Celebrations dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Moscow will be held today near the monument to the heroes of Panfilov division. On November 16, 1941, near Dubosekovo, division under the command of Major General Ivan Panfilov spent several hours holding back enemy tanks and infantry while being under heavy artillery fire and bombings.
Yesterday, the Russian State University for the Humanities hosted a scientific conference dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Moscow.
As the president of university Yefim Pivovar said in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza, "this conference is attended by the delegation of Kazakh historians and public figures, led by two granddaughters and great-granddaughter of General Panfilov, who created the General Panfilov's foundation, as well as the delegation that represents the leadership of the Panfilov division of the Kyrgyz Republic. We have prepared an international conference, which was attended by Kazakh historians, historians of the Russian Federation, of our university, universities of Adygea, Maikop university. Several activists associated with the 'Immortal Regiment' movement also attended it."
According to him, "Immortal Regiment of the Commonwealth" program is being created right, and it will include not only Russia, but also all post-Soviet countries. "Studying the history of the Battle of Moscow is a very important task. We are doing it in terms of our research activities in the Russian State University for the Humanities and in the course of lectures for historians, for all those who study humanities," he said stressing that the event is organized by the political science center 'North-South' and is associated with the program 'Memory watch: We are Panfilov's millions', which began in Orenburg, and events of which were held in all border cities of Russia, as well as in Almaty, Bishkek and Astana.
Yefim Pivovar
Today Volokolamsk will hold first public screening of the film 'The Panfilov Division's Twenty-Eight Guardsmen', which will be officially released on November 24. Director Andrei Shalopa says that the movie was made not only on the basis of archive materials and literary works, but also based on the stories of war veterans. In addition, the granddaughter of General Panfilov, Aigul Baikadamova, actively helped to create this movie. In an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza she said that 'International memory watch: We are Panfilov's millions' has been initiated in Orenburg in order to protect the honor and dignity of not only Panfilov's division, but also other heroes of the war, such as members of the Young Guard - Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Lisa Chaikina, who gave their lifes to achive peace."
She also noted that Panfilov's great-granddaughter - Valentina Baikadamova, is the president of General Panfilov's Public Foundation. She was named in honor of his eldest daughter - Valentina, who fought in this division since it was formed.
Today's event in Volokolamsk, according to Aigul Baikadamova, will begin with the opening of the first international gathering of different CIS schools, associated with this movement: "Pennants of this memory watch will be given to students from different cities. 12 schools will attend it. Volokolamsk will be visited by direct descendants of the heroes of Panfilov division, of those who died in the battle near Dubosekovo. Grandson of Vasily Klochkov, daughter and granddaughter of the hero of the Soviet Union Konkin, grandson of Musabek Sengirbaev. They will come from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Astana. We agreed with the director that actors who play their ancestors will also visit the premiere of this movie. Can you imagine what a touching meeting it will be! First we will meet at the memorial near Dubosekovo, and then the reconstruction of this famous battle will be held. After that we will take on the retro train 'Pobeda' and go to Volokolamsk for the premiere of this movie."
Speaking about the importance of such events for young people she stressed that: "It is important that young people are interested in this, that they understand the importance of such events. I'm talking about respect for history, patriotism. People become patriots only after they learn the history of their family. Then they will know the history of their country and treat their homeland with respect, just like mother - with her mistakes, positive and negative sides. Homeland is like a mother, it can do no wrong."
Decades later, the Great Patriotic War is not just a bitter and tragic event in the history, it is also an example of the feat of peoples in the name of common victory. This victory was achieved with blood of representatives of all peoples of the USSR, and the memories of it make us preserve and strengthen common historical memory in Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and other CIS countries.
