The Vitebsk Art Museum has launched a coin collection for the commemorative sign 'Living Memory of Grateful Generations'

A collection flask for coins intended for the alloy of the commemorative sign "Living Memory of Grateful Generations" has been installed at the Art Museum, a branch of the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore.

Among the first to contribute were the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, Alexander Subbotin, and public figure, Belarusian Paralympian, businessman, and motivational speaker Alexey Talay.

Alexey Talay's charitable foundation has been collecting metal coins for this project for several years as part of the "Children of Belarus – to Veterans and Future Generations" campaign. The coins, along with sponsorship, are used to create monuments. These monuments incorporate a wartime triangular letter, symbolizing the heroic and tragic period of the Great Patriotic War, and a tree, representing the generations that grew up later under peaceful skies.

The first such monument was unveiled in Victory Park in Minsk in 2022. The second is ready and is planned to be installed near the walls of the Brest Fortress next year, marking the 80th anniversary of Belarus's liberation from Nazi invaders. The third monument, for which funds are currently being raised, will be located on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. The grand opening of this commemorative sign is planned to coincide with the anniversary of the Great Victory.

By donating coins, everyone, from schoolchildren to veterans, can make a feasible contribution to the project, thanking those who fought against fascism during the war and gifted us a peaceful life. The number of people wishing to join this noble cause grows year by year. As Alexey Talay mentioned, while around 130,000 coins were collected for the first monument, the second received about half a million. The third stage may be even more successful, as Russians, and not only them, have begun to participate alongside Belarusians.

The installation of the flask at the Art Museum is significant because previously, in the Vitebsk region, coins could only be donated during events attended by Alexey Talay. The first permanent collection point for metal coins was established in Minsk at the State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War. Subsequently, the issue of installing them in regional centers was addressed, as many people in the regions wanted to participate in the project. Now, this opportunity has finally become available in Vitebsk.

Alexander Subbotin emphasized that this is a significant event for all of us.

— We have something to be proud of and to show, something to teach others, — the head of the region noted. — We need to tell our children about this — about our grandfathers, great-grandfathers. To explain that we defeated both Napoleon and Hitler, and not in a single war that did not start through our fault, we emerged victorious, and then rebuilt the country, performed labor feats. This is another brick in the wall of glory of our country, our Slavic brotherhood.

The fruits that such projects yield are not immediately noticeable, believes Alexander Subbotin. But gradually, good deeds shape the inner world of children, create an environment of kindness, mercy, and remembrance of our worthy ancestors in society, which does not allow any sprouts of evil to break through on this soil.

Photo by Dmitry OSIPOV.

Source: vitebsk-region.gov.by