On June 19, 2026, the 3rd Republican Youth Patriotic Forum "CITADEL OF MEMORY: ECHO OF WAR. LET'S PRESERVE THE MEMORY TOGETHER" opened in Brest. The opening ceremony took place on Ceremonial Square at the Brest Hero Fortress Memorial Complex, sacred to every Belarusian.
The symbolism of the forum takes on special significance this year. 2026 marks the 85th anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War. It was the Brest Fortress that bore the enemy's first and most terrible blow, becoming an eternal symbol of the unwavering courage and resilience of the defenders of the Fatherland. Holding the ceremony on this heroic soil underscores the unbreakable bond between generations and our shared responsibility for preserving historical truth.
The opening ceremony was attended by Alexander Korkotadze, Director of the Brest Hero Fortress Memorial Complex; Andrei Filanovich, Chairman of the Brest City Council of Deputies; Andrei Parfievich, Rector of Brest State Technical University; and Valery Pavlovich Grakhov, Director of the "Childhood Scorched by War" project and Professor at Izhevsk State University.
Participants honored the memory of the fallen heroes of the Great Patriotic War with a moment of silence. A touching and emotional moment of the ceremony was the performance of the Brest State Technical University folk academic choir "Belaya Vezha," which sang the song "Every Fourth," recalling the colossal price paid for Victory.
This year's forum brought together over 200 active and passionate young people. The geography of the participants was impressive: delegations from all regions of Belarus, 31 universities and three colleges, as well as guests from Russia representing 19 different universities, came to Brest.
The forum will continue at BrSTU venues, where project defenses will be held in key categories. Young researchers, architects, and creative youth will present their work dedicated to preserving historical memory:
"THE FEAT OF THE VICTORIAL HEROES": the best research projects based on the study of archival documents and the search for new evidence of the heroism of the defenders of the Fatherland.
"HEROES OF VICTORY": the best architectural designs for small-scale monuments and memorials commemorating war heroes.
"DEFENSE OF THE MOTHERLAND IS DEFENSE OF ONE'S DIGNITY": an essay competition in which participants reflect on duty and honor.
"LIVING CHRONICLE OF WAR": a video competition dedicated to the work of perpetuating the memory of the fallen.
A rich program awaits forum participants, allowing them to delve deeper into history. During their three-day stay in Brest, forum guests will be able to participate in a quest tour of the Brest Fortress, attend a poetry and bard song evening entitled "And the Saved World Remembers...," and a reenactment of the pre-war period, "The Last Peaceful Day," on Sovetskaya Street.
