Yekaterinburg Cycling Club holds an international bike tour through the Belarusian cities to mark the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory

The participants will travel to Minsk, Vitebsk, Polotsk, Orsha, as well as visit the village of Khatyn and Brest Fortress. It's the 11th bike tour, traditionally organised by the club members during the Great Victory celebrations that cover the regions of Russia, as well as cities of near and far abroad.

On 29 April diplomats of the Russian Embassy in Belarus met the participants of the tour in Minsk, where the guests from the Sverdlovsk Oblast visited the Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War.

“We consider it an action of public diplomacy, that takes place in the days of celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, which are significant for all Russians and Belarusians. Such tours not only help establish direct contacts between people from different countries, but also enrich their knowledge of the world and help promote the bicycle as an environmentally friendly and affordable form of transport. Yekaterinburg is one of the first cities in Russia, where a society of cyclists appeared at the end of the 19th century. In Belarus, cycling is also very popular, which is fuelled by a comfortable urban environment and developed infrastructure. I am sure that we will make lots of new friends here,” said Sergey Shumilo, co-organiser of the bike tour.

Vyacheslav Yarin, Minister of International and External Economic Relations of the Sverdlovsk Oblast, stressed that the existing ties between the Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Republic of Belarus have long been a model of win-win partnership. “Numerous collaborative events prove it. The bike tour is a significant people's effort to preserve the memory of our common heroic past. It is aimed, among other things, at developing cultural and humanitarian ties with the Belarusian side.”

The bike tour is supported by the Ministry of International and External Economic Relations of the Sverdlovsk Oblast.