Preserving Traditions, Looking to the Future. How VGAVM Became a Pearl of Agricultural Education in 100 Years

News of the topic The Vitebsk State Academy of Veterinary Medicine (VSAVM), awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor, celebrates its centenary. On November 4, 1924, the Vitebsk Veterinary Institute (VVI) was established on the basis of the agricultural technical school. Over the course of a century, about 45,000 specialists have received higher education there. The university with a century-long history has become one of the largest educational and scientific centers in Belarus, a training ground for personnel for the country's agro-industrial complex. On the eve of the veterinary academy's anniversary, a BELTA correspondent talked to the university's management and people who have given their all to work in a difficult but important field, who told us why the university has become home to them and how the continuity of generations is maintained here.

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VGAVM takes good care of its history. Classes for future veterinarians and zootechnicians are held in the still-preserved building of the former land and peasant bank. This architectural monument of the early 20th century is maintained in excellent condition, trying to preserve its authenticity. Students know the background of the main academic building of the university and respect its venerable age. Nearby are the buildings of the community center and another academic building, more modern, so that even by the external appearance of the veterinary academy one can understand how strong the traditions are here, on the basis of which the road to the future is built.
If 100 years ago the walls of the veterinary institute accepted 100 students, now the number of students is 3.2 thousand, of which 1.7 thousand people study in the full-time department. At the veterinary academy, applicants choose from three faculties: veterinary medicine, biotechnology and advanced training and retraining of personnel. For practicing practical skills and conducting scientific research, there are clinics, laboratories, a library with the richest collection of literature on veterinary science in the post-Soviet space. There is also a hostel, a sports complex, a canteen and a cafe, a student HEALTH resort.
The first classes at VVI were conducted by only 11 teachers. Now the faculty of the veterinary academy includes 260 people, and the total number of employees exceeds 700.

"We employ people who are sincerely devoted to their profession, love it and devote themselves to it entirely. More than 20 years have been devoted to VSVM by 166 people, for 86 employees our university has become the only place of work for life. Professors, doctors of science, associate professors, young employees - they all interact as a single well-coordinated mechanism. We have a developed mentoring institution, and each new employee is helped to integrate into the team and their profession, they always lend a shoulder when it is necessary," said the rector of VSVM Olga Gorlova, for whom her predecessors are an example, having made a huge contribution to the development of the university and its formation as one of the leading scientific schools in the field of veterinary medicine.
Three generations of the Yatusevich dynasty work in the veterinary academy, their total work experience is 170 years. The HEAD of the family, Anton Ivanovich, headed the academy for 18 years, and under his leadership, the latest educational technologies for training qualified personnel for the agro-industrial complex of both the northern region and the entire country were actively promoted at VGAVM. He is still in the ranks, and his 57 years of experience are a role model for both students and colleagues.
A native of the Pinsk region, Anton Yatusevich said that after graduating from technical school, he went to work on a collective farm as a young veterinarian"Some time after starting work, I realized that I lacked knowledge in my specialty, and decided to enter the VVI. As a certified specialist, I again went to a large farm - the Red Army collective farm in the Vitebsk region, now it is the Olgovskoye agricultural production cooperative. My wife and I were given our own house, we kept cattle, ducks, grew vegetables and fruits in the garden , but I was drawn to science. And when I voiced the idea of ​​​​becoming a teacher at the veterinary institute, no one supported me, because at the collective farm I was then receiving 260 rubles, and as a teacher - only 120. And yet I did not change my decision and devoted myself to working at the university, which I did not regret for a minute," said the former rector and energetic, enthusiastically studying everything new DOCTOR of veterinary sciences.
He met his future wife Valentina in technical school. She was assigned to another farm, and the young people corresponded for some time, visiting each other. She explained her choice of profession by life circumstances. "I lived in a village, where I finished seven years of school. To continue studying at school, I would have to walk 9 km to another settlement, and there was no transport then, I would have to cover this distance on foot and at any time of the year. And then representatives of the Pinsk Agricultural College came to us, told us what professions you can get there, what conditions are created for students, I decided to go there," said the associate professor of the department of private animal husbandry, who chose the profession of a zootechnician.
Even when Anton Yatusevich entered the VVI, the competition for the specialty he chose was huge. After the technical school, he had to pass chemistry with the highest score in order to be enrolled out of competition, and in case of failure, he would have to take all entrance exams on a general basis. The goal-oriented veterinarian demonstrated excellent knowledge, and since then the university has become almost a home for him.

