Press-centre

29 june 2026

Today, June 29, marks exactly 25 years since a landmark event not only for BELAZ but also for the entire domestic mechanical engineering industry – the awarding of the prestigious title of "Hero of Belarus" to Pavel Mariev, who headed our plant from 1992 to 2007.

It was on this very day in 2001 that the President of the Republic of Belarus signed Decree No. 360, making Pavel Mariev the first director of an industrial enterprise and the second person in the country's history to receive this highest award of sovereign Belarus. The Gold Star of the Hero of Belarus was the ultimate recognition of both Pavel Mariev's exceptional merits and the professional achievements of the entire team of thousands of Zhodino machine engineers.

After becoming the director of BELAZ in 1992, during difficult times for the company, Pavel Mariev placed a strong emphasis on innovation and modernization. Under his leadership, the enterprise successfully underwent a large-scale technical renovation and launched a new generation of equipment into production. It was then that the iconic "triad" of mining dump trucks was born, which remains among the top-selling models today: the 7555, 7513, and 7530 series, with payload capacities of 55, 130, and 220 tons. Thanks to Pavel Mariev's strategic vision, BELAZ not only overcame the crisis of the 1990s and preserved its unique production capabilities but also firmly established itself among the world's top three manufacturers of mining equipment.

“I can see that my past work is still delivering results today,” Pavel Mariev noted in one of his interviews.

Just recently, on June 14, Pavel Mariev celebrated his 88th birthday. He continues to play an active role in the life of his beloved enterprise. The legendary director is a member of the Supervisory Board of OJSC "BELAZ", helping to determine the strategic direction of the holding company.

The BELAZ team expresses its sincere gratitude and deep respect to Pavel Mariev. From the bottom of our hearts, we wish him good health, boundless energy, and prosperity! We are proud to work at an enterprise whose history was forged by true Heroes of Belarus!