Opinions & Interviews

"The First World War was one of the biggest humanitarian catastrophes, which touched upon Belarus as well. Unfortunately, the events of those years still echo centuries later. Many people in Belarus were killed, were forced to leave the country, the economy was destroyed and monuments of culture were ruined. This all shows that people should be constantly reminded of those events so that this should not happen again,” said Boris Svetlov. He added that the government and the Culture Ministry are doing their best to preserve the historical memory of the war of the early 20th century.

The exhibition has been organized with the help of the National History Museum. Its exhibits have been loaned to Smorgon for a month and a half. The exhibition includes six thematic sections united by the common idea. It showcases the items of a soldier's life, medical products, weapons and uniforms, photos and documents. A separate section is dedicated to the victims of the First World War.

"Belarus during the First World War" is a large-scale project, which will travel around cities and towns of Belarus within few years. In September, the exhibition will move to Minsk. At the end of the year it is expected in Grodno and Gomel. The exhibition has become one of the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War.