Happy Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus!
To the team of the Belarusian State the Orders
Of the October Revolution and the Labour Red Banner
agricultural academy.
Dear friends!
There are many significant dates in the calendar of public holidays of independent Belarus that unite different generations of Belarusians. They make up an inseparable whole. On May 9, the country solemnly celebrated the Victory Day. May 15 is the triad of the main State symbols - Coat of Arms, Flag and Anthem. And on July 3, we celebrate the Independence Day. This holiday is one of the young. It appeared in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union. And it was originally celebrated on July 27 as it is the day of the adoption of the Declaration on State Sovereignty of the Belarusian SSR. However, five years later, the date was changed. The decision to celebrate the Day of Independence on July 3 - on the anniversary of the liberation of the capital of our Motherland, the Hero city of Minsk, from the Nazi invaders - was made on November 24, 1996 at a republican referendum. The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko signed the Decree on the establishment of a new date on 11 December 1996.
The Independence Day, or The Republic Day, is a holiday that is filled with special meaning for each Belarusian family. It unites the fates of different generations. It reminds of the long and difficult path that our country has passed. The victory of the Soviet people in the fight against fascism saved Belarusians from extermination and enslavement. But the Great Patriotic War is not the only test that has fallen on Belarusians. "Our history of more than 1,000 years is the constant struggle of the people for their land, spiritual values and self-determination. And even after the sovereign Belarus had appeared on the world map, we constantly had to defend our right to an independent path of the development." The Head of State had made that conclusion even before the well-known events of 2020, as a result of which we could lose both our independence and our country.
It is symbolic that, starting from 2021, the Belarusian people has had another public holiday - the Day of National Unity, which we celebrate on September, the 17th. It is no coincidence that these dates are so close on our national calendar. Thus, we pay tribute to the unity of generations of the Belarusian people. Their centuries-old struggle for freedom, and for the right to live on their native land. Belarusians have always drawn strength from the spiritual heritage of their ancestors. And our generation, as an invaluable gift, got the opportunity to live under a peaceful sky precisely from them - patriots, creators, winners. We have no right to let them down, betraying to oblivion their names and their deeds for the Motherland. After all, only by saving the memory of the heroes, multiplying what has been achieved, Belarusians will always remain the owners of their land. And they determine their own destiny by themselves.
That is why the Independence Day is so dear to each of us. It is still a symbol of the freedom and unity of the Belarusian people; a symbol of civil society stability, and generational continuity. It is in our respect to our past, to the country's history, it is the preservation of national traditions. And this is a symbol of love for a small homeland and your Fatherland as well.
Please, accept my sincere congratulations on the Republic Day, with the wishes of good health, peace, goodness, confidence in the future, economic stability and prosperity of our Motherland!
Sincerely,
Vitaly VELIKANOV
Rector.
