On the occasion of the national holiday of the Republic of Belarus the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus in Bulgaria - H. E. Mr. Vladimir Voronkovich

and his wife gave a reception at the Hilton Hotel Sofia on June 29. The restaurant "Seasons" gathered ambassadors, politicians and friends who came to honor the event.

The Independence Day of Belarus is marked on July 3rd. The most important holiday in the country was declared by a decree of the president in 1996 but was determined by the will of its citizens. By a referendum they expressed their will that the national holiday should be connected with the date of the liberation of Minsk from the Nazi occupiers in July 1944. It is known that Belarus suffers perhaps the heaviest hit of the Nazis during World War II. The city of Minsk undergoes relentless bombing, then is conquered despite the tenacious resistance. The residents of the city rise to fight: 1100 days of occupation - 1100 days of heroic resistance and combat with the occupiers of Hitler. Minsk was liberated only after the brilliant Belarusian operation on July 3, 1944.  Belarus knows and remembers the price of freedom - during the Great Patriotic War every third inhabitant of the country dies.

The photos are provided by the Embassy of of the Republic of Belarus in Bulgaria.