An exhibition dedicated to the contribution of the Uzbek people to the Great Victory has opened in Minsk
The Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War has opened an exhibition "The memory of the people is sacred" dedicated to the contribution of the Uzbek people to the victory over fascism during the Second World War. The exhibition is organized by the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Belarus together with the SCO People's Diplomacy Center in Uzbekistan and the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War and is timed to the thirtieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and Belarus, which will be celebrated next year.
The opening of the exhibition was attended by representatives of the creative intelligentsia, diplomatic agencies accredited in Belarus, as well as a delegation of the CIS Executive Committee headed by Deputy Head of the Chairman's Office Viktor Guminsky.
The exhibition presents archival photographs telling about Uzbek soldiers and home front workers – all those who contributed to the common Victory.
Opening the exhibition, the Charge d'affaires of Uzbekistan in Belarus, Rakhmatulla Nazarov, noted that during the hard times of war, Uzbekistan has become a reliable rear providing for the needs of the front.
"Thanks to the selfless work of our multinational people, almost 300 enterprises of the republic began to produce military products. Uzbekistan produced and supplied to the front a huge amount of military equipment and ammunition, clothing, food, medicines and other vital products. More than one and a half hundred factories were evacuated from the frontline territories to Uzbekistan and put into operation in a short time. Thousands of wounded soldiers were treated in hospitals organized in our country," Rakhmatulla Nazarov said.
At the opening of the exhibition, the need to preserve the memory of the terrible tragedy of the Great Patriotic War and the need to prevent the glorification of Nazism was emphasized. This was stated in his speech by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee Viktor Guminsky.
"We know perfectly well who won this war – the Soviet people. And we will not allow anyone to doubt it. And we will always cherish this Victory. In 2012, the Commonwealth of Independent States signed an agreement on perpetuating the memory of the courage and heroism of the peoples of the CIS member States in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. And last year it was decided to create an International Association (commission) of Historians and Archivists of the Commonwealth member states. The main task of this structure is to counteract attempts to distort history and falsify the results of the war, to preserve the historical truth," Viktor Guminsky stressed.
By the decision of the Uzbek side, the exhibits were donated to the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War. The exposition will soon be presented in Belarusian regional centers.