On May 2, the motor rally arrived at memorial complex “Khatyn”, where more than 3,000 people gathered. The event was attended by delegations of employees of the central office and central subordination of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the penitentiary and security departments, departmental educational institutions, the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs of Minsk City Executive Committee and the Internal Affairs Directorate of Minsk Region, as well as representatives of Minsk Regional Executive Committee.
Already at the turn to Khatyn from the M3 highway, one could notice a retro traffic police crew, which monitored the observance of traffic rules on the roads of the Soviet Union. The huge parking lot of the memorial complex was filled to overflowing with cars, buses, motorcycles and retro cars participating in the rally.
The delegation, headed by Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Dmitry Korzyuk, laid scarlet roses at the monument "Unconquered Man". Cadets of the Center for the Training of Personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs bowed their heads in mourning at the paths leading to the monument and the Eternal Flame, holding the flags of Belarus and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Flowers from law enforcement officers of different generations also lay at the Eternal Flame.
After laying flowers at the foot of the monument "Unconquered Man" at the Eternal Flame, a requiem meeting was held. It was attended by honorary guests, including Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Dmitry Korzyuk, Deputy Chairman of Minsk Regional Executive Committee Alexander Ilyasevich, Chief of Staff of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Police Colonel Yuri Baranov, Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Police Major General Gennady Kazakevich, Deputy Chairman of the Synodal Department for Interaction with the Armed Forces of Belarusian Orthodox Church Priest Vadim Shpakov and others.
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Dmitry Korzyuk noted in his speech:
"Here, among the silent monuments, we hear the ringing of bells and with all our souls we feel the mournful breath of the past. Khatyn will always reflect the terrible tragedy, remaining a symbol of pain, heroism and unity of our people who liberated the land from fascism in our hearts. During the war, the occupiers and their accomplices plundered and burned over 12 thousand villages and towns, of which more than 5 thousand shared the fate of Khatyn, 288 were never revived... During the occupation, Belarus was subjected to all forms of genocide - concentration camps were created, punitive operations were carried out, people were tortured, civilians were massively exterminated. The sacred duty of each of us is to always remember those terrible events, not allowing others to forget them, and, even more so, to distort the truth."
Dmitry Korzyuk emphasized that millions of lives were given for peace on our land, and that a repetition of terrible events cannot be allowed. Addressing the younger generation, Dmitry Korzyuk underlined:
"Take care of the memory, protect the historical truth. Time has chosen us! As long as we remember, as long as we honor our heroes, as long as we stand shoulder to shoulder, as our grandfathers and great-grandfathers did - Belarus is invincible! Let there always be a peaceful sky above our land, and in our hearts - pride for those who gave us the Great Victory!"
After his words, the metronome over Khatyn announced a minute of silence.
Aleksandr Ilyasevich greeted the rally participants on behalf of the Governor of Minsk Region Aleksey Kushnarenko:
"Khatyn is a symbol of the sacrifice that the Belarusian people made on the altar of the common Victory, it is an unhealing wound of our memory. So that the boot of the occupier never sets foot on Belarusian land again. Khatyn is the most important element of the patriotic education of our youth, the most important element of our historical memory."
Priest Vadim Shpakov also addressed those present. After which the bells rang out in memory of the innocent victims, every third Belarusian who died in the Great Patriotic War.
After the meeting, the rally participants continued along the route to Grodno region to the Mound of Glory and to Brest region to Brest Fortress.
The rally will ended in Brest Fortress with a meeting-requiem, a concert and fireworks.
The rally participants were escorted to the next point of the route by an orchestra playing the legendary composition "Victory Day".
An air support was provided by a helicopter with the national flag of the Republic of Belarus flying majestically over the convoy, giving the moment a special solemnity and symbolizing the unity and pride of the nation.
