The Victory Museum at Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow has been implementing the "School Museum of Victory" program for five years. The museum oversees 2000 school museums in Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. The "Top-100. School Museum of Victory" rating compiled by its staff includes three museums from the Vitebsk region. The museum of the Voronovskaya Secondary School of the Vitebsk District named after I. E. Beskhlebny is among the leaders.
Living History
The school museum in the agro-town of Vorony is not just a repository of exhibits. It is a living organism where life is in full swing: excursions and research are conducted, information about the native region and fellow countrymen is gathered bit by bit, and children bring rusty objects found in the area (what if they are valuable historical artifacts?).
— The museum was the brainchild of chemistry and geography teacher Alexandra Yakovlevna Terentyeva. In 1962, a museum corner with the first exhibits appeared at the school. We used to run there when we were little, studied, and recited poems about fallen soldiers at memorial rallies, — recalls Irina Krotova, who took over the museum from Terentyeva and today heads the museum and the "Patriot" interest association.
The exhibition was based on military themes. Over time, the museum of military glory moved to a separate building. When Irina Igorevna took charge, she decided to expand the theme:
— We created a museum dedicated to our small homeland, adding what happened on this land.
An exhibition dedicated to the war of 1812, information about local soldiers-internationalists, outstanding school graduates, and the "Belarusian People's Life" hall were added. A separate corner preserves the memory of the museum's founder, Alexandra Terentyeva. Two and a half thousand exhibits have been collected.
Heroes and Letters to Eternity
The largest exhibition in the school museum is dedicated to the heroic feat of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War.
— The war came to us at the end of June - beginning of July 1941. Fierce battles were fought. The 14th Tank Division defended this territory, — says Irina Igorevna. — The battalion commanded by Nikolai Chepurny drove the enemy out of the village of Vorony and nearby villages. The battalion commander, wounded three times, did not leave the battlefield. For exemplary performance of combat missions, courage and heroism, on August 31, 1941, the senior lieutenant was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The museum also houses graphic works by Vitaly Rogal, a front-line artist from Russia. He fought near Vorony, at height 222.9, where he made sketches and painted portraits of his fellow soldiers during breaks between battles. In 1967, the master visited the museum; he lived to be 89 years old and became a People's Artist of the RSFSR.
On March 1, 1944, Anatoly Kopysov, a native of the Russian city of Kirov, died in Vorony. His mother wrote and sent letters to her deceased son until the end of her days, but for her, he was still her living son. Here is one of them: "My dear son Anatoly! Spring has come again, but you are not home. You are still in Belarus. Your new homeland surrounds you with care... Thank you to everyone who surrounds and guards your rest. Mother. I miss you always." And a postscript on the side: "Place this on Anatoly's grave."
"I am proud of my surname!"
The school in Vorony is named after Lieutenant Ivan Efimovich Beskhlebny. Under his command, soldiers of the 4th company of the 158th Rifle Division of the 39th Army held an unnamed height nearby for over 12 hours on December 26, 1943. They repeated the feat of the Panfilovites, except there were 28 of them, and these were 27. The soldiers who died in December 1943, including Ivan Beskhlebny, were buried at the site of their feat.
Since 1968, the school's pioneer organization has borne the name of the 27 Vitebsk Panfilovites. When the question arose whose name to assign to the school, it was decided that it should be their commander, Ivan Beskhlebny. However, the consent of his relatives was required, said Irina Krotova. And an amazing story is connected with this.
Ivan died at the age of 24; he did not have time to start a family. The Vorony scouts found an essay by Gle on social media
about Beskhlebny, in which a boy wrote that he proudly bore the surname of his grandfather, who fought near Vitebsk on an unnamed height. It turned out that this was the great-nephew of the commander who died here.
In the spring of last year, the International Watch of Memory "Pogostino-43" took place at the site of the feat of 27 Vitebsk Panfilovites. Searchers from Belarus and Russia, with the help of students from Voronovo Secondary School, found the remains of 127 soldiers. It is assumed that Ivan Beskhlebny was among them. The young man who wrote the essay came from the Novosibirsk region to pay homage to the ashes of his great-grandfather.
vitebsk-region.gov.by
