News

Penza residents will go in search of Red Army soldiers’ remains who fell in Belarus during the Great Patriotic War.
From August 13 to 23, Penza searchers will hold a Memorial Watch on the territory of the Republic of Belarus. The Penza search team will work in the Rogachevsky district of the Gomel Region to search for unrecorded graves of Red Army soldiers and commanders who fell in the battles for freedom and independence of the USSR.
The 13th expedition in the Republic of Belarus is being held in the year of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Penza Oblast, the Central Committee of the House of Officers and the Penza branch of the Search Movement of Russia.
The traditional place of search operations is the settlements of the Rogachevsky district, since the 61st Rifle Division fought here in 1941, including Penza natives.
The 354th Rifle Division, formed in Penza in 1941, also participated in the battles on Belarusian soil. Soldiers and commanders showed examples of heroism and self-sacrifice during the liberation of the territory. So, in 1944, for the liberation of the BSSR, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR repeatedly noted the division: in January it received the name "Kalinkovichi" in commemoration of the victory and liberation Kalinkovichi; on July 5 it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for the liberation of the Bobruisk city and the large railway station; and on July 27, the division was awarded the Order of Suvorov for the liberation of the city of Baranovichi.
The solemn dispatch of search teams is scheduled for August 12, and the event starts at 11:00 on the square in front of the House of Officers (Penza).
Photo provided by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Penza Oblast