STV, TV - 1. Thanks to which, 5 films have already been filmed dedicated to the defense of Mogilev.

In 2011, in the city of Brest, a search unit "Aviapoisk - Brest" was created. The leader is Vladimir Bukhty.

The formation of the detachment was helped by chance. Vladimir Bukhty was fond of underwater fishing and once, while diving, he saw in the middle of the lake what looked like a big tree. But it turned out to be an airplane. The first search engines were his sons and friends. The detachment specializes in the search for downed aircraft of the USSR. During its existence, the detachment found more than 10 aircraft.

Thus, the search groups of Belarus are engaged in the search and excavation of Red Army soldiers, as well as military equipment [3, p. 69 – 73 ].

In 1995, the Ministry of Defense created 52 separate specialized search battalions. This is the only unit of the Belarusian army that is engaged in the search and excavation of unreported graves of dead soldiers.

Initially, the battalion consisted of the 1st specialized search company, which was stationed in Minsk. The 2nd company was stationed in Vitebsk. The 3rd company was stationed in Grodno. In March 2002, the battalion was reorganized and consisted of two companies and was stationed in the military town of Zaslonovo, Lepel district, Vitebsk region. Each company is divided into two platoons.

Until March of each new year in the battalion, a plan of field search operations is formed by specialized search units of the 52 separate specialized search battalion. The plan is approved by order of the battalion commander. As of 2021, 120 field expeditions were approved by order of 03/09/2021. The plan contains a note column, which indicates with which search organization the joint work will take place.

For excavations, an information sheet is created, which is compiled on the basis of data transmitted from citizens of the Republic of Belarus. After that, the leadership of the Office for the perpetuation of the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland and the victims of the wars of the Armed Forces applies for permission to conduct excavations from the administration, from the territory of which information about the discovery of the remains was received. After obtaining permission, the battalion units can begin excavations.

The remains of each recovered serviceman are placed in individual cellophane bags, then, according to the act, the remains are transferred to the local village council for further reburial.

The servicemen of the search platoon must take a panoramic photo of the area before excavation, the excavated remains, the excavation site after the completion of reclamation. These pictures are filed into the file.

One of the battalion's most successful field expeditions was in June 1998. Excavations were carried out in the village of Milevichi, Kurilovichi village council, Mostovsky district, Grodno region. The remains of 64 Red Army soldiers were exhumed. 17 of them had filled medallions. Thanks to this, it was possible to establish their names. Also, one of the victims had a badge "Excellent worker of the Red Army" No. 23236. The remains were buried in a mass grave in the village of Milevichi of the Kurilovichi rural administration.

The statistics of the battalion's work together with public organizations from 1995 to 2014 gives us the following figures. 2000 search objects were worked out. The work was carried out on the territory of 112 regions of the Republic of Belarus. Exhumed 23 326 dead soldiers of the Red Army and shot civilians. Found 553 medallions. Found 587 awards. The names of 2,388 fallen soldiers have been established. 4600 explosive items were found and neutralized. Since 1996, together with public search organizations, individual citizens and military registration and enlistment offices, 97,603 names of the dead Red Army servicemen have been identified.

Between 2015 and 2019, 52 separate specialized search battalions worked out 430 field targets. During these expeditions, the remains of more than 13,000 dead were found. With the help of medallions and signed personal belongings, it was possible to establish the names of more than a thousand people [2, p. 23 – 27].

Before conducting a field search expedition, members of the search teams perform archival work, after which a search reconnaissance of the area is carried out. It is carried out with the aim of identifying sites for future excavations. Reconnaissance of the area is carried out in spring or autumn. All information obtained is verified.

As soon as representatives of the search party arrived at the site of future excavations, a survey of the local population is always carried out.

As a rule, unburied remains are found at a depth of up to 30 centimeters from the surface. The buried are found at a depth of more than 30 centimeters.

The area around the discovered burial site is checked for the presence of remains within a radius of ten meters. This is done in order not to fill up the possible remains with soil extracted from the pit.

With the step-by-step excavation of a layer of earth, not disturbed burial, it is possible to trace the approach to the remains. This can be seen from the characteristic features of the extracted soil. These include dark spots.

After the appearance of such a feature, the soil is removed very carefully. The location of the remains is established. Further, the remains are cleared and the personal belongings of the deceased are found. Found objects must not be moved, as their location in relation to the remains can help establish how the soldier died.

The remains are cleaned from head to toe.

Upon discovery of a burial previously opened by "black diggers". The soil should be very carefully examined, since the remains in this case are simply mixed.

To prevent the loss of identifying information, excavation from head to waist is performed in small layers.

The remains are excavated to the full length and width. The soil around the skeleton is removed ten centimeters. Removal of remains from an unaccounted burial begins with the lower extremities. This is done to create a workspace.

During excavations at military cemeteries, the rows of graves are of paramount importance.

During the battle, the body of a soldier could simply be torn to pieces by a mine or shell that exploded next to him. After the battle, the remains could be severed by wild animals. The place of hostilities is overgrown with forest. And the root of the tree in the process of growing, pulled away any bone or personal object of the deceased.

After cleaning the remains, their location with the objects found is recorded on a digital camera.

The main finds of the field expedition are medallions, awards, and identity documents of the deceased.

If a medallion is found during excavations, it should be hermetically packed. For this, a plastic bag is used. The soil from the pit in which the medallion was found is added to the bag to the medallion. The work on reading the information of the found medallions and documents takes place in laboratory conditions.

The search for the relatives of the deceased is as follows. The search team sends a request to the military registration and enlistment office at the place of conscription and residence. Social networks help in finding relatives.

In cases where a reward is found on the deceased, the leadership of the search detachment applies to the Central Archives of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation located in the city of Podolsk through the nearest military enlistment office. Usually the answer takes from four to six months, but unofficially, the necessary information is obtained much faster [4, p. 11 – 15].

CONCLUSION

The results obtained show that the search movement in the Republic of Belarus is represented by a very limited number of search teams.

Only one public search unit “Vikkru” from the city of Mogilev receives state support.

A special role in the search movement in independent Belarus is played by the 52 separate specialized search battalion, which operates under the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus.

The results of the comparative analysis prove that the Soviet and modern stages of the search movement have both identical and different features.

The search movement of independent Belarus was formed exclusively on the basis of search teams created during the existence of the USSR.

In the first years of the existence of independent Belarus, there was no funding for the search movement, the same situation was in the USSR after the end of the Great Patriotic War.

Only after a while were created organizations that united search teams. During the Soviet period it was the television club "Poisk", in independent Belarus it was the Belarusian Republican Association "POSHUK".

The following differences in search traffic should be highlighted.

Firstly, there were no public search teams at the beginning of the search movement on the territory of the BSSR. And by the end of the existence of the USSR, their number was very large.

At the beginning of the existence of independent Belarus, the number of public search units was very large. And at the moment there are only 4 of them, not counting the branches.

The installation of memorial signs on discovered unaccounted graves in the Soviet period was at the expense of the state. In modern Belarus, the installation of memorial signs on unaccounted burials is carried out for donations.

During the existence of the USSR, the basis of the search movement was made up of search teams of schoolchildren. Now the main role in the search movement of Belarus is played by 52 separate specialized search battalions.

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