Celebrated each year on July 3, Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus is a national holiday also known as Republic Day or Liberation Day.

Since 1991, the Independence Day was celebrated on July 27, the day of the Declaration of Sovereignty of Belarus. However it was shifted to July 3; as in the year 1944, the liberation of Minsk capital of Belarus was liberated from the Wehrmacht during the Minsk Offensive.

The decision to celebrate Independence Day on July 3, the day of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazis, was made during a controversial national referendum held in 1996 proposed by President Alexander Lukashenko. Hence, since the year 1991, the liberation day is celebrated on 3rd July.

Throughout the country celebrations and festivities are held. The main event of Independence Day is a solemn military parade. In the evening in Minsk fireworks are arranged. A series of concerts and events are held in Gomel, with a special emphasis on the Belarusian identity.

To commemorate the sixth anniversary of the event, Belarus post issued a stamp depicting map of the country with the national monument in it along with the national flag.

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