October 3, at the site of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus in Minsk, a two-day forum “Russia and Belarus: common history, common destiny” with the support of the Permanent Committee of the Union State, began its work. It is dedicated to preserving the historical memory of Russia and Belarus, countering the falsification of the common history of the two countries, revising results of the Second World War, including the rehabilitation of Nazi criminals and their accomplices, through strengthening humanitarian ties and developing cooperation.

The organizers of the event are the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution “Center for International Cooperation of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation”, the “Historical Memory” Foundation and the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.

Among the participants of the large-scale event are representatives of the Permanent Committee of the Union State, authorities and public administration of Belarus and Russia as well as authorities of institutions of higher education, academia and the expert community, museums, archives, and public associations of the two countries.

The forum began with a plenary session. In his welcoming speech, Deputy Minister of Education Alexander Kadlubay expressed confidence that the forum events will contribute to the preservation of the common historical memory of Russia and Belarus, strengthening the interaction of our countries in the scientific and educational spheres, and, ultimately, the formation of spiritual and moral values among the younger generation that unite our peoples.

“In modern geopolitical realities, in the conditions of unleashing information and hybrid wars, it is very important for the peoples of Belarus and Russia to resist attempts to distort and falsify historical facts, to develop a common view of the past that will contribute to the consolidation of society, the education of patriotic and civic qualities of the younger generation and will serve the strengthening of interethnic and interfaith harmony,” emphasized Alexander Kadlubay.

Belarus and Russia are consistently working to create a common educational space. One of the current areas of cooperation between our countries in the field of education is the development of educational and methodological support for the educational process. There is positive experience in the field of joint preparation of teaching aids for higher education institutions.

In 2019–2020, in accordance with the decision adopted at a joint meeting of the boards of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the State Committee for Science and Technology of the Republic of Belarus, Belarusian and Russian historians under the leadership of Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Alexander Kovaleni and Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Efim Pivovar developed a manual “History of the Great Patriotic War”.

The manual was the first in a series called “Russia and Belarus: Pages of Common History.” In this regard, according to the representative of the Ministry of Education, it is advisable to continue the practice of developing manuals in this series for other historical periods that unite the historical memory of the peoples of Russia and Belarus.

Another important point in the new direction of joint activities in preserving historical memory and countering the falsification of history is the development of a manual for students of general secondary education institutions on the general history of the Union State.

This project is supported by the Parliamentary Assembly Commission on Social and Youth Policy, Science, Culture and Humanitarian Issues for 2024. The Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus have been identified as government customers and coordinators of this project.

In the afternoon, the work of the first day of the forum will continue within the framework of three specialized sections. During the work of sections problems of key areas of Russian-Belarusian cooperation in the field of preserving historical memory and countering the falsification of history, the formation of spiritual and moral values in the process of educating a new generation, current issues of historical education, historical -legal assessments and approaches to the study and coverage of the Nazi genocide on the territory of Belarus and Russia.

Tomorrow there will be a round table on the topic: “The Union State of Russia and Belarus: history and modernity.”

Also within the framework of the forum, there will be a presentation of the book “There is no statute of limitations... Crimes of fascism against the peoples of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945.” series “Library of the Union State” and will feature books and collections of documents published by Russian and Belarusian historians and archivists. The program also includes a visit to the Khatyn memorial complex.

Based on the results of the forum, it is planned to adopt a final resolution.