At the World Youth Festival they told how to save the history of family

The open dialogue “The history of the world begins with the history of my family” was held at the World Youth Festival on March 5, the day of “Saving the Family in the Name of Children and Peace.” Participants told how family history can be preserved and restored.

“The history of the world begins with the history of the family and each of us”, noted the executive director of the All-Russian public movement “Volunteers of Victory” Anastasia Ryabova, opening the meeting. She emphasized that no one will save history for ourselves. “We ourselves must bear responsibility and preserve historical memory”, said Anastasia Ryabova.

Victory volunteer of the international representative office of the VOD “Volunteers of Victory” in the Republic of Uzbekistan Sergey Yezhkov joined the movement in 2015. According to Anastasia Ryabova, one of the most active regional branches of the movement operates in Uzbekistan. 

“As I studied my family history, I realized that family ties are not only our heritage, but also a source of strength and support. This has become my favorite business,” noted Sergei Yezhkovand told the story of his great-grandfather, which he independently reconstructed from archives and Internet sources.

Victory volunteer of the international representation of the movement Gers Vera came to the Festival from Brazil. Her ancestors lived in Belarus, then were taken to a concentration camp in Germany, and after liberation they left for Brazil. According to Gers Vera, members of the Russian community in Sao Paulo already in the early 2000s began to search for and study documents of Russian emigrants. Enthusiasts began making videos; now there are about 60 of them, and they are stored in the Immigrant Museum in Sao Paulo. Two years ago she met the “Volunteers of Victory” movement. Now she is actively studying the archives and history of her family. 

A special guest not only of this meeting, but of the entire World Youth Festival was Irina Bulina - a resident of besieged Leningrad, participant in the 1957 World Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow. 

“We can say that I was especially lucky - our family always kept documents. And when I evacuated from the besieged city through Ladoga, I was carrying a large briefcase in which our family archive was kept. And then it began to increase for me. From my mother, a historian, I inherited an interest in history, often asked my grandmothers and conducted my own historical research. The family should unite people,” - said Irina Bulina. She shared with the meeting participants the story of her family, how she and her parents survived the siege of Leningrad, and how her family members supported each other during this terrible time. “My father’s words have served as a guiding star for me all my life,” admitted a participant in the meeting.

Director of the “Volunteers of Victory” movement Anastasia Ryabova said that you need to start studying or restoring family history from family photographs and asking relatives. Next, you can contact regional registry offices and study registry books. If relatives participated in the Great Patriotic War, then you can continue the search on the three official resources dedicated to the participants of the Great Patriotic War. Another source of information is local history museums. You can make a request to almost any archive, being a direct relative, or turn to movement volunteers for help. “Volunteers of Victory” are represented not only in 89 regions of the Russian Federation, but also in more than 60 countries around the world. 

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The World Youth Festival is taking place at the Sirius Federal Territory from March 1 to 7, 2024, as per the decree issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at fostering international youth cooperation.

The Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) is the organizer of the World Youth Festival, with the Directorate of the World Youth Festival serving as the operator for WYF-2024.