Dorgun. Monument to the fallen heroes of the border guards.

A kilometer from the village of Dorgun, which is located near the state border in the Grodno region, there is a memorial complex dedicated to the feat of the border guards. A small sign "Monument to Defenders of the State Border" leads to a wooden cross and a wide path leading into the forest. Here, among the trees, stands a monument, and a little further on is the foundation of a former building with a granite slab on which is carved the inscription: "In this place on June 22, 1941, from 4 a.m., the 4th border outpost of the August frontier detachment fought against the Nazis ..." This memorial was renovated with voluntary donations from the border guards. A mock-up of a trench and a command post from the Great Patriotic War are equipped for visitors, and information stands tell about the outpost and the nearest border units.

The head of the 4th outpost was Senior Lieutenant Feodosiy Kirichenko. Born in Zaporozhye in 1908, he worked his way up from a Donbass miner to a commander at a border outpost. In 1939, Kirichenko was appointed head of the outpost, and for his successful fight against gangs in Western Belarus, he received a personalized weapon from the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR. On June 22, 1941, his outpost was one of the first to take the blow of the Fascist troops. Kirichenko, being in the thick of the battle, skillfully organized the defense, repelling five enemy attacks. Despite being wounded, he continued to lead the fighters, rousing them to counterattack. During the lull, he sent the wives and children of the border guards to the village of Dorgun, which was the last thing his loved ones saw. In the last battle, Kirichenko died behind a machine gun carriage from a mine explosion. Of the forty border guards, only fourteen remained alive.

After the war, a monument was erected on the site of the feat, and later a memorial complex was created. In 2003, by decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus, the name of Feodosiy Kirichenko was assigned to the 2nd border outpost of the Grodno Border Group. Today, trees are rustling and birds are singing here in the middle of the forest, but the ground, pitted with craters and strewn with fragments, reminds us of what happened here in June 1941.

Not far from Dorguni there is another place associated with the feat of the border guards, outpost No. 1 named after Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Usov. 77 years ago, 30 soldiers under the command of a 24-year-old lieutenant held back the onslaught of fascist troops for almost a day. Lieutenant Usov died in a trench with a revolver in his hand, and his body was discovered only after the war. Today, a stone with a marble slab is installed at the place of the hero's death, and nearby is a mass grave of fallen soldiers. The outpost, revived after the war, continues to serve, and the exit of border guards begins from the memorial.

The museum of military glory of the outpost houses authentic exhibits: pierced helmets, weapons, household items and many fragments found on the territory. The exhibition tells not only about the events of 1941, but also about the modern life of the border guards.

The memory of the border guard heroes, who were the first to stand in the way of the enemy, lives in the hearts of people. Their feat, like that of the defenders of the Brest Fortress, has become a symbol of courage and perseverance. Not a single outpost left its positions without an order, and thousands of soldiers in green caps died, but did not retreat. It is our duty to remember their feat and pass this memory on to future generations.