In Irkutsk, the forum Looking into the past, the path to the future. Great Victory descendants was held, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory and bringing together more than two hundred participants. Frontline soldiers, home front workers, Afghanistan veterans and schoolchildren shared memories, spoke about patriotic education and honored the heroes at the Eternal Flame. A special moment was the awarding of Irkutsk veterans with a commemorative medal and a certificate of honor.
The Lenin District public organization of veterans of war, labor, the armed forces, and law enforcement agencies of the city of Irkutsk organized the forum “A Look into the Past – A Path to the Future. Great-Grandchildren of the Great Victory.” The event took place at the Irkutsk branch of VGIK (170 Rozy Lyuksemburg St.) and brought together more than two hundred people. The forum invited participants of the Great Patriotic War, participants in the war in Afghanistan, home-front workers, members of primary veterans’ organizations at their place of residence, students of School No. 30, heads of the committee for the administration of the Lenin District, deputies of the Irkutsk City Duma, the Legislative Assembly of the Irkutsk Region, and many others. The forum was dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory.“This year our entire country will celebrate the greatest historical event - the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory,” said Vera Afanasyeva, chairwoman of the Lenin District veterans’ organization. “We dedicate this forum, as well as the events that follow, to our veterans, by whose efforts on the front and in the rear this victory was forged. Their feat will forever remain in our memory and in our hearts.”
Irkutsk front-line soldiers shared their memories of the war at the forum. Among them were Nikolai Barakhov, who served as a signalman and fought the fascists in the ranks of the Red Army on the 1st Ukrainian Front, and Vyacheslav Kalinin, who liberated his homeland from the Nazis as a sniper on the 3rd Belorussian Front. Home-front worker Vera Puchinina shared her story; during the war years she worked on the railway and escorted trains. Vladimir Nadezhkin, a participant in the hostilities in Afghanistan, spoke about the importance of patriotic education for the younger generation and about the immortal feat of fathers. Galina Sokolova, chairwoman of a primary veterans’ organization at her place of residence, shared memories of the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline and the country’s postwar life. Afterward, on behalf of all the great-grandchildren of Victory, students of Secondary General Education School No. 30 spoke words of gratitude at the Eternal Flame of Glory in honor of the Irkutsk heroes who died during the Great Patriotic War.
The children recited heartfelt poems, and the schoolgirls performed a dance on the theme of war and Victory.
“Such events instill in schoolchildren a sense of patriotism and pride in their grandfathers and great-grandfathers. And today it is very important to convey memories of the war that was endured to every student,” emphasized Tatyana Edelman, deputy chairwoman of the committee for the administration of the Lenin District of the Irkutsk city administration.
At the forum, Irkutsk residents were honored: front-line soldiers Vyacheslav Kalinin and Nikolai Barakhov were awarded the commemorative medal “Army General A.P. Beloborodov.” Valery Ignatov, chairman of the regional veterans’ council, presented the Honorary Certificate of the All-Russian Public Organization of Veterans (Pensioners) of War, Labor, the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies to Vera Afanasyeva, chairwoman of the Veterans’ Council of the Lenin District.
Based on materials from the press service of the Irkutsk administration.