“In several regions of Belarus, solemn oath-taking ceremonies are being held by schoolchildren who join military-patriotic clubs, created at the initiative of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivan Kubrakov. According to local mass media, there are already about 160 such clubs, they unite more than 5,500 children”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
Such ceremonies took place in Brest, as well as in several districts of Vitebsk and Mogilev regions. Local publications actively write about them.
As the Belarusian service of Radio Liberty writes with reference to the regional press, approximately 160 military-patriotic clubs have already been created and are operating in Belarus, uniting more than 5,500 boys and girls of school age.
Ceremonies are held according to one model. The venues for the celebrations are museums or historical sites related to World War II (Belarusian authorities still use the Soviet name “The Great Patriotic War”, which covers the period 1941-1945 when the USSR was at war with Hitler’s Germany – as opposed to the period 1939-1941, when Hitler and Stalin were de facto allies).
In Ushachy, this celebration took place in the Museum of National Glory, in Brest – in the Brest Fortress, in Bilynychy, Mogilev Region – in the local art museum, in Rossony, Vitebsk Region – in the Museum of the Military Commonwealth. The oath is taken by representatives of local internal affairs bodies – chiefs or deputies for ideological work and personnel management.
Along with the certificates, the children are given the club’s Code of Honor, a document that establishes “the principles of honor, discipline, patriotism and personal responsibility, which are the basis of the official and civil position of future defenders of the Motherland.” At the end of the celebrations, local Orthodox priests perform the “rite of consecration of the formation”.