- 03.05.2024
The Eternal Flame of Memory will kindle in the hearts of Tula citizens
On the 3-rd of May a concert dedicated to the 79-th anniversary of the Great Victory was held in the Square of the 80-th Anniversary of the Defense of Tula within the framework of the International patriotic action ‘ETERNAL FLAME OF MEMORY - 2024’.
This is the eighth time the action was organised in our country. The activists of the Popular Front will deliver lamps with particles of the Eternal Flame taken from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow to veterans of the Great Patriotic War and all those who fought and continue to fight Nazism on the planet.
The concert was attended by members of Rector`s Office, teachers and students of Tula State University.
On behalf of the Chairman of the Tula Regional Duma, Nikolai Yuryevich Vorobyov, Galina Ivanovna Alyoshina, his First Deputy, Deputy Head of the “United Russia” Party Faction, warmly welcomed all those present. She said:
“The bloodiest war of all lasted for 1 418 days and nights. The Soviet Union lost 26 million people in it. People remember those who laid their lives on the altar of freedom in defense of the Motherland and thank veterans who pass on their experience to the younger generation.”
“Today”, Galina Ivanovna emphasised, “the Eternal Flame of Memory will kindle in the heart of every Tula resident. It is very important that the youth of today know about the exploits of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers.
Vladimir Razin, a Donetsk war correspondent, ambassador of the Popular Front in the Tula region, admitted that it was a great honour for him to be in the hero-city of Tula, which showed an example of steadfastness, courage and unity in the first year of the Great Patriotic War. And now, in the area of the special military operation, the feeling of unity can be felt every day.
“Those who are alive today”, said Vladimir Andreyevich, “should remember what our grandfathers and great-grandfathers gained at a great cost. No one should go along with those who want to divide us!”
“Thanks to that generation, our country withstood and defeated fascism. And today the fighters participating in the special military operation are also demonstrating their heroic spirit”, said Yelena Vladimirovna Shmelyova, head of the Regional Executive Committee of the Popular Front in the Tula region.
“The eternal flame,” the speaker continued, “is the memory about those people who fought for the Motherland. The Popular Front delivers the Eternal Flame to all corners of Russia and even to other continents. This tradition has found a lively response in the hearts of people who never cease to thank veterans for the peaceful blue sky above their heads.
The strength of our ancestors, said Igor Vyacheslavovich Kryukov, a member of the Public Chamber of the Tula Region, author of patriotic books about the Great Patriotic War, is in upholding the truth. All of us must honourably continue their work.
Anastasia Dementyeva noted the symbolism of the fact that today's event is held on the eve of the great date in the Square dedicated to the 80-th anniversary of the defense of the city of Tula. She is a graduate of the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of Tula State University, head of the headquarters of the Tula regional branch of the All-Russian public civil-patriotic movement ‘Immortal Regiment of Russia’.
The Victory Day, she emphasized, came at the cost of the lives of millions of Soviet citizens. But we won! And we will win now! Our fighters are selflessly fighting new manifestations of fascism.
On behalf of all, the speaker expressed deep gratitude to the defenders of the Motherland for the opportunity to live and raise children. Preserving the historical heritage, she said, is an important challenge for the present generation. The future of all of us depends on it.
A ceremony was held to honour the winners of the III-rd All-Russian creative competition ‘Awakening Hearts’ in memory of Vasiliy Semyonovich Lanovoy, People's Artist of the USSR and Co-Chairman of the Central Headquarters of the Immortal Regiment of Russia.
Anastasiya Olegovna presented awards in the nomination ‘Expressive reading by heart of works of Russian and Soviet classics and modern authors’ to an eight-year-old schoolgirl Vasilisa Rybakova and a third-year student of journalism at the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of TulSU Alina Konovalova.
Tamara Yuryevna Kryuchkova won in the nomination ‘Serlf-composed poems/prose, devoted to the themes of the Motherland, heroism, including those about the heroes of our time, participating in the special military operation in Ukraine’.
Vasiliy Alekseyevich Denisov, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, urged everyone to preserve the conquests of our defenders.
“- You have a great responsibility,” he addressed the youth. “- Victory Day is a common holiday of the entire Soviet people. Participants of the war are passing away, but their cause will not die. Keep peace in our country! Honour your Motherland! “
Members of the All-Russian children's and youth military-patriotic public movement ‘Young Army’ of the Tula Region handed over the Victory Flame to veterans of the Great Patriotic War Vasiliy Alekseyevich Denisov and Nikolay Ivanovich Kulpov. A cadet of the Tula Workers' Regiment Military Training Centre at TulSU lit lamps. Representatives of the Military Historical Society will send them to the municipalities of the Tula region.
The participants honoured the memory of those who died during the Great Patriotic War with a minute of silence.
The final chord of the concert was the performance of Alexei Kovalenko, a cadet of the Tula Workers' Regiment Military Training Centre at Tula State University. He performed the song ‘Cranes’.
Tatyana Krikunkova
Photographs by Darya Yanchuk
