Participants of the Lepel Automobile Club on the Roads of Memory

A patriotic campaign "Roads of Memory," dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory, is underway among the auto clubs of the Vitebsk region. For several weeks, employees and creative teams of the auto clubs have been visiting places of military glory to tidy them up. And now, it is time for our artists to undertake an honorable mission – to receive the flame of memory, the books "Pamyat" from Dubrovno, Tolochin, Orsha and Chashniki districts, as well as maps indicating the monuments where meetings of neighboring regions took place.

Together with the auto club of the district House of Culture, I am heading to the border of Chashniki and Lepel districts.
The "Vishenki" memorial is located in Chashniki district, built on the site of a village that met the fate of Khatyn. Together with the artists, we recall the history of those terrible events, and a sense of awkwardness and sadness fills our hearts.
On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, the settlement had 32 households and 160 inhabitants, and during the wartime ordeal, almost nothing remained of this place.
This story is known not only to the adults and children of Chashnichchyna but also to the schoolchildren of Lepel. March 9, 1944, is the most terrible and tragic day in the history of the small village. Having lost several soldiers in a battle with partisans that had flared up the day before, punitive troops from the 839th Security Battalion burst into the village. The strongest men among the villagers were separated, tortured, and then shot and thrown into the river. The rest were destined for a torturous death in the fire. They were herded into two houses, grenaded, and then set on fire. 114 residents were burned alive in the village.
In 1984, a memorial sign was erected on the site of the village. Now, there stands a memorial monument, which was unveiled on June 22, 1989.
As we approach, we notice from afar a large sculptural composition – a woman, a girl, and an elderly man. Not far from it, artists from Chashnichchyna are already waiting, also only a few people, considering the epidemiological situation.
I want to note right away that cultural workers know how to create a real celebration even with a small group, because their souls sing. They are used to bringing joy and

to lift people's spirits.
It happened this time as well. First, our neighbours performed a musical composition, then the residents of Lepel performed their own in response. As noted by Natalia Neplyakhovich, head of the motor club of the Chashniki Centre for Culture and Folk Art, they had never heard such a musical piece before – it was very beautiful, and they should take note of it.
After greeting each other with kind words, they moved on to the main event – the handover of the symbols of this campaign. At that moment, all participants of the event felt a sense of excitement.
— During the period we have been visiting monuments in the Lepel region for cleaning and improvement, having already visited more than ten, we have felt even more how necessary and important this campaign is. It is our duty to maintain fraternal graves, monuments, and obelisks in proper condition. Great attention is paid to this work, both in our country and in the Lepel district. It is only a pity that it is currently impossible to visit veterans and involve schoolchildren in the participation, — said Leonid Zababuro, head of the motor club of the Lepel District House of Culture.
Our artists also noted that, in general, the areas around the monuments are mostly tidy. The organisations assigned to them conscientiously visit and clean the sacred sites.
As they say: only through joint efforts can a good result be achieved. Yes, and in this matter, the MOTOR CLUB has always maintained contact with the village councils, and together with them, decided which monument to head to first.
Natalia Neplyakhovich, head of the motor club of the Chashniki Centre for Culture and Folk Art, noted that there are over 70 burials in the Chashniki region, and all of them are in excellent condition. The Chashniki land raised six Heroes of the Soviet Union.
— Thanks to this campaign, we had the opportunity to connect with memory once again, to visit monuments, particularly this memorial, — summarised Natalia Arkadyevna.
Natalia Khrapovitskaya.