Price of Victory: Young People from France and Serbia Took Part in Commemorative Event “Siege Bread”
On January 25–27, the Russian Houses in Paris and Belgrade hosted commemorative events marking the 81st anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the fascist siege. “Siege Bread” campaign was organised by partner organisations of the Directorate of the World Youth Festival abroad, among event participants were attendees of the World Youth Festival and compatriots living abroad. Also, they were co-organized by the International Friendship Clubs of the Komi Republic, the Leningrad and Samara Regions.
During the campaign, about a hundred young people received a 125-gram piece of bread, which was the minimal ration in Leningrad during the most brutal period of the siege. At the Russian House in Belgrade, the participants honoured the memory of the fallenwith a moment of silence.
“We are implementing this campaign together with the International Friendship Club of the Samara Region to both remember the heroic deeds of the people of Leningrad and preserve the memory of our people’s sacrifice for the new generations. During the war, Serbia also suffered from fascists, fought alongsideSoviet soldiers and paid a colossal price for its freedom. That’s why our nationtruly remembers and honours the Great Victory. We hope that such campaignswill help preserve and protect the historical memory of the immortal heroism. No one is forgotten, nothing is forgotten!”, said Danila Danilovic, Head of Youth Sector of the Coordinating Council of Russian Compatriot Organizations in Serbia.
The event at the Russian House in Paris featured a talk by Ivan Kheorkhe, representative of the All-Russian Expert Pedagogical Council under the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, laureate of the Teacher of the Year-2020 contest, member of the Public Chamber of the Leningrad Region, and lecturer at the Russian Znanie (Knowledge) Society. The interactive lecture introduced the guests to the history of the besieged Leningrad and how the city fought the occupation and survived under the Nazi encirclement.
“Today, we have listened to the lecture on the besieged Leningrad and learned a lot of new things. French textbooks don’t mention this event. I was amazed that during such an atrocity as the siege, people held sports competitions, children went to school, studied and kept their life going. Those are really selfless people”, said Ekaterina Pasyutina, event participant.
Ilya Juresique from Paris said it was necessary to share the knowledge they’dreceived and preserve the memory of this event for the new generations. The young people highlighted the resilience and courage of those who lived in the city.
“Thanks to the event, we learned a lot of things, but the most important one was the power of the human spirit. People in the besieged Leningrad supported one another and remained human despite all the plight they had to face. All this leaves a profound impression and, above all, makes you respect this nation even more”, shared Ekaterina Nazarov from France.
The young people were the first ones in France to visit the multimedia exhibition of the Museum of Victory “Fireworks over the Neva”. The exhibition featuredphotographs showing heroic deeds of the residents of the besieged Leningrad, and materials from the Central State Archive of Film, Photo, and Audio Documents of Saint Petersburg.
“It is very important to teach our young compatriots and citizens of France about the besieged Leningrad as they know very little about it. I’d like to express gratitude for the support in organizing this campaign to the Russian House in Paris, as well as the International Friendship Clubs of the Leningrad Region and the Komi Republic. This is a vivid example of effective cooperation and establishment of horizontal ties among regions”, said Tatyana Bokova, Head of the National Preparatory Committee of France.
Overview:
The World Youth Festival took place on March 1–7, 2024 in Sirius, according to the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the development of international youth cooperation. The WYF-2024 brought together 20,000 youngleaders from 190 countries.
On the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, the WYF will be held in Russia on a regular basis – once in six years. Also, every six years 10,000 young people from all over the world will get together at the International Youth Festival, and in between, international themed gatherings and events will be held under the auspices of the WYF. Festival events of various formats will be held in Russia annually.
According to the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation on the preservation and development of the Festival legacy, the World Youth Festival Directorate continues the work aimed at strengthening international youth cooperation.