Belarussian history enthusiasts reconstruct WWI battle to mark its 100th anniversary

Record ID: 898700

  • Title: Belarussian history enthusiasts reconstruct WWI battle to mark its 100th anniversary
  • Date: 11th July 2017
  • Summary: VYGONOSHCHI, BELARUS (JULY 8, 2017) (REUTERS) EXPLOSIONS NEAR TRENCH, MAN DRESSED IN UNIFORM IN TRENCH MEN IN UNIFORM WALKING AND FIRING/ MEN IN TRENCHES VARIOUS OF ATTACK RECONSTRUCTION, MEN IN TRENCH MEN IN UNIFORM FIRING, SPECTATORS IN BACKGROUND VIEW OF BATTLEFIELD, SMOKE BILLOWING MEN IN UNIFORM FIRING, SPECTATORS IN BACKGROUND VARIOUS OF WOMEN TAKING PART IN ATTACK MAN FIRING FROM MACHINE GUN MEN IN UNIFORM IN TRENCH FIRING, SPECTATORS IN BACKGROUND MEN FIGHTING VARIOUS OF SPECTATORS MEN IN UNIFORM HOLDING WHITE FLAG VARIOUS OF SPECTATORS (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RECONSTRUCTION PARTICIPANT, ANDREI ORALIN, SAYING: "During that time Vygonoshchi was a stronghold, a place where forces and fates met. The place where we are standing now was a terrible place, covered with blood." HELMET IN TRENCH (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) RECONSTRUCTION PARTICIPANT, YELENA VOROBEI, SAYING: "This is an absolutely undeservedly forgotten war (WWI) because people who came into power in 1917 were ashamed of this war and called it the imperialist one and decided just to pass this period of history." MEN IN UNIFORM CROSSING THEMSELVES DURING RELIGIOUS SERVICE CROSS WITH SIGN "1914-1918"
  • Embargoed: 25th July 2017 14:01
  • Keywords: Belarus history reconstruction WWI battle centenary 100th anniversary
  • Location: VYGONOSHCHI, BELARUS
  • City: VYGONOSHCHI, BELARUS
  • Country: Belarus
  • Topics: Living / Lifestyle,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016P9VTIX
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Several hundred people gathered on Saturday (July 8) in the village of Vygonoshchi in the Brest region, Belarus, around 260 kilometres away from the capital Minsk, to mark a centenary of the WWI battle.
    History enthusiasts staged a reconstruction of a battle that took place between Russian and German forces in July 1917. Belarus then was a part of the Russian empire and the village, as reconstruction organisers said, was on the frontline and was completely destroyed after two years of fighting.
    By reconstructing the battle they wanted to show what life was like for soldiers on the battlefield in WWI.
    That was the third time the reconstruction was held in the village. But the organisers said it was still very important to know about the war and to remember it.
    They try to restore World War One legacy after decades in which the conflict was underplayed by the Soviet authorities.
    The Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 ended Russia's involvement in the war, and for most of the 20th century it was referred to within the Soviet Union as the War of the Imperialists.
    But with the Soviet Union no more and with the centenary of the war, Vigonoshchi village residents are rediscovering the war that claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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