The second volume of the book "Hatyra" ("Memory") is dedicated to the glory of the Balkan velayat warriors, who heroically fought in battles for their Motherland in the 1941-1945Great Patriotic War, in memory of those who died on the battlefields, who died from their wounds in hospitals, as well as those who gone missing.

It is deeply symbolic that the republication of this large-scale work, initiated by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, was carried out this year, under the motto "Turkmenistan is the Motherland of Peace and Trust." The first volume, published on the eve of the 76th anniversary of the Great Victory, pays tribute to the memory of the heroes of Turkmenistan from Ashgabat and the Ahal velayat.

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov pays special importance and provides all-round assistance to the activities to restore the heroic history of the Fatherland.

The work to fill in the gaps in the lists of names of war heroes conttines. The new edition notes that according to available data, about 35,000 people from the Balkan velayat were mobilized, 8,938 warriors from the Balkan velayat did not return back home, having laid their lives on the altar of the Victory.

It also contains information about the selfless sons and daughters of the Turkmen people with personalized award sheets and photographs. The book contains letters-triangles, poems, characterized by a special emotional intensity, created both during the war years and today.

An extensive documentary database is obtained from various sources. Among them are archives of military commissariats, departments of social security of cities and etraps of the Balkan velayat, memoirs of war veterans, personal data, scientific publications and periodicals.

On the pages of the book there are no stories about the military exploits of our fellow countrymen, but behind the scant documentary information there is a biography of a whole generation, from which the geography of the war is formed. It should be noted that the new edition, in addition to information about the date and place of birth, rank, death and burial, contains data on the place and year of the call of a soldier into the army.

The new edition was replenished with photo illustrations telling not only about the exploits of the Turkmen soldiers, but also about heroic everyday life on the home front, where women and children, with their selfless labor, brought the long-awaited Victory closer.

A number of priceless photographs of that era are supplemented by photographs found in archives, as well as memorial monuments located on the territory of the velayat.

One of the photographs is a picture of a mass burial ground of soldiers called up for service from this region of Turkmenistan, in the village of Staraya Rusa, Leningrad Region. All these photographic documents are an invaluable historical source about the immortal feat of the best and fearless sons of the Turkmen people, an excited and ardent voice in defense of peace, justice and goodness.

The first book "Hatyra" was published in 1993-1998. The indisputable advantage of its republication is the systematization of existing data, placement in alphabetical order, which facilitates access to information.

The second volume, like the book "Hatyra" as a whole, will serve to perpetuate the memory of that heroic time. Prepared for publication by the Main Archive Department under the Cabinet of Ministers, it was published by the Turkmen State Publishing Service at th high polygraphic level.