First full-figure Tadeusz Kosciuszko monument unveiled in Belarus

Photo: Aliaksandr Dudko / Viber
Photo: Aliaksandr Dudko / Viber

The first in Belarus monument to legendary Tadeusz Kosciuszko was solemnly unveiled on 12 May at the Kosciuszko memorial near the Kosava Castle in Brest region.

The monument was funded through a crowd-funding campaign initiated by the Belarusian language and culture enthusiast Hleb Labadzienka. 690 people donated money to collect a total of 22 000 Belarusian rubles ($11 000) required for the project. The names of those who donated will be memorized in the museum. The monument was designed by Belarusian sculpturor Henik Lojka and moulded in Ukraine.

Tadeusz Kosciuszko is a natioal hero of Belarus, Poland, United States, an honorable citizen of France, the leader of the 1794 uprising. He is beleived to be the most famous Belarus-born figure in the world.

There was not a single full-figure monument to Kosciuszko in Belarus till today, except for the bust monuments on the premises of the US Embassy in Minsk and in the village of Malyja Sechnovicy, Kosciuszko's birthplace.