October 30, Pozirk. EU, UK and Swiss diplomats have visited the Kurapaty forest just outside Minsk to commemorate the “countless lives and immeasurable talent lost to the scourge of totalitarianism,” the Delegation of the European Union said.
Kurapaty is where Josef Stalin’s secret police, NKVD, buried thousands of victims of the Great Purge, and, according to the delegation, it has long been a tradition to visit it around All Souls Day.
“As a people’s memorial, Kurapaty bears witness to the tireless work of many brave Belarusians who have taken great care to protect the dignity of the victims and the national historic memory through the upheavals of our times. We hope and pray that the lessons of history be learned,” the EU mission said.
Last year, diplomats visited the memorial on October 31, and the year before on October 29, ahead of the Night of Executed Poets. On the night of October 29-30, 1937, NKVD shot more than 130 Belarusian poets, intellectuals, culture figures and as officials.
In recent years, foreign diplomats visiting Kurapaty have been intimidated by overly aggressive and rude state media journalists.
