In 2011, a All-Russian movement appeared in our country in memory of the heroes who participated in the Great Patriotic War, the “Immortal Regiment”, processions with their portraits are held annually on Victory Day. But the city on the Neva has another, its own Victory Day in Leningrad, the day of the complete lifting of the blockade, which is celebrated on January 27. Therefore, by analogy with the “Immortal Regiment”, the “Immortal Leningrad” movement appeared, among its founders were a participant in the Great Patriotic War, the artistic director of the Buff Theater Isaac Shtokbant, a resident of the besieged Leningrad Irina Zimneva, and the Honored Builder of Russia Fyodor Turkin.
Photo: Press service of the State Budgetary Institution “Moscow House of Nationalities”
At first, members of the movement worked with children and veterans in St. Petersburg. Then volunteers from other regions began to join, a youth wing appeared, a branch was opened in Moscow and the decision was made to change the name to “Forever Living”, while setting broader goals.
– We are the heirs of the winners. Our main objective is to preserve historical memory and strengthen the brotherhood of peoples,” says Fyodor Turkin, president of the board of directors of the “Eternally Living” organization. – If we forget our past, we deprive ourselves of the power that we must transmit to our descendants.
According to Fyodor Turkin, today these issues require the greatest attention, since the whole world is on the verge of serious trials. And it is especially important to realize that Russia is a multinational, but united state. As co-director of a construction company, he often interacts with migrant workers who come to us from the CIS countries, the former Soviet republics. Today, migration flows are seriously affected by the dollar exchange rate, so we must do everything possible to strengthen its ties with Russia: our country needs immigrants as workers and as conductors of our historical mission.
“It turns out that Germany and Great Britain today need those who used to come to work with us,” notes Fyodor Turkin. – These guys will be gone and taken from us. And we must have a strong connection with them: we live in the same country as their parents, we have a common heroic history. And you have to support it. Yes, there are many issues that must be urgently resolved so that both Russians and migrant workers can support each other, but if the ties between the peoples weaken or are completely broken, the damage will be colossal for all parties and Russia’s enemies. They will have more opportunities to pressure us.
In recent years, the volunteer movement has been expanding in our country, affecting various areas of life and becoming an important part of the life of society. This is the case when important processes consist of many small things performed by ordinary people. And if small things are expanded, if more and more people participate in them, then interethnic and interreligious relations, and much more, can be very seriously influenced, says the co-founder of the “Forever Living” movement.
Photo: Press service of the State Budgetary Institution “Moscow House of Nationalities”
– If we talk more about positive things, more people will get involved in them and complete positive processes will develop. For example, the “Forever Living” movement has excellent relations with representatives of the Azerbaijani diaspora in St. Petersburg: we jointly organize humanitarian aid for orphanages. We also hold general meetings with soldiers wounded in the Northern Military District and receiving treatment at the Military Medical Academy,” says Fyodor Türkin. – Tajik medical students studying in the Northern capital began very important work: they became volunteers in various hospitals. I can’t stop talking about several workers from Tajikistan who have volunteered at our events for seven years. These are very valuable examples. I am sure that soon there will be a significant increase in such examples, which means that relations between peoples will be strengthened.
The confrontation between two civilizations (the participants in the conference were not afraid of such a global generalization) occurs today only on the battlefields, but also in the minds. The facts of falsification of history are multiplying exponentially, therefore preserving the historical memory of the common past, primarily of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War, and transmitting it to future generations is one of the main tasks of our time.
– During the Great Patriotic War, people of different nationalities performed feats. But these were Soviet people,” said Damir Khusainov, the imam mukhtasib of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region. – They fought for our country and remained Russian soldiers for everyone. The feat of a Tatar or a person of another nationality was a Russian feat.
