“The names of the heroes of the Northern Military District are the heritage of our entire society”

The day before, the Governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, proposed to perpetuate the memory of the heroes of the special military operation, assigning their names to city schools along with the names of Heroes of the USSR. The head of the city announced this during a meeting of the Coordination Council for Veterans Affairs of St. Petersburg, dedicated to the preparation of the city for the celebration of the 79th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War.

Director of Lyceum No. 369 of the Krasnoselsky District, member of the Public Chamber of St. Petersburg Konstantin Tkhostov noted that this is a vital initiative for today.

“Simply because “there is such a profession – to defend the Motherland.” It’s not without reason that one of the masterpieces of Soviet cinema, the film “Officers,” immediately comes to mind. Our lyceum bears the name of its graduate, Hero of Russia Alexander Zhikharev, and on the facade of the building there is a memorial sign – it says that a guard captain who was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation posthumously for his participation in the North Military District studied here. Every student here knows the story of Alexander Zhikharev, since they had a large family, and out of six children, five studied at our lyceum. Now his son, Nikolai Zhikharev, is studying in the first grade,” said the director of the educational institution.

According to him, today more than 20 fathers of students of Lyceum No. 369 are in the area of ​​the SVO.

“We know them all very well, we work with all of them socially. Perpetuating the memory of the heroes of a special operation is an issue that is extremely important today; this practice should not be the lot of one single educational institution. The names of the heroes of the Northern Military District are the heritage of our entire society. The spirit of defenders, the spirit of winners is an extremely important component of educating the younger generation. This is part of the history of our great Motherland, which once already defeated fascism and continues to fight against it now. On the eve of Victory Day, we will honor all the heroes who gave us the opportunity to live and work. We also remember and annually celebrate the feat of besieged Leningrad, which became a separate page in the heroic chronicle of our country,” says Tkhostov.

According to him, perpetuating the memory of heroes in their schools will ensure that connection between generations, which in no case should be lost.

“We have always been proud of the citizens who guard our peace. This was talked about a lot in Soviet schools, and now it is time to return this pride to the children who are now studying. Thanks to their fathers and brothers, who close our skies and borders from all evil spirits, children have the opportunity to receive a quality education,” noted the director of the lyceum. – Naming heroes and installing memorial plaques in schools is a long overdue story. Governor Alexander Beglov personally unveiled a memorial sign at our school in honor of Hero of the Russian Federation Alexander Zhikharev. I think this is not an initiative of today, this is an idea that the governor has been putting into practice for a long time. As, in fact, all the ideas and scenarios according to which the city is developing.”

Tkhostov recalled that, largely thanks to Smolny’s initiative, today the shortage of educational institutions in St. Petersburg has been completely eliminated.

“Over the past four years, almost two hundred new kindergartens and almost a hundred schools have been opened in St. Petersburg. The governor’s new initiative is a very important contribution to the formation of the personality of young Russians. Because they are the main value in our country, its future and its hope,” concluded Konstantin Tkhostov.