The 81st anniversary of liberation from Nazi invaders was celebrated in the Liozno district

In the Liozno region, the 81st anniversary of the liberation of the district from the Nazi invaders was celebrated. The place for the solemn meeting was one of the largest memorial complexes in the region "Tikhmyanovskaya height", located near the village of Osipenka, where there were bloody battles with the occupiers. The battery of Senior Lieutenant Leonid Tikhmyanov showed special bravery and courage in the battle. The height for which the Red Army soldiers shed their blood is named after him.

– Today we turn to the events of the Great Patriotic War and remember the defenders of the Fatherland, many of whom were 18-20 years old. They did not spare their lives so that we could live under a peaceful sky. There are 98 military graves on the territory of the district, in which more than 33 thousand soldiers who died during the liberation of the Liozno region rest. These are holy places for us," said Sergey Shlyadnev, Chairman of the Lioznensky District Council of Deputies.

After the occupiers were driven out of Liozno on October 10, 1943, the front line passed through the territory of the district for another nine months. Our troops were winning back inch by inch from the enemy. The chronicle of liberation included the battle near the village of Osipenka, in which 38 Soviet mortar men repelled enemy attacks for 14 hours. Fulfilling the order to hold the bridgehead, cut off from their own, not covered by anyone, they found themselves one-on-one with a much superior enemy. With 4 mortars, 31 carbines, 5 submachine guns and 2 anti-tank rifles, the battery became a barrier in the way of 800 Nazis armed to the teeth. When reinforcements arrived, all the defenders of the height were wounded. Eight of them died. For this feat, the Komsomol commander of the mortar battery, 18-year-old Sergei Bogomolov, and its commander, 24-year-old Leonid Tikhmyanov, were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. And the height was named Tikhmyanovskaya by the decision of the Liozno Council of People's Deputies in 1967.

In 1972, on the day of the rocket forces and artillery, a memorial monument was unveiled, made of concrete designed by Vitebsk sculptor Azat Torosyan and architect Zinaida Ozerova. On a semicircular stele two meters high, six bayonets – obelisks rise up. The monument is decorated with bas-relief images of six soldiers and partisans with machine guns. A mortar is installed on the site.

This year, employees of Vitebsk Electric Grids, a branch of RUE "Vitsebskenergo", carried out large–scale works on the improvement of the memorial complex. This is not the only example of the help of power engineers in a noble cause. Last year they worked at a military burial in Krynki. At the same time, a request was made by the local authorities to help put the Tikhmanovskaya Height memorial in order.

– Such memorials are a link between the past, present and future. They embody the courage and heroism of the Soviet people who stood up in the bloody struggle against the enemy. It is difficult for our peaceful generation to understand how they endured the ordeal that befell them. The very young went into battle and went into immortality. It is our duty to perpetuate and preserve the memory of them. To do everything so that our grandchildren proudly tell their descendants about the feat of the Soviet soldier, – said Vadim Kornilovich, Director of Vitebsk Electric Grids.

For a significant contribution to the preservation of historical memory, the staff of the branch was solemnly thanked by the Liozno district executive committee and the district council.

Photo by Tatiana PASTERNAK.

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