Today, May 7, as part of the 21st International Student Athletics Run "Izhevsk - Nizhny Novgorod - Minsk," guests of the Belarusian capital enjoyed a variety of interesting locations and events. This action-packed marathon began with a morning bus tour of the city's most beautiful and iconic sites.
During the tour, the student delegations learned about the architecture and scale of Minsk. A highlight of the program was a visit to the "Minsk – Hero City" stele, where a ceremonial flower-laying ceremony took place in memory of the defenders of the Fatherland. Another highlight of the trip was a visit to the National Library of Belarus.
Students from Russian universities eagerly shared their impressions of the city. Maria, a student at the R. E. Alekseev Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University, was deeply impressed by the scale of the capital:
"For us, such a scale was very unusual and unexpected. When we were shown the architecture of the center, we immediately noticed its incredible beauty and diversity, as well as the care with which the buildings are kept clean and well-maintained. Back home, the streets are quite narrow and always crowded, so your wide avenues truly delighted us and gave us a wonderful sense of freedom."
Her fellow delegation member, Petr, also noted the unique appearance of Minsk.
"Since almost all of Minsk was completely rebuilt after the war, it looks completely different and impresses with its architecture, which is very reminiscent of European architecture. In our city, streets and buildings are built differently, and you won't find so many beautiful Catholic churches, so it was incredibly interesting to see all of this."
In the afternoon, the student delegations got to know BNTU better. Guests visited the Center for Technical Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulic Machines, where they were able to appreciate the scale of the scientific base and technical potential of the country's leading engineering university. Senior lecturer Olga Nemerovets, lead engineer Igor Trofimov, and senior lecturer of the Department of Hydraulic Engineering and Power Engineering, Water Transport, and Hydraulics Vyacheslav Vlasov led the students on a fascinating tour of the laboratories. The guests were shown a siphon spillway, demonstrated wave processes, and explained the operating principles of hydraulic structures. The students from Russia study a variety of specialties, from electrical energy to programming, but absolutely everyone was delighted by the visualization of the processes. Petr, a future chemical engineer, admitted that they don't have any such facilities publicly available. Maria didn't hide her strong feelings about the laboratories:
"It was incredible! For us, as technical specialists, the very clarity of all the processes was a huge plus. We studied similar subjects in our second year, but there the emphasis was on formulas, calculations, and computer numbers, whereas here we were given the unique opportunity to see the physics of the process firsthand and see how it all works in real life."
An important and profound part of the visit was the exhibition dedicated to the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War and the post-war period. Oksana Lepesh, PhD in history and associate professor of the History Department, led the tour. Participants in the run touched upon tragic pages of history and honored the memory of the innocent victims. The students admitted that the exhibition evoked profound emotions in them. "Realizing the scale of the tragedy is emotionally difficult," Petr noted. Maria was also deeply moved by this topic:
"Our vice-rector often repeats the correct thought that if we don't remember these terrible events every year, we'll soon forget everything. I come from Vologda, and my family has no relatives who could tell us about the Great Patriotic War firsthand. This tragedy affected so many countries and peoples, so it was incredibly important and valuable for me to learn new historical facts from a different perspective and hear about what happened specifically on Belarusian soil."
Immediately after this emotional immersion in history, the participants of the run went to the "Memory of the Heart" military-patriotic song competition to hear poems and songs from the war years performed by students from various BNTU faculties, and to share their own creativity as participants in the event.
A large-scale relay race capped off this eventful day. Student teams competed in speed, agility, and skill. The participants tested their skills while completing a challenging and dynamic obstacle course. They had to overcome fourteen different stages. These included snaking through rings, somersaults on mats, punching a fitness ball, carrying four basketballs, shooting hoops, darts, cornhole, and the final endurance challenge—fifty jumps with a rope for each participant.
Teams completed the course in turns. Representatives from BNTU were first to start, followed by students from Izhevsk State Technical University (ISTU), and the NSTU students completed the competition. The competition was incredibly intense, with every millisecond counting.
After all the events, the Izhevsk State Technical University team emerged as the clear winner, posting the best time of 22 minutes and 34 seconds.
New stages of the route and new achievements await the participants, but the emotions of the city, the warm welcome at the Polytechnic University, and the feeling of absolute student unity on the eve of Victory Day will certainly stay with the students for a long time. Mutual support, respect for the past, and a shared desire to create—these are the values that make such large-scale projects truly meaningful and vibrant.