By the way, the SVO participants, who also participated in the conference, note a similar situation today. As volunteer Oleg Kuntsov, a participant in hostilities in Donbass since 2014 and co-author of the film “The Story of a Son”, said, in the zone of the Northern Military District no one gives importance to nationalities, everyone addresses each other only as ” brother.” And a native of Kharkov with the call sign Kostya Angel, who has been in the militia since 2014, believes that in the Northern Military District everyone should be a single unit, both at the front and in the rear. Everyone must work for a common victory.
Photo: Press service of the State Budgetary Institution “Moscow House of Nationalities”
“The Northern Military District has united our nation,” noted in turn the head of the Moscow branch of the organization “Living Eternally”, the co-chairman of the all-Russian patriotic project “Land of Heroes”, the expert of the commission on migration. issues of the Council of Nationalities of the Moscow Government, Dmitry Pakhomov. – It doesn’t matter what kind of blood flows through you, how you perceive yourself: you belong to our civilization. And this must be reinforced.
“At this very moment our compatriots are watching over the peace and future of our country, fighting against the nationalist ideas of the West,” added the vice-president of the Kherson Regional Duma, Ramil Zamaletdinov. – The fighters participating in the Northern Military Region not only carry out combat missions: they write history, build our future and fight for the liberation of the Russian people.
Today representatives of about 200 nationalities live in Russia and speak different languages. They can be united with the help of deep spiritual concepts that shape the relationship between man and society, soul and flesh, self-sacrifice and heroism in the name of the greatness of the Fatherland, experts say.
“The phenomenon of Russian culture is “conscience”, and we must understand with the heart: we take or give, we collect or waste… – noted a member of the Commission for Spiritual, Moral and Patriotic Education of Children and Youth of Russia Council chaired by the President of the Russian Federation for Interethnic Relations, member of the Sretensky Club, Alexander Vaits. – The truth is our internal regulator. In our multinational nation, renewed values inherent to the Russian world are crystallizing. But we must understand what a nation is, what holds it together, what its values are.
The modern world is quite divided: this is facilitated by technological progress (more and more people are transferring communication to digital format), the geopolitical situation and differences in the economic situation of different countries. At the same time, according to Dmitry Pakhomov, today is a favorable time for Russia to strengthen its position in the world community, which is becoming multipolar.
– Last year there was a summit of African states that look to Russia with hope. This year, Russia chairs the BRICS and the country is at the forefront of Shanghai cooperation,” he notes. – Today, Russia’s task is to build good-neighborly ties, maintain relations with the states that were once part of the USSR and not allow evil, represented by the collective West, to win.
Archpriest Alexander Pelin, chairman of the department for interaction between Church and society of the diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Petersburg, agrees with him. He is sure that currently the spiritual and semantic struggle is taking place on all fronts: spiritual, cultural, religious and national.
– They are trying to divide us on religious grounds. Just the latest example. The so-called Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which we do not recognize, suddenly decanonized, that is, stopped considering blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky as a saint,” he said. – And the question arises: when did Alexander Nevsky live? In the 13th century. Where was Ukraine then, and where was the UOC? There was nothing. It is a unique hatred towards everything related to our common past. It should not be allowed to spread under any circumstances.
Photo: Press service of the State Budgetary Institution “Moscow House of Nationalities”
According to the clergyman, “social solidarity and traditionalism are two pillars on which we can build relationships both inside and outside the country.”
From the greeting of the Chairman of the Committee on Nationalities Affairs of the State Duma, Gennady Semigin:
– The preservation of the historical memory of our heroic past, its protection and transmission to future generations and the strengthening of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values are among the main tasks of Russian state policy. Today, when a large-scale information war has been launched against our country, it is of great importance to strengthen the unity of a multinational people.
From the greeting of the representative of the CSTO Secretariat, Yuri Shuvalov:
– Today, in difficult economic and political conditions, friendship and constructive cooperation between countries and peoples that were once part of a single state are gradually being revived. Cooperation based on friendship and common history is designed to protect our common spiritual values, which are not only our common cultural heritage, but also the basis for successful progressive development.
