The Rector of VyatSU Valentin Pugach received a letter from the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Estonia
Yesterday, the Rector of VyatSU, Valentin Pugach, received a letter from the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Estonia. There are words of gratitude to the VyatSU volunteers who made a two-week trip to the Estonian island of Saaremaa in September. There, in the framework of the international project “Remember the War”, which became the winner of the competition of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, students and staff of the Flagship University took on the task of improvement of three military memorials - beds of honor belonging to the periods of the Great Patriotic and the First World Wars.
Denis Rybakov, the Head of the Department of Educational and Social Work of VyatSU, explained:
“We started monuments land improvement works on the Estonian island of Saaremaa back in 2012. This year we again initiated a project aimed at preserving the memory of the military past, and submitted an application for a competition organized by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs. Our project “Remember the War” was among the winners, and we had the opportunity to continue the work we had started.”
Staying in the small village of Tiirimets, volunteers of the Flagship University of the Kirov region started trips around the island.
“Getting to work on the first object, we saw cranes flying in the sky. The same happened at the final stage: we stood at the restored monument, and the cranes flew above us again. It seemed symbolic to us”, -shared employee of the Department of Educational and Social Work Igor Shamov.
The wedge of cranes, a symbol of wartime, has become a beautiful frame of volunteer activity, noble and creative. Students and employees of VyatSU carried out cosmetic restoration of monuments, cleaning of the adjacent territory, recycling of garbage, painting fences and benches.
“The work at the “Grieving Mother” memorial caused particular thrill,”
students Valeria Akat'eva (Faculty of Physical Education and Sports) and Marina Kulik (Law Institute), who have significant experience in the search movement, told. -The monument is set up at the burial place of 181 people, in wartime there was an extermination camp. The remains of barbed wire have been preserved nearby - we used them for an updated plate with the name of the place.”
It is noteworthy that the volunteer landing in Estonia consisted of students from different faculties of VyatSU: Roman Gurdin - a representative of the Faculty of Technology, Engineering and Design, Artem Efremov - Electrical Engineering Faculty, Artemy Bocharov studying economics and finance, Alena Mezentseva - construction and architecture, and Ekaterina Novoselova - a future journalist. A serious common cause really rallied the people who became a friendly team.
The same unity happened with the local population: the people of Saaremaa always showed goodwill and interest in the noble initiative, they were eager to help, to be useful.
“Negative attitude is out of questions,” volunteers say in one voice. - Ordinary people understand: our history is our common interest, and our memory is common. Today it is necessary to find points of contact that unites the beginning. This is important for the people of any country.”
Leonid Kushnarev, a search movement enthusiast and project coordinator accompanied the VyatSU volunteers throughout the trip. Everyone in Saaremaa knows him - and is treated kindly and with the same respect. Together with Leonid Borisovich, the VyatSU volunteers visited Tallinn, where they laid flowers to the Bronze Soldier, a monument to Soviet soldiers.
The trip is complete - what's ahead? New trips and this is undoubted: after all, VyatSU volunteers are determined to continue their activities in preserving the memory of those who fell during the war. The intentions of the VyatSU volunteer team completely coincide with the position of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Estonia.
“Such participation of students to the work of perpetuating the exploits of the defenders of the Fatherland, resting in the Estonian land, in fact contributes to the preservation of historical memory, the transfer from generation to generation of a sense of pride for the heroes of those hostilities”, - is emphasized in the letter of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Estonia Alexander Petrov.
It also expressed hope for continued cooperation in the military-historical direction.
“The Embassy will provide all the necessary assistance”, - Alexander Petrov assured.
