Brest Fortress draws 2.8m visitors in five years

Aleksandr Korkotadze noted that Brest Fortress is a connecting thread in the shared history of the CIS states. Ten years ago, it began working on new exhibitions. This effort has paid off as the number of visitors has nearly doubled. This year the memorial complex is completing the project under the Union State program and is planning to open a new memorial area.

Over the past five years, Brest Fortress has drawn 2.8 million visitors and held about 55,000 tours.

“Currently, five new museums have opened on the grounds of the memorial complex. Last year, we welcomed 723,000 visitors. We conducted tours for nearly 14,000 groups. It is especially gratifying to note that about half of the organized tourists who took advantage of the tours came from Russia. They come both as families and through travel agencies. Why? To find answers to the challenges of our time, to understand how our people endured during the years of brutal fascist aggression, to feel not only a sense of sorrow for the blood shed by our people but also a sense of pride that such a great generation once lived, to learn from them, and perhaps to draw strength,” Aleksandr Korkotadze noted.

The geographical reach of countries whose representatives visit the memorial is broad. This includes tourists from Germany, Poland, the Baltic states, and the Global South. “The more lies and historical distortions people hear in the West, the greater their desire to learn the truth,” Aleksandr Korkotadze noted. “We understand how much history has been distorted there. More often than not, the tactic is one of silencing, acting as if the Red Army simply played no role in the liberation of Auschwitz or other countries. In this regard, our role in defending the truth about the decisive contribution of the Soviet people to the victory over fascism is very important. Therefore, to make ourselves heard, together with Mamayev Kurgan, we are seeking to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage List through a cross-border nomination,” Aleksandr Korkotadze emphasized.

He added that preserving historical memory is the key to a successful future. Memorial complexes such as Brest Hero Fortress, Khatyn, and the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War play an important role in educating young people and shaping them into patriots.