The International Scientific and Practical Conference "Genocide of the Soviet People: Historical and Legal Assessment" is being held at the Yanka Kupala State University

There are countless crimes committed by the Nazi occupiers. The world is still feeling the consequences of their bloody deeds. Belarus suffered severely during the Great Patriotic War, as did the entire Soviet people. The conference accumulates research, projects, and facts about the crimes of the punishers. For two days, prosecutors, investigators, scientists and students will share the results of the work done to study the facts of the genocide of the Belarusian people.

The conference participants have a lot to talk about. As noted by the General Prosecutor of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Shved, a lot of work is being done in the framework of the investigation of the criminal case on the facts of the genocide of the Belarusian people committed by Nazi criminals, their accomplices, and criminal formations during the Great Patriotic War and the post-war period on the territory of the BSSR and other countries. So, more than 19,000 witnesses of those terrible events were interviewed.

– The testimonies of the interviewed people are recorded on video so that our descendants know firsthand about the atrocities committed by the invaders on our land. Work on the analysis of data on burned villages is at the completion stage. At the moment, the commission of the National Academy of Sciences has confirmed 12,400 settlements that were completely destroyed or severely damaged during the war, but, unfortunately, this list will be expanded. Work on the inspection of the sites of accidents and mass destruction has not yet been completed. In the next few years, previously unknown mass murder sites will be examined, there are more than 100 of them. The data is updated every year, and new information appears.

The next stage, which will begin in the next two - three years, will be an active investigation outside of Belarus. According to Andrey Shved, inquiries will be sent to more than 30 countries around the world to obtain information regarding the location of the still-living punishers in order to resolve the issue of justice.

– The German authorities have already begun to actively transfer documents related to the processes after the Second World War. A large number of documents come from the Russian Federation, and we already have more than two million pages of documents that have never been studied before, mostly in German. A lot has already been done, but there is simply a huge amount of work ahead, and now it is impossible to talk about the end of the investigation, since the volume of crimes is simply huge. The Fascist invaders brought too much grief and troubles to our land," ­­‑  the General Prosecutor noted.

Yanka Kupala State University is actively involved in the investigation of the Prosecutor General's Office. Both the teaching staff and students are joining the important work. Irina Kiturko, Rector of  Yanka Kupala  State University, stressed that it is a great honor for university residents to host such a high and significant scientific forum.

– Humanity holds many important memories and tragedies experienced by people. Their memory is carved in blood on the pages of history. These memories become the core that makes up the strength of the nation. That is why Belarus will never forget about the feat and suffering of our ancestors," - Irina Kiturko emphasized.

– The initiative of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Belarus to investigate a criminal case into the commission of mass violence and extermination of the Belarusian people by Nazi criminals and their accomplices, criminal formations has gained the support of all segments of the population of our country. Students and schoolchildren actively joined the work. In February 2023, at the initiative of the Prosecutor's Office of the Grodno region, the interdisciplinary project "Genocide of the Belarusian people: memory and pain of the Grodno land" was launched at Kupala University.

As part of the project, students and teachers worked closely with the prosecutor's office and archival documents, dialogue platforms, round tables and rallies were held, two photo exhibitions were prepared, a monograph was published and short documentaries about the crimes of the Civil Army and collaborators were created.

Students' interest in researching this burning topic continues to grow. Karina Mistyuk, a 2nd-year student at the Faculty of History, Communication and Tourism, spoke about her work within the framework of the interdisciplinary project:

– This project is one of the most important in my student life, and it is a great honor for me to be a part of it. After all, everything that is being done as part of the work on it is of great importance not only for the region, but also for the country as a whole. Communicating with the witnesses of those terrible events and seeing archival documents, you become even more imbued with the horrors that took place during the Great Patriotic War. The result of our work was a short documentary film, where we talk not only about the horrors we experienced, but also focus on what crimes were committed and that they are not forgotten.

Within the framework of the scientific forum, a signing ceremony was held for the implementation of the interdisciplinary project "Genocide of the Belarusian people: memory and pain of the Grodno land" in 2025, as well as the awarding of participants in the interdisciplinary project "Genocide of the Belarusian people: memory and pain of the Grodno land".

General Prosecutor of the Republic of Belarus Andrey Shved presented memorable gifts to Irina Kiturko, Rector of Yanka Kupala State University. Students and teachers who actively participated in the project also received letters of appreciation for their efforts in studying and preserving the historical memory of the genocide of the Belarusian people.

The conference will be held for two days. Among its participants are representatives of the prosecutor's offices of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, the National Center for Historical Memory under the President of the Russian Federation, the public association Belarusian Peace Foundation, the Federal State Budgetary educational institution of higher Education Donetsk State University, and the Federal State Budgetary Institution of Science Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The faculty and students of the Yanka Kupala State University and the performers of the national scientific project "Genocide of the civilian population of the BSSR during the Great Patriotic War: historical and legal assessment" are also actively involved.