The Yatusevich spouses said that when they were young, the demand for veterinary specialties was high. "Times were difficult then, and a veterinarian is a bread-and-butter profession. We worked on collective farms, lived in a village, where everyone also had their own large farm. All the neighbors knew who the veterinarian in the village was. If a cow or a horse got sick, everyone would come to us. Some would bring MILK, some eggs, some potatoes. We ourselves had a personal farmstead, we grew everything ourselves. We took the surplus to the market - sold it, and with the money we bought clothes for our children," Valentina Yatusevich shared her memories.
Their children also chose professions in the field of veterinary medicine. Son Ivan, despite the fact that he was very keen on drawing at school and even thought about entering the Vitebsk Art and Graphic Arts Department (the faculty of the Vitebsk State University named after P.M. Masherov), nevertheless followed in his parents' footsteps. However, his creative streak showed: he chose the field of veterinary pharmacy.

"Veterinary pharmacists must know all areas: how to treat, what to treat, who to treat, they must understand infectious diseases, parasitology, because it is important to understand how veterinary drugs will work in different species of animals. The Veterinary Academy does not have many of its own developments, but we closely cooperate with companies that produce drugs for animals. This is a huge, complex job . It is very difficult to create a new drug alone; the full cycle will take about 15 years. When practitioners and scientists work , the process is significantly accelerated," Ivan Yatusevich noted, adding that he is never bored in the chosen field, because he constantly has to learn something new, develop, and interact with people of different professions.

His father emphasized that the field of knowledge of veterinary pharmacists is extensive and if veterinarians see only the result of the use of veterinary drugs, that is, whether they helped the animal or not, then pharmacists must calculate the situation as a whole: from the root cause to the result.

The youngest representative of the dynasty, Vladimir, only graduated from the master's program last year. After finishing school, he hesitated between two fields that were attractive to him - medicine and veterinary science. However, his family's love for the second field prevailed. The young man has little experience working at VGAVM, but he already understands that he made the right choice.
"I work in several areas. I am an assistant in the pharmacology department, I teach this subject to students. An interesting area for me is the diagnosis of diseases and treatment of small domestic animals, in particular anesthesiology. Modern opportunities allow us to include high technologies and artificial intelligence in the educational process , so I still have a lot to learn," said the successor of the family dynasty.

Anton Yatusevich said that he recently calculated how many of their relatives are representatives of veterinary specialties - more than 20. "As trite as it may sound, I want to say that veterinarians are a very important and difficult profession. How many complexes are being built now, how the MEAT and dairy industries are moving forward, and all this begins at agricultural enterprises, where veterinarians and zootechnicians are asked for the development of animal husbandry. I believe that these specialists should be supported both morally and materially," the experienced veterinarian and scientist expressed his opinion.
And the older generation of teachers at VSVM noted that in recent years many girls have come to veterinary science. If 40-50 years ago the weaker sex made up only a fifth of the student groups, now everything is happening exactly the opposite.

Valentina Yatusevich noted with some pride what qualified zootechnicians graduate from the walls of the veterinary academy. "Even those guys who come to us with low motivation, who are not drawn to science, become worthy specialists by the end of VSVM. We have a strong practical base at the academy, so we are confident in every graduate," she said.
As representatives of the academy emphasized, back in 2008, the head of state called the university a pearl of agricultural education for its success in developing it. Now this jewel is framed in the golden experience of leading scientists of VSVM, and its shine is given by the desire of young people to glorify the name of their alma mater in the international arena with their achievements and scientific works.
Alesya PUSHNYAKOVA,
photo by Alexander KHITROV,
BELTA.