Public Search Movement in the Vitebsk Region

The search movement was an important element of public life in the USSR in the second half of the 20th century and continues to play a significant role in sovereign Belarus. Initially, it manifested itself in the form of the Red Pathfinders movement, and since the mid-1980s, in the activities of numerous search parties, groups, and clubs that carried out excavations at the sites of former battles and contributed to the dignified reburial of fallen soldiers of the Soviet army. The search movements received new development in connection with the investigation of the case of the genocide of the Belarusian people. The article analyzes the main achievements, problems, and prospects of the public search movement in the Vitebsk region as a region in which some of the first public search organizations emerged, later transformed into the republican association “Poshuk”. Particularly active work was carried out in the Vitebsk region. A brief history of the movement in the region is given, and the most active searchers who made a significant contribution to the cause of searching for and perpetuating the memory of fallen defenders of the Fatherland are mentioned. The main forms and methods of search engines' activities and regional characteristics are studied. Possible solutions to some existing problems in this area and to improve the quality of work of search associations are proposed.