History of Kirishi displayed at the Presidential Library

“Our construction sites are the lines of the country's biography ... There was such a song. It is possible to write a country’s biography and compare it on Komsomol affairs”, - said Lira Burak, chair of the committee on local self-government, interethnic and interfaith relations of Leningrad Region, at the opening ceremony on December 18, 2018 in the Presidential Library of the multimedia exhibition “Komsomol volunteers ... Kirishi is my destiny". The exposition is devoted to the volunteer movement on the example of the All-Union Komsomol-youth shock-work construction, which was twice announced on the Kirishi land, - in 1963 and 1973.

Konstantin Timofeev, head of the administration of the Kirishi municipal district of Leningrad Region, expressed his gratitude to all who worked on the creation of the exhibition and collection of the Presidential Library dedicated to the city of Kirishi and the Kirishi district. “I am very grateful, of course, to our veterans, the Komsomol members. The words "veteran Komsomol member" sound unusual, but I think it is not insulting at all, because the veteran is an honored fighter, a warrior. Therefore, in the year of the centenary anniversary of Komsomol and in the Year of the Volunteer, the name of the exhibition turns out to be especially significant - “Komsomol volunteers ... Kirishi is my destiny”, - Timofeev stressed.

He added that Kirishi used to be a youth, international and “restless in spirit” city: “The legacy that we present today all, these photographs will remain for many decades now. This is the story of Kirishi, Leningrad Region and the whole of our country .... I hope that this is not the last such exhibition”.   

The head of the reception office of the Governor of Leningrad Region in the Kirishi Municipal District, Lyudmila Bogdanova, recalled that the first meeting devoted to the preparation of this exhibition took place a little less than a year ago. “During this time, we, collecting materials, are communicating with the library staff, understand how much work is being done before these photographs appear on the electronic panels and on the portal ... Now we understand what the Presidential Library is, that this document can be a history property".

Welcoming telegram from Sergey Perminov, the vice-governor of Leningrad Region on domestic policy, was read off: “I am confident that your event will be successful and, through a narration about the history of creation, will contribute to the promotion of high ideals of voluntary public service".

The Kirishi collection is based on unique photographs from the personal archives of Komsomol members and audio recordings of their memories, photographs from the funds of the Kirishi Regional Museum. Now these documents are a valuable source for studying an important stage in the development of our country, helping to plunge into the Soviet era, to see through the eyes of Komsomol shock construction projects that initiated the powerful fuel and energy complex of the North-West Region. The multimedia exhibition includes about three dozen photographs, but there are about 200 of them in the collection.

These photographs depict the moments of construction of enterprises, houses and social facilities in the war-scorched land of Leningrad Region, as well as Komsomol volunteers, handing over the Red Banner for winning social competitions, competitions for the title of the best worker, performances of pioneer leaders, tourist programs and much more. A special place is given to the Kirishi residents, who were awarded honorary awards and titles.

It is important to note that further enrichment of the collection is already planned in connection with the 55th anniversary of the city celebrated in 2020.

For the Presidential Library, Kirishi was a pilot project, in the center of which turned out to be history not of the subject of the Russian Federation (the institution's portal features collections devoted to all regions of Russia), but a single district.

The electronic collection "Kirishi and Kirishi District of Leningrad Region" is available on the Presidential Library’s portal.