The village of Zaslonava has once again attracted the attention of Lepel residents and other guests. The occasion this time was the unveiling of a memorial sign in honour of the officers and soldiers of the Soviet Army who performed their international duty.
The village of Zaslonava has once again attracted the attention of Lepel residents and other guests. The occasion this time was the unveiling of a memorial sign in honour of the officers and soldiers of the Soviet Army who performed their international duty. It should be recalled that a few years ago, a memorial sign was erected there through the efforts of local organisations of the Belarusian Officers' Union and the Belarusian Union of War Veterans in Afghanistan. The monument was a black granite slab with an inscription.
Recently, the idea of the monument has been further developed and realised – a combat airborne assault vehicle, formidable equipment that is still in service with mobile forces today, has been mounted on a solid boulder pedestal.
It took about two years from the idea of installing the combat unit on a pedestal to the final implementation of the project. The idea of the Zaslonava veterans was supported by the district administration and resonated with the command of the Ministry of Defence of Belarus. As Vital Franczuk, chairman of the Zaslonava organisation of the Belarusian Officers' Union, said at the monument's unveiling ceremony, the Minister of Defence, Lieutenant-General Yury Zhadobin, personally greatly contributed to the noble cause of honouring the memory of the Fatherland's defenders.
The airborne assault vehicle mounted on the pedestal bears the number 103. This commemorates the combat number of the renowned 103rd Vitebsk Guards Airborne Division, which fought almost in its entirety on the hot Afghan land. Many natives of Lepel region served as paratroopers.
Almost everyone who contributed to the noble cause of immortalising the memory at the time attended the monument's unveiling. In addition to Vital Franczuk, short speeches were delivered by the commander of the 19th Guards Mechanised Brigade, Colonel Mikolai Miklashevich, and the chairman of the district organisation of War Veterans in Afghanistan, Sergey Krivel.
The celebrations coincided with another important date – these days mark the 75th anniversary of the formation of the 19th Guards Nikolayevsko-Budapestska Red Banner Order of Suvorov Second Class Mechanised Brigade. Although the brigade did not participate in the war in Afghanistan, it nevertheless had a glorious combat path. Many warm words were spoken during the festive part of the celebration at the Officers' House. The events concluded with a festive concert by amateur artists.