The Battle of Palonka: a glorious victory of Belarusian warriors

The Movement for Freedom (the MFF) supporters from Baranavichy town propose to the authorities to commemorate the Battle of Palonka when the warriors of the Polish–Lithuanian  Commonwealth defeated the Muscovite  army.

The MFF activists sent the collective address to the District Executive Committee saying that on June 28, 2010 the 350th anniversary of the Battle of Palonka will take place when hetmans  Yan Pawel Sapieha and Stefan Czarniecki crashed the army of the Muscovite voivode  Ivan Khovanskiy near Palonka village (Baranavichy district) during the war between the Moscow Tsardom and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth of 1654 1667.

The letter also tells about the fact that the festive opening of the memorial sign of the war of 1660 took place on November 2, 1994 on the hill near Palonka. In the presence of a great number of local residents and citizens, two priests – Orthodox and Catholic – blessed this sign and this place which is holy for every Belarusian. In 2000, the members of the Frantsysk Skaryna Belarusian Language Society Baranavichy Council renewed the wooden sign in the honour of the Battle of Palonka at the place of the memorial sign ruined by vandals. However, this memorial sign was also destroyed by unknown vandals in 2 months. Now, there is only the lonely boulder stone, wasteness, weed, and trash at the place of the glorious and splendid victory of 1660.

The people made several proposals in their address to the authorities:

– Clean up the territory around the boulder stone near Palonka which was installed in the honour of the battle of 1660;

– Make a metal sign on the boulder stone with the following inscription: “Here, on June 28, 1660, the united Belarusian-Lithuanian and Polish army under command of hetmans Yan Pawel Sapieha and Stefan Czarniecki gained the great victory over the threefold larger army of the Muscovite voivode Ivan Khovanskiy during the war between Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth of 1654-1667”;

– Fence the boulder stone;

– Propose to the Palonka school students to regularly clean up the territory around the boulder stone and the memorial sign in the honour of the battle of 1660.

The collective address was signed by 37 persons including writers, poets, historians, scientists, and political and civil activists well-known in Baranavichy who are ready to participate in cleaning-up of the territory around the boulder stone.

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