The Presidential Library hosted the II St. Petersburg Youth Historical Forum "Heroes of the Fatherland"

On May 4, 2023 the II St. Petersburg Youth Historical Forum "Heroes of the Fatherland" was held at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library. The event was held with the grant support of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs.

More than 200 schoolchildren and students from 22 regions of Russia, historians, teachers, representatives of executive authorities, deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, deputies of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg attended the forum.

The theme of the forum in 2023 is “The Anniversary of the Northern Capital”. It is dedicated to the 320th anniversary of the foundation of St. Petersburg. The program included six main themes: culture, science, economics, politics, religion and military affairs.

The main goal of the forum is to form among the younger generation a respectful attitude towards the history, spiritual and cultural heritage of Russia, the study and understanding of the heroic events in the life of the country and its individual citizens.

The forum program included more than 15 events: historical lectures, motivational meetings, round tables and workshops. The key events were the speeches of 20 winners of the research and design contest, which was held within the framework of the forum, as well as the photo exhibition "Nevskaya Perspektiva".

Greetings to the forum participants were sent by the Commissioner for Children's Rights under the President of the Russian Federation Maria Alekseevna Lvova-Belova, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Konstantin Iosifovich Kosachev, Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District Lyubov Pavlovna Sovershaeva, Deputy Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Alexander Vyacheslavovich Bugaev, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Olga Viktorovna Petrova, Acting Chairman of the Board of the Russian Historical Society, Executive Director of the History of the Fatherland Foundation Ruslan G. Gagkuev, Acting Head of the Department of Youth Projects and Programs of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Vasily Vasilyevich Teterin.

The Chairman of the Committee of the Federation Council on Science, Education and Culture Liliya Salavatovna Gumerova, in her greetings to the participants and organizers, emphasized: “The forum is an authoritative platform for discussing national history, its key issues and events, as well as the formation of citizenship among young people and a sense of pride in their country on example of the exploits of its heroes”.

According to Yaroslava Alexandrovna Borozdina, Deputy Director General of the Presidential Library, “the main areas of the library's activities are in many ways in common with the goals and objectives of the forum. This is, first of all, the formation of a respectful attitude towards the history, spiritual and cultural heritage of Russia among the younger generation, increasing interest in the study of national history, fostering a sense of patriotism and love for the Motherland using the example of the heroes of the Fatherland.

“This year we again won a grant from the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs and are holding a forum dedicated to the 320th anniversary of St. Petersburg. The main goal is to deepen the knowledge of young people on the history and culture of our country. The forum involves many formats, such as public talks, open dialogues, panel sessions and others. The forum concept is youth for youth. We try to follow this concept and create an interesting and necessary product for young people”, - said Vladislav Andreyevich Kurbatov, author and head of the St. Petersburg Youth Historical Forum “Heroes of the Fatherland”.

A video recording of individual forum events is available on the Rutube-channel of the Presidential Library.

For reference: The authors and organizers of the forum are a team of senior pupils, headed by 17-year-old Vladislav Kurbatov from St. Petersburg.

Forum partners are Rosmolodezh, the Presidential Library, the Russian Historical Society, the Committee for Youth Policy and Interaction with Public Organizations of St. Petersburg, the Academy of Talents, the Youth Parliament under the State Duma, the historical park "Russia - My History".

The project is the winner of the All-Russian award "Big Changes", the winner of the All-Russian contest "My Country - My Russia", a semi-finalist of the International Award #MYVMESTE.