Exhibits of a local history museum in the village of Potapovka, Buda-Koshelevsky district, Gomel region, tell stories from different historical periods – through archeological finds of the Bronze Age and not so old tools used in daily rural life, unique local crafts and rites.

The exhibition about the Great Patriotic War occupies a special place in the museum. During the war, the territory of the village council witnesses active guerrilla movement and suffered a lot from clashes with the Nazis.

The villagers, who survived the hardships of the war, and their relatives donated to the museum military paraphernalia, and also family albums, photo materials that bring to life stories of suffering and heroism of veterans and local people from Potapovka village. Among the exhibits there is correspondence with relatives of the soldiers of 323 riflemen regiment of the Bryansk division, which liberated Potapovka in November 1943.

“The creation of the museum provides us with an excellent opportunity to preserve the most valuable historical and cultural material accumulated on our territory. After all, the historical consciousness of a person helps to orientate oneself in the present, to define oneself in the future, to realize the continuity of generations and preserve the historical identity," said Igor Kiselev, the Chairperson of the Potapovka Village Council. "No less important is the fact that preservation of local history and heritage is the core for sustainable development of the territory and can unite the local community by making the idea "The History of my land" a reality

The museum in Potapovka village was opened in 2017 as part of the "History of my land" initiative. Today it is one of the historic and cultural attractions of Buda-Koshelevsky district. Not only villagers come here, but also guests from other parts of the district. The museum, which is located in local school, also attaches huge interest from local youth. Schoolchildren together with adults work on expanding the museum’s exhibitions and help organize excursions for visitors.

The initiative "The History of My Land" in Buda-Koshelevsky district of Gomel region has been implemented within the framework of the project "Support to Local Development in the Republic of Belarus", funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Belarus in 2014-2018.