Belarus' conscript soldiers admire Palace of Independence
On the eve of Victory Day, conscript soldiers from all around Belarus arrived in Minsk to get acquainted with the main symbol of Belarus’ sovereignty: Palace of Independence. All of these young men have achieved the best results in their professional activities, and the Defence Minister thanked them for this. Viktor Khrenin gave them presents, while sending letters of gratitude to the soldiers’ mothers.
Conscript soldiers and their mothers were invited to a festive awarding ceremony and an excursion to the Palace of Independence and, by the beginning of the event, around 120 young men gathered at a hall which had previously hosted four youth Christmas balls, several Presidential inaugurations, meetings with Belarusian sportsmen on the eve of serios competitions and honouring ceremonies for Belarus’ outstanding personalities.
As admitted by young defenders of Belarus, the Palace could be compared to a holy place. “This state building reflects our development and independence like nothing else,” Artem Bokun believes. “It arouses admiration for Belarusians who have created such beauty. At the same time, the Palace of Independence is evoking a sense of unity. Staying here, we understand that it was our builders who built it and our craftsmen who decorated it, while we are now protecting it.”
Over the time of his military service, Artem has progressed in his military career – becoming a senior driver of the supply and refuelling platoon of the support battalion. His mother, Irina Romanovskaya, explains that her son plans to continue serving in the Armed Forces of Belarus, “We were very happy to join this military unit – which has become a second home for my son. I want to thank its officers for their decent attitude to our guys. They are personally showing what a real officer should be. They are an example of honour and dignity.”
Most of the guests – or even all of them – visited the Palace of Independence for the first time. The soldiers and officers were especially impressed by its scales, interiors and halls with unique history. After all, it was in the Green Hall that the Minsk agreements on the settlement of the armed conflict in Ukraine were signed. Although today's realities are dictating completely different conditions, it was this hall that became the first negotiating platform where a hot phase of the war was ceased.
“The value of peaceful sky could hardly be exaggerated,” Veronika Kavalerova, a soldier’s mother, says. “I have three children, the middle one now serves as the commander of a radio interference station of the 1st platoon of the 1st company of the 2nd battalion of radio interference; my eldest son also served in this unit. I have always raised my children with a belief that the Motherland must be protected.”
Meanwhile, Veronika’s son – Yegor – initially came to serve as an ordinary driver, but already heads a unit as sergeant. He explains how he has managed to progress in the military affair so quickly, “Immediately after graduating from the college, I went to the army. It was my personal decision to do so – and I was not mistaken. The main thing is to ‘integrate’ into profession. The team helped me with this. I then immediately got an understanding of what needs to be done and how to achieve it.”
Actually, the excursion at the Palace of Independence became a special gratitude to conscript soldiers’ mothers for proper upbringing of their sons. These women have definitely raised real patriots and defenders of the Motherland.
“This is an exciting day for us: thanks to my son, I am here, in this beautiful building, today,” Tamara Ageenko notes. “I am proud of him: my son has achieved high results in the service, becoming a sergeant. He served with dignity, and became a squad commander. He always wanted to serve in the best troops, and that is why he was working towards his goal. I want to say that mothers should not worry about the future of their sons who want to join the army: military service is a worthy affair.”
Interestingly, the woman has served at customs for two decades, and it was her example that inspired her son Vitaly Pozharitsky to choose service in the special operations forces. “These are the troops which, in case anything happens, will defend our country on the front line and will not stay behind others’ backs. After all, this is the most interesting kind of service, thanks to which it is possible to try a lot of new things and become stronger,” the young man states.
