In the Northern capital, a few days before the 80th anniversary of the complete liberation of the city from the fascist blockade, a unique publication was presented, dedicated to the sports hero of besieged Leningrad. In the book “Faith in Victory!” collected testimonies of the heroes of those years, who on January 27 will appear before the townspeople not only on the pages of the publication, but also as part of the large-scale literary and musical project of the Petrocenter.
Such an event, according to the author of the book, famous writer and journalist Konstantin Osipov, is the first of its kind not only for the Northern capital, but for the entire country – under one cover it was possible to collect stories about hundreds of events that took place during the Great Patriotic War. During the almost 900 days of the siege, the besieged city hosted 2,168 different sporting events, the most famous among them being the famous football Blockade match, which took place in May 1942, but the besieged city lived far beyond just football.
“During the blockade there were so many sporting events – tennis, hockey, chess, speed skating, cycling, physical education parades, boxing, and many other events. So the main goal of our great work on the publication is to show exactly this diversity of sporting events. While working on the book, I was able to talk with their direct participants – Yuri Tyukalov, Nina Poznanskaya, Galina Zybina, Natalya Vetoshnikova… These three heroic women are alive and well! And this is a passing nature… After all, that’s why I sometimes rushed the process in order to have time to meet with them. The blockade is in the heart of everyone who lives in the city on the Neva, so the idea of creating such a book existed for a long time, many agreed with it, but it was realized only with the support of Petrocenter, Mikhail Rakhlin, the Public Sports Council under the city government and the Committee for physical education and sports,” notes the book’s author, Konstantin Osipov.
In addition, the creation of such books is a tribute to historical memory and its preservation, the need for which Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasized. And in this sense, the St. Petersburg event is a direct execution of the most important order of the President of Russia. The unique content will also be of interest to the older generation, many of whom remember the hardships of the blockade, as well as to the children and grandchildren of the heroes of the besieged city, who know about that time from the meager stories of their relatives. And, of course, to the very young generation of St. Petersburg residents, who will have to carry this historical memory through the years.
“The idea that such books should be published actually appeared in the depths of the Public Council under the Committee on Physical Culture and Sports. My colleagues and I got together and realized that we need to popularize sports, popularize the history of sports. And it seems to me that this book is just the first of such vivid examples of what we can do, and what we should probably continue to do for the benefit and to preserve the history of Leningrad and then St. Petersburg sports. This is a serious exam for us, because we tried to publish the book in a fairly short time, and also to create a large and important project around this unique publication from the point of view of media art,” said the general director at the presentation of the book at the TASS press center information and publishing center of the government of St. Petersburg “Petrocenter” Kirill Smirnov.
Having accumulated impressive experience in implementing socially significant city projects over the 30-year history of its existence, Petrocenter is ready to present St. Petersburg residents and guests of the city something truly unique that will become the calling card of the city. Already on Saturday, January 27, in more than 15 points of the city, in parks and on embankments, a literary and musical composition based on the book will be performed, the script for which was written by the famous opera singer Mikhail Gavrilov.
“This book carries with it powerful energy, a powerful history, which, of course, is necessary and important to study, but the most important thing is to really pass on this whole history to the future generation. Therefore, our task is to hold and organize as many events as possible with the future generation, with our teenagers, with the guys who are now choosing or looking for their own path, the path of development. Knowing your history, knowing the history of your homeland and knowing the history of your city is, of course, important, because this is where the basis for development is formed,” concluded Anton Shantyr, Chairman of the Committee on Physical Education and Sports.
One of the events that Anton Shantyr talks about will certainly be the opening of a special exhibition dedicated to sports in besieged Leningrad. The exhibition, which has collected unique artifacts under the arches of the Sports Museum on the Moika, the exhibition of which echoes the stories from the book “Faith in Victory!”, will begin accepting visitors from January 25.
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
