Strengthening traditional spiritual and moral values, perpetuating the memory of defenders of the Fatherland, victims of Nazism and fascism: a meeting of the Joint Collegium of the Prosecutor General’s Offices of Belarus and Russia was held in Suzdal

A meeting of the Joint Collegium of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Belarus and the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation (the Joint Collegium) was held in Suzdal, Vladimir Region, chaired by the Prosecutors General of Belarus and Russia Andrei Shved and Igor Krasnov. The issues of interaction in the sphere of strengthening traditional spiritual and moral values, perpetuating the memory of defenders of the Fatherland, victims of Nazism and fascism were considered.

The event was attended by members of the Joint Collegium and other prosecutors from the named supervisory agencies.

In his welcoming speech, Andrei Shved noted that the protection of traditional spiritual and moral values, perpetuating the memory of victims of Nazism and fascism are more relevant than ever due to the aggressive policy of the West to impose its pseudo-values.

«It is in Western countries that extreme nationalism and neo-Nazism are openly professed, and marches of former SS-men are officially held. Attempts are being made to whitewash individual Nazi collaborators, presenting them as alleged «freedom fighters». Before our very eyes, in neighboring countries, monuments to liberator soldiers are being torn down and destroyed, the graves of Soviet soldiers are being desecrated, and paramilitary organizations are openly using Nazi symbols», emphasized the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus. «All of this is an attempt to rewrite history, to erase the feat of the Soviet people and the memory of the heroic past of our peoples. The goal is clear – to deprive our citizens of traditional moral values ​​and guidelines and to destroy national cultural values. According to their plan, this should have led to a weakening of patriotism in society, of the readiness of citizens to defend the Fatherland».

The head of the supervisory agency of Belarus, informing that for the heroism and courage shown during the war years, about 400 thousand Belarusian soldiers and natives of the country were awarded military awards of the Soviet Union, called the memory of the victims and the feat of their ancestors the spiritual basis of the life of Belarusian society.

«The investigation of the criminal case on the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War is a tribute to the memory of the deceased and contributes to the establishment and preservation of the historical truth. This is not a standard investigation – it intertwines issues of criminal, historical and moral-ethical assessment of the actions of the Nazi invaders and their accomplices», he stated.

In turn, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov drew attention to the attempts to impose alien and destructive ideas, to which the Union State is subjected in the context of a hybrid confrontation with Western countries: «Propaganda of immorality, denial of family ideals, erasure of historical truth, rehabilitation of Nazism – these are the challenges that we face today. Of particular concern is their focus on our children, the younger generation». He pointed out the common with his Belarusian colleagues understanding of threats, the unity of approaches and the desire to achieve specific results in protecting traditional spiritual and moral values, perpetuating the memory of the victims of Nazism and fascism. 

At the meeting, the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Nikolai Vinnichenko and the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Sergei Khmaruk made reports.

In particular, Sergei Khmaruk highlighted the issues of protecting traditional spiritual and moral values ​​by the Republic of Belarus, as well as perpetuating the memory of the victims of Nazism and fascism.

«In the post-Soviet space, Belarus is a State with a stable socio-political situation. There are no hotbeds of tension between social, religious, ethnic groups, or different segments of the population in the country. This is the result of a well-thought-out, balanced domestic policy pursued by the state leadership. However, in the context of new global challenges and threats, the issues of preserving and protecting traditional spiritual and moral values ​​and the country’s sovereignty are acquiring a fundamentally different meaning. The modern world is witnessing a new type of military action – hybrid wars that combine elements of cyberattacks, information operations, disinformation, and interference in the internal affairs of other countries», the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus said.

The full text of the report by the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus can be found here.

The meeting participants agreed that effective protection of historical truth is impossible without coordinated actions by Belarus and Russia. They emphasized the importance of strengthening control over information processes and improving mechanisms for ensuring information security in both States.

The participants of the Joint Collegium noted that the meeting held will contribute to strengthening cooperation between the agencies and protecting the common historical heritage.

Following the meeting, a decision was prepared by the Joint Collegium on the need to take additional joint measures to:

• improve the practice of prosecutorial supervision over the prevention, detection, suppression and investigation of illegal actions aimed at spreading destructive ideology;
• suppress the use of well-known marketplaces for the distribution of Nazi symbols and paraphernalia, and other extremist products;
• develop, taking into account the current geopolitical situation, a consolidated position in the field of cooperation with international law enforcement organizations;
• other areas of prosecutorial activity.

At the same time, the State Institution «Scientific and Practical Centre for Problems of Reinforcing Law and Order of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Belarus» and the University of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation were instructed to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the legislations of Belarus and Russia on issues of countering the falsification of the history of World War II and the rehabilitation of Nazism, the dissemination of Nazi materials and symbols in order to develop proposals for the unification of the legislative approaches of the member states of the Union State in this area.

At the end of the meeting, the Prosecutors General of the two countries signed orders approving the composition of the Joint Collegium and its secretariat for 2026.

As part of the event, the heads of the supervisory agencies of Belarus and Russia Andrei Shved and Igor Krasnov honored the memory of the soldiers who died during the Great Patriotic War by laying flowers at the monument in the centre of Suzdal.

Photo: epp.genproc.gov.ru

Media Relations Department
Prosecutor General's Office