12th “Afghan Sky” Festival. Military-Historical Reenactment Marking Paratroopers and Special Operations Forces Day.

Opening of guided-tour and interactive areas to visitors:

• “Stalin Line” Guided Tour Route
• “Our Armoured Train” Exhibition
• Operational Military Vehicle Display
• Photo Area
• Tank and Gun Shooting**
• Firing deactivated weapons adapted for blank ammunition **

At this exhibition, visitors will not only be able to see various types of small arms, but also pose for photographs with them, try on helmets and body armour, and take commemorative photographs alongside our defenders.

Ready for Labour and Defence (GTO) These are interactive entertainment areas.

Everyone taking part in the Stalin Line GTO Challenge Area can enter the prize draw.

To enter the prize draw, you must:

• Complete all GTO areas and receive a score for each one
• Arrive at the specified time for the announcement of the prize-draw results
• Certificates and prizes will be awarded exclusively to participants who attend the prize-giving ceremony.

Main GTO areas:

• Airgun Shooting






• Weapon Assembly and Disassembly






• Scout Trail






• Historical Quiz






• Grenade Throwing






• Artillery School

The Service Dog Handler Training School was established on 24 January 1995 at the Smorgon Border Guard Training Detachment in the settlement of Devyatni, Smorgon District, Grodno Region. 

In October 1995, the Service Dog Handler Training School was relocated to the Smorgon Border Guard Detachment in the settlement of Gauti, Smorgon District, Grodno Region. 

In November 2002, the Service Dog Handler Training School was reorganised as the Canine Centre. 

The Canine Centre is now a training unit of the border guard service. It trains, retrains and provides advanced training for canine specialists, as well as training service dogs for a variety of duties, including tracking people by scent, sentry duties, specialised searches for narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, weapons, ammunition and explosives, and guarding facilities. It also breeds and raises working dog breeds. 

Today, the Canine Centre of the border guard service is recognised as one of the best not only in the CIS, but also in Eastern Europe. 

The Armed Forces Parachuting Team was formed in 1993 from the most highly trained airborne training specialists and elite parachutists.
Since its formation, members of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus team have taken part in airborne equipment trials (since 2005), as well as national and international parachuting competitions:

Fast-roping is used by special forces in difficult-to-reach areas or densely built-up environments where an aircraft cannot land. The helicopter hovers over the landing site while personnel descend by rope, either individually or in groups.

*** weather permitting

Hand-to-hand combat combines punches and kicks with throws, joint locks and chokeholds. It is used by special forces when all other means of engaging the enemy have been exhausted.

The highly mobile nature of combat operations conducted by the limited contingent of Soviet troops across the vast expanses of Afghanistan, together with the constant need to supply it from the USSR with military equipment and goods for the civilian economy, resulted in large-scale convoy movements. These convoys were convenient targets for enemy attacks. Their high vulnerability was due to the poorly developed road network, much of which ran through mountainous terrain. Narrow mountain roads with numerous hairpin bends and tight turning radii often made it impossible for vehicles travelling in opposite directions to pass. At times, they could not accommodate convoys at all without special measures being taken.
The main road network consisted of the Kabul–Pul-e Khumri–Sheberghan–Herat–Kandahar–Kabul ring road and seven roads branching off it, with narrow passages leading to high mountain passes and the borders of neighbouring countries. The most difficult section of the Termez–Kabul road crossed the Hindu Kush mountain range and its high-altitude passes, including the Salang Pass, situated at an altitude of approximately 4 km. The pass is equipped with a system of galleries and the world’s highest-altitude tunnel, which is over 2.5 km long, while the total length of the covered gallery exceeds 6 km.
Sharp bends, climbs and descents seriously impeded the movement of vehicle convoys along the roads. For example, the ascent and descent over the Salang Pass extended for 80–100 km. Most sections of the road were exposed to rockfalls, landslides and falling stones, as well as snow avalanches and blockages in winter. During winter, steep gradients and descents, sometimes combined with ice, made most mountain-pass sections of the roads difficult to negotiate, particularly for wheeled vehicles. Mountain rivers also posed a major obstacle to vehicles, as they became virtually impossible to ford during floods.
The opposition forces’ tactics on the roads were based on small detachments and groups carrying out surprise attacks on vehicle convoys, most often in the ‘green zone’. Along convoy routes, the insurgents laid mines and damaged individual sections of road by digging transverse trenches and ditches or artificially narrowing the carriageway. They also scattered sharp objects and sometimes overturned heavy goods vehicles on the roads.
The enemy attached particular importance to laying mine and explosive obstacles on the roads. A wide variety of mining techniques and methods were employed. Mines were most commonly laid on sections of road, at road structures and in places suitable for accommodating and resting personnel. Individual anti-tank (anti-vehicle) mines and demolition charges were placed at locations where the destruction of a vehicle would halt traffic for a prolonged period and create favourable conditions for attacking personnel and vehicles from ambush. Ambush groups ranged from 10–15 to 100–150 men. When selecting an ambush site, they made skilful use of the terrain, including gorges, defiles, mountain passes, ledges above the road and galleries. Positions were generally prepared in advance and concealed on mountain slopes or ridgelines, at the entrances to or exits from gorges, on mountain-pass sections of roads and at places where Soviet drivers were likely to rest.
Ambush personnel were positioned along the road, 150–300 m from it, usually at intervals of 25–40 m. One of the enemy’s favoured tactics was to strike simultaneously at the head and rear of a convoy, targeting fuel tankers first. Meanwhile, snipers directed aimed fire at the senior personnel in each vehicle in order to disrupt command and control. One set of instructions smuggled into Afghanistan from abroad stated: ‘Question: “When and where is it best to attack a convoy?” Answer: “The most suitable places are at tunnel entrances and exits, near bridges, at sharp bends, on climbs and descents, and where roads narrow.”’
These were the tactics encountered by troops tasked with guiding and escorting convoys. Initially, they had no experience of carrying out such duties. They had to acquire it under combat conditions, sometimes suffering needless losses.
(The Afghan War: Combat Operations, by Valentin Alexandrovich Runov)
We invite you, our dear guests, to witness an episode commemorating the heroism of military drivers, motorised rifle troops from convoy escort and security units and, of course, the Airborne Forces personnel who always came to the aid of convoys in distress.

The price is 40 BYN per person for both children and adults. Children aged 4 to 7 accompanied by an adult ride free of charge. Children under the age of 4 are not permitted.

Payment is accepted at the boarding point. Card payments are available.

The boarding point is marked on the map.

The ride location is marked on the map: