About patriotism true and false. Patriotic upsurge in Russia during the First World War

Patriotism of Russian people in the war of 1812 based on the novel by L.N. Tolstoy "War and Peace"

An army of half a million, which had won the reputation of being invincible in Europe, under the leadership of the great commander Napoleon, suddenly fell on Russian soil. But she encountered powerful opposition. The army and the entire people stood united against the conquerors, defending their Motherland and their independence to the last drop of blood.
“In the War of 1812, the issue of life and death of the Fatherland was decided. For all Russian people then there was a common desire - the expulsion of the French from Russia and the extermination of their army... The goal of the people was to cleanse their land from invasion.”

The French rapidly advanced inland from its western borders. Residents of all cities and villages heroically defended their land. In the hero city of Smolensk, when the enemy approached, severe fires began. Residents abandoned all their property, set fire to their houses and left the city. In the novel, Tolstoy shows a wealthy merchant from Smolensk who distributes goods from his shop to soldiers. “Get everything, guys! Don’t get it from the devils,” shouted Feropontov. “Russia has decided!.. I’ll set it on fire myself. I made up my mind” and ran to my house.

After the capture of Smolensk, Napoleonic army advanced towards Moscow. Napoleon was firmly confident of his victory. But the Russian people did not give up. The peasants did not sell food to the French army for any money. “The Karps and Vlass did not bring hay to Moscow for the good money they were offered, but burned it.” The feeling of patriotism that gripped all Russian people when danger arose united the entire people into a single whole. The consciousness of the rightness of their cause gave the entire people enormous strength.

Partisan detachments were organized throughout the country. Elder Vasilisa beat hundreds of Frenchmen, and the village sexton led the partisan detachment. The detachments of Dolokhov and Denisov also had quite a few Frenchmen on their account. A simple Russian peasant Tikhon Shcherbaty caught “looters” near Gzhat and was “the most useful and brave man” in Denisov’s detachment.

“The club of the people’s war rose with all its formidable and majestic strength and, without asking anyone’s tastes or rules, without considering anything, it rose, fell and nailed the French until the entire invasion was destroyed.” Napoleon had not seen such courage and perseverance that were shown by Russian soldiers on the Borodino field during all the years of war and conquest. The soldiers knew that something very important was being decided here, on which their future lives depended. Before the battle, the soldiers stopped drinking vodka and put on clean shirts. Everyone's faces were tense, and in every feature of this face there was an inexorable firmness, and the eyes had a strange, unnatural shine.

Napoleon sat on a folding chair and watched the progress of the battle. For the first time in all these years of his army’s victorious march across Europe, the thought of defeat arose in him. All the events that befell him upon entering Russia rapidly flashed through his head. He felt terrified. He increasingly felt his failure, which began right here, on the Borodino field. Despite the fact that the Russian army was almost destroyed, the heroism of Kutuzov, Bagration, officers and soldiers won a moral victory over the French army.

The Russian army had to retreat, and Napoleon was at the goal of his invasion. He stood on Poklonnaya Hill and waited for a delegation of Muscovites with the keys to Moscow, admiring the beautiful blue sky and the shine of the golden domes of the capital's churches. But he didn’t wait. “For the Russian people there could be no question whether things would be good or bad under French rule in Moscow. It was impossible to be under the control of the French: this was the worst of all... The entire population, like one person, abandoning their property, flowed from Moscow, showing by this negative action the full strength of their national feeling.”

Both ordinary Muscovites and wealthy nobles behaved heroically. The Rostovs left all their expensive paintings, carpets and tapestries, all their valuables, and placed the wounded on the carts that had been emptied of their belongings. Count Bezukhov, a good-natured and gentle Pierre, remained in Moscow to defend the capital and kill Napoleon.

Moscow greeted Napoleon with terrible conflagrations and deserted streets. An army entered Moscow, which could still be called an army, but after five weeks crowds of dirty, ragged robbers left. The morale of the army was undermined and no force could raise it. The wisdom and foresight of the great commander, father of the people Kutuzov, and the nationwide patriotism of the Russian people decided the fate of Napoleon and his army. Napoleon realized how great the spirit of independence and freedom, love for his Motherland is in the Russian people.

Patriots of Russia

PETER THE GREAT

Biography

The great Russian reformer was born on May 30 (June 9), 1672. Like all Russian tsars, the descendant of Alexei Mikhailovich and N.K. Naryshkina received a home education. The boy showed aptitude for learning quite early and learned languages ​​from childhood - first German, and then French, English and Dutch. He mastered a lot of crafts from the palace craftsmen - blacksmithing, soldering, gunsmithing, printing. Many historians mention the importance of “fun” in the development of the personality of the future First Russian Emperor. In 1688, Peter went to Lake Pereyaslavl, where he learned to build ships from the Dutchman F. Timmerman and R. Kartsev, a Russian master. Peter does not stop there and takes a trip to Amsterdam, where he works as a carpenter for six months, continuing to study shipbuilding. During my first trip abroad, which lasted only a year, the future emperor managed not only to “get busy.” In Konigsberg, he mastered a full course in artillery science, and in England he completed a theoretical course in shipbuilding. In 1689, having received news that Sophia was preparing a coup, Peter preceded the princess, removed her from power and took the Russian throne. During his reign, he proved himself to be an outstanding statesman. Peter's transformations were not limited to “cutting a window to Europe.” They affected all spheres of citizens’ lives: new manufactories and factories were opened, new deposits were developed, and new bureaucratic bodies were created. One of the most important affairs of his life was strengthening the military power of Russia, because the tsar who had recently ascended the throne had to end the war with Turkey, which began back in 1686. But the victory did not bring Russia the desired access to the seas. It was obtained only after a long war with Sweden (1700-1721). Peter also made a significant contribution to culture. In particular, he abolished the clergy's monopoly on education. He supported the creation of schools and the publication of textbooks (then primers), and he became the first editor and journalist of the Vedomosti newspaper. By order of Peter, expeditions were carried out to Far East, to Siberia and Central Asia. Peter I encouraged the construction of buildings and architectural ensembles. He contributed to the development of the activities of scientists and researchers. He approved the planning and construction of cities and fortresses. All his thoughts were aimed at strengthening the state. He died on January 28, 1725 in St. Petersburg. He was buried in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

PAVEL TRETYAKOV

Biography

All dictionaries and encyclopedias agree to write next to the name of P. M. Tretyakov: “Russian entrepreneur, philanthropist, collector of works of Russian visual arts, founder of the Tretyakov Gallery." But everyone forgets that it was Tretyakov who first came up with the idea of ​​collecting a collection of Russian painting that would represent the Russian school as fully as possible. The future founder of the Tretyakov Gallery was born on December 15 (27), 1832 in Moscow, into a merchant family. The parents gave the boy an excellent education at home. Pavel Tretyakov was destined to continue his father’s activities, which he did together with his brother Sergei. Developing the family business, they took up the construction of paper spinning factories. This provided work for several thousand people. From his youth, P. Tretyakov, in his words, “selflessly loved art.” One way or another, in 1853 he bought the first paintings. A year later, he acquired nine works by Dutch masters, which he placed in his room. There they hung until the death of the patron. But Tretyakov was and remained a deep patriot. Therefore, he decides to collect a collection of modern Russian paintings. And in 1856 he bought “Temptation” by N. G. Schilder and “Finnish Smugglers” by V. G. Khudyakov. Next - a new acquisition, or rather, acquisitions. Works by K. Bryullov, I. P. Trutnev, F. A. Bruni, A. K. Savrasov, K. A. Trutovsky, L. F. Lagorio... At his request, painters create portraits of outstanding figures of Russian culture - P.I. Tchaikovsky, L.N., Tolstoy, I.S. Turgenev and many others. In 1874, Tretyakov Street provided extensive premises for its collection. And in 1792 he transferred a thoroughly expanded collection of works (by that time it included 1276 paintings, 470 drawings and a large number of icons) to the city. True, when best friend– V.V. Stasov – writes an enthusiastic article about him, Tretyakov prefers to simply escape from Moscow. The character of the philanthropist combined boundless kindness and excellent business acumen. For a long time he could financially support artists - Vasiliev, Kramskoy, Perov, patronize a shelter for the deaf and dumb, and organize a shelter for orphans and widows of artists. And he patiently bargained with the authors of the paintings, often not agreeing to a price that was too high, in his opinion. Sometimes it even came down to refusing to buy. His favorite direction in painting was the Itinerants movement. Until now, no collection in the world has a more detailed collection of works by these artists. The outstanding philanthropist died in 1898 in Moscow. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

NIKOLAY VAVILOV

Biography

Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov is a great Soviet geneticist, plant breeder, and geographer. He created the doctrine of world centers of origin cultivated plants, their geographical distribution, and also laid the foundations of modern breeding. The future great scientist was born in 1887 in Moscow into the family of a businessman. In 1911 he graduated from the Moscow Agricultural Institute, where he subsequently worked at the department of private agriculture. In 1917 he was elected professor at Saratov University. In 1921, he was appointed head of the Department of Applied Botany and Selection (Petrograd), which 9 years later was reorganized into the All-Union Institute of Plant Growing. Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov led it until August 1940. In addition, in 1930 he was appointed director of the genetic laboratory, later transformed into the Institute of Genetics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. After research conducted in 1919-20 in the European part of the USSR, the scientist published a work entitled “Field Crops of the South-East.” Beginning in 1920, he led numerous botanical and agronomic expeditions for 20 years. He studied the plant resources of Greece, Italy, Portugal, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Afghanistan... In particular, during the expeditions he established that the birthplace of durum wheat is Ethiopia. He discovered new types of wild and cultivated potatoes, which subsequently became the basis for breeding. Thanks to his scientific research, experimental geographical plantings of cultivated plants were made in different regions of the USSR, and an evolutionary and selection assessment was given to them. Under the leadership of Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov, a world collection of cultivated plants was created. It contains more than 300 thousand samples, many of which have become the basis for breeding work. The great scientist considered one of his main tasks to be the promotion of agriculture in the undeveloped regions of the North, in semi-deserts and lifeless highlands. In 1919, Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov substantiated the doctrine of plant immunity to infections and immune varieties. In 1920, a geneticist and plant breeder discovered the law of homologous series, which states that similar hereditary changes occur in closely related species and genera of plants. The great scientist also made a number of other discoveries; on his initiative, new research institutions were organized, he created a school of plant growers, geneticists and breeders. Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov was awarded high Soviet awards; he was an honorary member of many foreign academies. The great scientist died in 1943.

YURI GAGARIN

Biography

Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934 in the village of Klushino, not far from the city of Gzhatsk (later renamed Gagarin). On May 24, 1945, the Gagarin family moved to Gzhatsk. After 4 years, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin entered the Lyubertsy vocational school No. 10 and at the same time entered evening school working youth. In May 1951, the future cosmonaut graduated from college with honors, receiving a specialty as a molder-foundry worker, and in August he entered the Saratov Industrial College. On October 25 of the same year he came to the Saratov flying club for the first time. 4 years later, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin graduated with honors and made his first flight as a pilot on a Yak-18 aircraft. In 1957, the future cosmonaut graduated from the 1st Military Aviation School for Pilots named after K. E. Voroshilov in Orenburg. On March 3, 1960, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, he was enrolled in the group of astronaut candidates and a few days later began training. The launch of the Vostok spacecraft with the world's first cosmonaut on board was made from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 09:07 Moscow time on April 12, 1961. Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin completed one revolution around the planet and completed the flight a second earlier than planned (at 10:55:34). On Earth, a grand meeting was arranged for the space hero. On Red Square he was awarded the Gold Star of “Hero of the Soviet Union” and awarded the title “Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR”. In subsequent years, the hero made several foreign visits. A long break from flying practice followed (Yuri Mikhailovich Gagarin, in addition to his social activities, studied at the academy). After a long interval, he made his first flight on the MiG-17 at the end of 1967, and soon after that he was sent to restore his qualifications. The circumstances of the death of the world's first cosmonaut have not yet been fully clarified. The UTI MiG-15 plane with Yuri Gagarin on board crashed on March 27, 1968 near the village of Novoselovo, Vladimir Region. Neither the astronaut's body nor traces of his blood have yet been discovered.

GEORGE ZHUKOV

Biography

Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov is a Marshal of the Soviet Union who made an invaluable contribution to the victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany. He was born on December 2, 1896 in the village of Strelkovka in the Moscow region, into a peasant family. The future military leader graduated from three classes of a parochial school, after which he was sent by his father to Moscow. There the boy became an apprentice to a furrier. During the First World War, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was awarded two St. George Crosses. In 1918, he joined the Red Army, and a year later became a member of the Bolshevik Party, participating in the battles against Wrangel and Kolchak. At the end of the Civil War, the future commander remained in military service. In 1939, he commanded Soviet troops in the Battle of the Khalkhin Gol River and was awarded the star of the Hero of the Soviet Union. He was subsequently awarded this high award three more times (in 1944, 1945, 1956). In January 1941, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov headed the General Staff of the Red Army. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, he commanded the troops of the Reserve, Leningrad and Western fronts. In August 1942, he assumed the powers of First Deputy People's Commissar of Defense and Deputy Supreme Commander-in-Chief. In the last years of the Great Patriotic War, Zhukov commanded the troops of the 1st Ukrainian and 1st Belorussian fronts in the Vistula-Oder and Berlin operations. On May 8, 1945, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov accepted the surrender of Nazi Germany. From 1945 to 1946, Zhukov served as Commander-in-Chief of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany and Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces. But after the Potsdam Conference, he was sent by Stalin to the Odessa and then the Ural Military District, which was actually an exile. In 1955, after the death of Stalin, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov became the Minister of Defense of the USSR, but in 1957 he was dismissed by Khrushchev who came to power. Obviously, the new ruler was afraid of the popularity and enormous authority of the commander. In the last years of his life, the former military leader created his memoirs (“Memories and Reflections”). Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov died in Moscow on June 18, 1974.

ZOYA KOSMODEMYANSKAYA

Biography

She died barely reaching adulthood. At the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War and life. A young schoolgirl from one of the Moscow schools, partisan Zoya was executed by the German occupiers in December 1941: she was hanged with a sign on her chest reading “Arsonist.” On February 16, 1942, Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. This fragile girl remains a symbol of female heroism to this day. After school, 10th grade student and Komsomol group organizer Zoya dreamed of entering the Literary Institute, inspired by her acquaintance with the children's writer Arkady Gaidar. However, her plans were prevented from coming true by the outbreak of war. In the fall, when the enemy approached Moscow, all the Komsomol volunteers who remained to defend the capital gathered in the Colosseum cinema (now the building of the Sovremennik Theater). From there they were sent to the Central Committee of the Komsomol, where Kosmodemyanskaya was assigned to reconnaissance and sabotage military unit No. 9903 of the headquarters of the Western Front under the command of P. S. Provorov. Three days of training and, after the order of I.V. Stalin “to smoke all Germans out of warm shelters and premises,” the group was tasked with burning 10 within a week settlements near Moscow, occupied by the Nazis. Zoya was given 3 Molotov cocktails, a revolver, packed rations and a bottle of vodka. On November 27, in the village of Petrishchevo, after setting fire to three houses, Zoya was captured by the Germans while attempting to set fire to the barn of the traitor Sviridov. During interrogation, she identified herself as Tanya and, even under incredibly brutal torture, did not reveal the location of her comrades. The next morning, at exactly 10:30, she was led to her execution. Until the gallows, Zoya “walked straight, with her head raised, proudly and silently...”. When they threw a noose over her head, she shouted in an unwavering voice: “Comrades, victory will be ours! German soldiers, before it’s too late, surrender... No matter how much you hang us, you won’t hang everyone, there are 170 million of us.” She wanted to say something else, but at that moment the box was removed from under her feet... Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was reburied at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow.

MIKHAIL KUTUZOV

Biography

The famous Russian commander M.I. Kutuzov is probably known to everyone. And for some reason no one knows exact date his birth. According to some sources, this is the year 1745, it is also carved on the commander’s grave. According to others - 1947. So, in 1745 or 1747, Lieutenant General and Senator Illarion Matveyevich Golenishchev-Kutuzov and his wife had a son, who was named Mikhail. The parents first preferred to educate the boy at home, and in 1759 they sent him to the Noble Artillery and Engineering School. Six months later, he receives the rank of 1st Class Conductor and is sworn in. He is even given a salary and entrusted with training officers. Then follow the ranks of engineer-warrant officer, aide-de-camp, and captain. In 1762, he was appointed company commander of the Astrakhan Infantry Regiment, commanded by none other than Suvorov. The commander's character was finally formed during the Russian-Turkish wars, where he distinguished himself in battles, for which he was promoted to prime major. And for his successes in the battle of Popesti he earned the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1774, during a battle near Shuma, Kutuzov was seriously wounded. The bullet pierced the temple and exited near the right eye, which stopped seeing forever. The Empress awarded the battalion commander the Order of St. George, 4th class, and sent him abroad for treatment. Instead, the stubborn Kutuzov chose to improve his military education. In 1776 he returned to Russia and soon received the rank of colonel. In 1784, Kutuzov suppressed the uprising in Crimea and became a major general. And three years later the second war with Turkey begins (1787). The general distinguished himself during the capture of Izmail, for which he earned the praise of Suvorov himself: “Kutuzov was my right hand.” Kutuzov got Izmail. He was appointed commandant of this fortress, promoted to lieutenant general and awarded George of the 3rd degree. He managed to take part in the Russian-Polish War, became Russia's Ambassador Extraordinary to Turkey, and was appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief of all troops in Finland and the position of Director of the Land Cadet Corps. Kutuzov's career in general was developing extremely successfully, until in 1802 he fell into disgrace with Alexander I. He was removed from the post of St. Petersburg governor and went to live on his estate. Perhaps he would have lived out his life there if the war with Napoleon had not broken out. The march maneuver from Braunau to Olmutz remained in military history as a brilliant example of a strategic move. And yet Russia was defeated at Austerlitz, despite the fact that Kutuzov persuaded the tsar not to get involved in the battle. In 1811, the commander managed to make peace with the Turkish Sultan, on whom Napoleon so hoped. There is no point in describing the Battle of Borodino, the surrender of Moscow, the famous Tarutino maneuver and the subsequent defeat of Napoleon in Russia. On April 16 (28), 1813, M.I. Kutuzov passed away. From Bunzlau his body was sent to St. Petersburg and buried in the Kazan Cathedral.

MIKHAIL LOMONOSOV

Biography

Lomonosov was everything for Russia - a natural scientist, historian, chemist, physicist, writer, artist, and an ardent supporter of enlightenment. We still use his technology for producing colored glass or the “night vision scope” (the prototype of the modern night vision device). And the future pride of the state was born on November 8 (19), 1711 in the village of Denisovka, Kurostrovskaya volost (now the village of Lomonosovo). His father was a Pomor peasant Vasily Dorofeevich Lomonosov. In 1730, the son leaves his father and goes to Moscow, where he successfully passes himself off as the son of a nobleman and enters the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Then, among the best students, he goes to the Academic University of St. Petersburg, from there to the Magsburg University in Germany, where he studies physics and chemistry under the guidance of H. Wolf. His next teacher was the chemist and metallurgist I. Genkel. Returning to Russia, the young scientist first becomes an adjunct of the Academy of Sciences, and then a professor. The scope of Lomonosov's achievements, due to the versatility of his personality and the originality of his talent, is extremely wide. Among his achievements is the founding open university European type (modern M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University). Creator of Ancient History from the Beginning Russian people until the death of Grand Duke Yaroslav the First, or until 1054,” the author of numerous odes, poems, and tragedies, Lomonosov was also a socio-political figure. This is evidenced by the treatise “On the Preservation and Propagation of the Russian People” (1761). He also proposed new methods for determining the longitude and latitude of a place in “Discourses on the Great Accuracy of the Sea Route” (1759). Lomonosov developed the idea that not everything on Earth is of divine origin. And he successfully proved this in “The Tale of the Birth of Metals from the Earth’s Shaking” (1757). The scientist also carried out large-scale physical and chemical work, intending to write a large “corpuscular philosophy”, where he wanted to combine physics and chemistry based on molecular-atomic concepts. Unfortunately, he was unable to implement this plan. Lomonosov compiled an extensive program for studying chemical solutions, devoted a lot of time to studying the nature of atmospheric electricity, and designed a reflective (or mirror) telescope. He also became the author of the manual “The First Foundations of Metallurgy or Ore Mining” and completed the reform of the syllabic-tonic system of versification begun by V. K. Trediakovsky. M.V. Lomonosov died of a trivial spring cold on April 4 (15), 1765 in St. Petersburg. He was buried at the Lazarevskoye cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

DMITRIY MENDELEEV

Biography

Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev is a brilliant Russian chemist; he was responsible for the discovery of a system of chemical elements, which became the cornerstone of the development of this science. The future great scientist was born in 1834 in Tobolsk, in the family of a gymnasium director. In 1855, he graduated from the department course with a gold medal. natural sciences Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the Main pedagogical institute In Petersburg. A year later, the great chemist defended his master's thesis at St. Petersburg University, and from 1857, becoming an assistant professor, he taught a course in organic chemistry there. In 1859, Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev went on a scientific trip to Heidelberg, where he spent almost 2 years. In 1861, he published the textbook “Organic Chemistry,” which was awarded the Demidov Prize by the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Four years later, the scientist defended his doctoral dissertation “On the combination of alcohol with water,” and in 1876 he was elected a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. From 1890 to 1895 he was a consultant at the Scientific and Technical Laboratory of the Naval Ministry, during which time he invented a new type of smokeless gunpowder and established its production. In 1892, Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev was appointed scientific keeper of the Depot of exemplary weights and scales. Thanks to the great chemist, it was transformed into the Main Chamber of Weights and Measures, of which the scientist remained director until the end of his life. Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev - author of fundamental works in chemistry, chemical technology, physics, metrology, aeronautics, meteorology, agriculture... His discovery of the famous periodic law dates back to February 17 (March 1), 1869, when the scientist compiled a table entitled “Experience of a system of elements based on their atomic weight and chemical similarity.” This system has received recognition as one of the fundamental laws of chemistry. In 1887, a scientist climbed the mountain without a pilot. hot-air balloon to observe a solar eclipse and study the upper atmosphere. He was the initiator of the construction of oil pipelines and the versatile use of oil as a chemical raw material. His scientific and social activity incredibly broad and multifaceted. Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev was awarded over 130 diplomas and honorary titles from Russian and foreign academies, scientific societies and educational institutions. Opened in 1955, it was named after him. chemical element 101 – mendelevium. The great scientist died in 1907 in St. Petersburg.

IVAN PAVLOV

Biography

The famous physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was born in 1849 into the family of a priest in the Ryazan province. He completed a course of science at the Medical-Surgical Academy. Appointed as a private assistant professor of physiology, and later (in 1890) as an extraordinary professor at Tomsk University, in the department of pharmacology. In the same year he was transferred to the Imperial Military Medical Academy, and seven years later he became its full professor. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov proved through experiments that the work of the heart is controlled, in particular, by a special amplifying nerve. The scientist also experimentally established the importance of the liver as a cleanser of the body from harmful products. The physiologist also managed to shed light on the regulation of juice secretion by the glands of the gastrointestinal canal. So, he found out that the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal canal has a specific excitability: it sort of recognizes what kind of food product is given to it (bread, water, vegetables, meat...) and produces juice required composition. The amount of juice can vary, as can the acid or enzyme content. Alone food products cause increased activity of the pancreas, others - the liver, and so on. At the same time, Ivan Petrovich Pavlov discovered the importance of the vagus and sympathetic nerves for the secretion of gastric and pancreatic juice. The most famous works of the physiologist: “The strengthening nerve of the heart” (published in the “Weekly Clinical Newspaper” in 1888); “Ekkovsky fistula of the inferior vena cava and portal veins and its consequences for the body” (Archive of Biological Sciences of the Imperial Institute of Experimental Medicine, 1892); "Lectures on the work of the main digestive glands" (1897); “Centrifugal nerves of the heart” (St. Petersburg, 1883).

NIKOLAI PIROGOV

Biography

The great surgeon Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov was born on November 25, 1810 in Moscow, into the family of a small nobleman. One of his family friends, the famous doctor and professor at Moscow University Mukhin, noticed an extraordinary medical talent in the boy and began to educate the child. At the age of 14, Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov entered the Faculty of Medicine at Moscow University. The student scholarship was not enough to live on: the teenager had to work part-time in the anatomical theater. The latter predetermined the choice of profession: the student decided to become a surgeon. After graduating from the university, Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov was preparing to become a professor in Tartu, at Yuryev University. There he worked in a clinic, defended his doctoral dissertation, and became a professor of surgery. As a dissertation topic, the scientist chose ligation of the abdominal aorta: at that time it was performed only once - by the English surgeon Cooper. In 1833, Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov went to Germany and worked in Berlin and Göttingen clinics to improve his professionalism. Returning to Russia, he published the famous work “Surgical anatomy of arterial trunks and fascia.” In 1841, the physician moved to St. Petersburg and began working at the Medical-Surgical Academy. Here he spent more than ten years and created the first Russian surgical clinic. Soon another famous work of Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov saw the light - " Full course anatomy of the human body." Taking part in military operations in the Caucasus, the great surgeon operated on the wounded under ether anesthesia - this happened for the first time in the history of medicine. During Crimean War He was the first in the world to use a plaster cast to treat fractures. It was also thanks to his initiative that sisters of mercy appeared in the army: the beginning of military field medicine was laid. Upon returning to St. Petersburg, Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov was appointed trustee of the Odessa and Kyiv educational districts, but retired in 1861. On his estate "Vishnya", near Vinnitsa, the scientist organized a free hospital. During this period he made another discovery - new way embalming bodies Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov died in 1881, after a serious illness. The embalmed body of the great surgeon is kept in the crypt of the church in the village of Vishnya.

MSTISLAV ROSTROPOVICH

Biography

The great conductor and cellist Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich was born on March 27, 1927 in Baku. From 1932 to 1937 he studied in Moscow at the Gnessin Music School. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, his family was evacuated to the city of Chkalov (Orenburg). At the age of 16, the future great musician entered the Moscow Conservatory, and in 1945 he won a gold medal at the Third All-Union Competition of Performing Musicians, captivating everyone with his skill as a cellist. Soon Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich became known abroad. His repertoire included almost all works of cello music that existed during his lifetime. About 60 composers dedicated their works to him, including Aram Khachaturian, Alfred Schnittke, Henri Dutilleux. Since 1969, the great musician supported the “disgraced” writer and human rights activist Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn. This resulted in the cancellation of concerts and tours and the stopping of recordings. Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich and his family were even deprived of Soviet citizenship, which was returned to them only in 1990. The great musician spent many years abroad, receiving great recognition there. For 17 seasons in Washington, he served as artistic director and conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra, making it one of the best in the United States. Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich regularly performed at the Berlin and London Philharmonic. A documentary film “Return to Russia” was made about his trip to Moscow with the National Symphony Orchestra in 1990. Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich has been awarded state awards from 29 countries; he is a five-time Grammy Award winner. The musician was known for his charitable activities. Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich died on April 27, 2007 after a serious and long illness.

ANDREY SAKHAROV

Biography

The great scientist and human rights activist Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was born on May 21, 1921 in Moscow. In 1942 he graduated from the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University with honors. Immediately after this, he was assigned to a cartridge factory in Ulyanovsk. There, Dmitry Andreevich Sakharov made an invention to control armor-piercing cores. Over the next two years he wrote several scientific works and sent them to the Physics Institute. Lebedeva. In 1945, he entered graduate school at the institute, and 2 years later he defended his Ph.D. thesis. In 1948, Dmitry Andreevich Sakharov was enrolled in a special group and worked in the field of development for twenty years thermonuclear weapons. At the same time, he carried out pioneering work on controlled thermonuclear reactions. Since the late 50s, he actively advocated stopping nuclear weapons testing. In 1953, Dmitry Andreevich Sakharov received the degree of Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. In the late 1960s, he became one of the leaders of the human rights movement in the USSR, and in 1970, one of the three founding members of the Human Rights Committee. In 1974, the scientist and human rights activist held a press conference at which he announced the Day of Political Prisoners in the USSR. A year later he wrote the book “About the Country and the World”; in the same year Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Having made a number of statements against the introduction of Soviet troops into Afghanistan, he was deprived of all government awards and exiled to the city of Gorky, where he spent almost 17 years. The articles “What the USA and the USSR must do to maintain peace” and “On the danger of thermonuclear war” were written there. At the end of 1988, the scientist and human rights activist made his first trip abroad and met with the heads of the United States and a number of European states. In 1989 he became a people's deputy of the USSR. Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov died on December 14, 1989 from a heart attack.

ALEXANDER SOLZHENITSYN

Biography

The great human rights activist and writer Alexander Isaevich (Isaakovich) Solzhenitsyn was born on December 11, 1918 in Kislovodsk. In 1924, his family moved to Rostov-on-Don, where from 1926 to 1936 the future great writer studied at school. Then he entered the Rostov State University at the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, graduating in 1941 with honors. In 1939, he entered the correspondence department of the Faculty of Literature of the Institute of Philosophy, Literature and History in Moscow, interrupting his studies in 1941 due to the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. On October 18, 1941 he was called up to the front. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War and the Red Star, and in June 1944 received the rank of captain. In February 1945, Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn was arrested for criticizing the Stalinist regime and sentenced to 8 years in forced labor camps. After his release, he was sent into exile in southern Kazakhstan. The novel “In the First Circle” was written there. In June 1956, the writer was released, and on February 6, 1957, he was rehabilitated. In 1959, Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn wrote the story “Shch-854”, later under the title “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” the work was published in the magazine “ New world", and soon the author was accepted into the Union of Writers of the USSR. In 1968, when in the USA and Western Europe The novels “In the First Circle” and “Cancer Ward” were published, the Soviet press began a propaganda campaign against the author, and he was soon expelled from the Union of Writers of the USSR. In 1970, Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. At the end of December 1973, the first volume of The Gulag Archipelago was published abroad. On February 13, 1974, the author was deprived of Soviet citizenship and expelled from the USSR. In 1990, he was restored to Soviet citizenship, and he was awarded the State Prize for his book “The Gulag Archipelago.” Returned to his homeland in 1994. In 1998 he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, but refused the award. One of the last large-scale works of the writer was the epic “The Red Wheel”. Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn died on August 3, 2008 from acute heart failure.

PETER STOLYPIN

Biography

The famous Russian reformer was born on April 14, 1862 in Dresden, into an old noble family. The future Minister of the Interior spent his childhood and youth in Lithuania, sometimes traveling to Switzerland for the summer. When it was time to study, he was sent to the Vilna Gymnasium, then to the Oryol Gymnasium, and in 1881 he entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University. While studying, Pyotr Stolypin managed to get married. The father-in-law of the future reformer was B. A. Neidgardt, who is credited with significant influence on the future fate of his son-in-law. In 1884, even before graduating from university, Stolypin was enlisted in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. True, after some time he took a six-month vacation, apparently to write his thesis. After the vacation, a request for transfer to the Ministry of State Property followed. In 1888 he again transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he received the appointment of the Kovno district leader of the nobility. A year later he becomes the Kovno provincial leader of the nobility. Three years later - a new appointment: governor of Grodno. And after another 10 months - governor of the Saratov province. The Saratov province, which had previously been governed, to put it mildly, carelessly, began to raise its head with the arrival of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin. The Mariinsky Women's Gymnasium and a shelter were founded, the modernization of the telephone network and asphalting of streets began. In addition, the new governor reorganized the management system and actively took up agriculture. And in May 1904, riots began in the Saratov province. True, thanks to the determination of the new governor, they quickly choked. Then - a prison riot in Tsaritsino. After Bloody Sunday, rallies and strikes began in Saratov. Stolypin did not stand on ceremony with the rebels, but he still could not cope alone, and first Adjutant General V.V. Sakharov, and later Adjutant General K.K. Maksimovich, came to his aid. Soon after this, an uprising broke out in the neighboring Samara province and Stolypin, without hesitation, sent troops there. After the Witte government resigned, the Saratov governor was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs. A little later he becomes prime minister. But all the attempts of the reformer to somehow “refresh” the cabinet of ministers lead nowhere. In 1906, Stolypin's dacha was raided by revolutionaries. Not to say that this greatly undermined the minister. But by order of Nicholas II, Peter Arkadyevich is settled in the Winter Palace, which is carefully guarded. From that moment on, Stolypin became much less liberal. To monitor the observance of order, he goes to the field and compares reports from governors with personal observations. But by doing this, he made many enemies for himself among the bureaucratic elite, whom he often subjected to checks and revisions. And soon there is a turning point in relations with Nicholas II, after which Stolypin submits his resignation. The tsar does not accept resignation. In 1911, the great reformer was mortally wounded by security agent Dmitry Mardechai Bogrov. Stolypin died on September 5 (18) in Makovsky’s private clinic. He was buried in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

VALENTINA TERESHKOVA

Biography

The future first female cosmonaut of the Earth was born on the eve of International Women's Day in the village of Bolshoye Maslennikovo, Yaroslavl region. The young lady loved heights that she enrolled in a parachute school. In 1961, having seen on TV the story of the first manned flight into space and the radiant smile of Yuri Gagarin from the screen, parachute instructor Valya wrote an application to the cosmonaut corps the very next day. The detachment was secret, so her relatives had to tell her that she was leaving for the annual skydiving competition. Her parents only learn about her flight on the radio. In the meantime, there are endless workouts ahead of him, which the super-soft would call “difficult.” The very name of the centrifuge instilled fear in the five girls of the detachment from the entire Soviet Union, headed by Tereshkova. She survived seven days in a confined space, entertaining herself with songs. In June 1963, at five minutes before, the national heroine climbed aboard the Vostok-6 and with the words “Hey! Heaven, take off your hat! headed for the stars. So, reclining in it for three days, without eating and alternately losing consciousness, the first female cosmonaut with the call sign “Chaika” periodically cried out: “Oh, mommies,” but found the strength to smile at the camera. Overnight, Valentina Tereshkova became a role model for all Soviet women, not only with her hairstyle, but also with her determination and strong character. Three months after the flight, she married the astronaut. N.S. himself was present at her wedding. Khrushchev. In 1997, Major General and Honored Master of Dispute of the USSR Valentina Tereshkova resigned and is now a deputy of the Regional Duma of the Yaroslavl region from the United Russia party. Awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, II and III degrees. Interesting fact: the landing of Vostok-6 was so difficult that Valentina was immediately taken by ambulance to a local hospital. After rehabilitation, the “higher ups” asked for material about filming a report for television, where Tereshkova, supposedly just returning, steps on the ground in a spacesuit and waves at the camera.

VLADIMIR GILYAROVSKY

Biography

Repeater, barge hauler, hookman, worker, fireman, herd keeper, circus rider, military man or actor? The first Russian reporter!
No one in Vologda could even imagine that lazy first-grader Vladimir, who stayed for the second year in his first school year, would in the future become the most honorable resident of Moscow and the most famous journalist in Russia. Gilyarovsky first showed his poetic and writing talent in the gymnasium, where he wrote “dirty tricks on his mentors.” After failing the next exam, a young high school student without documents or money runs away from home to Yaroslavl, where he gets a job as a barge hauler and hooker. Then in Tsaritsyn he got a job as a herd driver, in Rostov he got hired as a rider in a circus, after which he became an actor and toured with the theater throughout Russia. In 1877 he left to serve in the Caucasus. A life rich in impressions did not pass without a trace: Gilyarovsky wrote, made sketches, composed poems and sent them in letters to his father. In 1881, the satirical magazine Alarm Clock published a number of poems, after which the newly minted poet dropped everything and began writing. Moscow life flowed like a stormy river from under Gilyarovsky’s ink: essays, reports, exhibition openings, theater premieres, a description of the terrible tragedy on the Khodynskoye Field... He was published in “Russkaya Gazeta”, “Russian Vedomosti”, “Sovremennye Izvestia” and other publications: “ ...For fourteen days I sent information by messenger and by telegraph about every step of the work... and all this was published in Leaflet, which was the first to publish my large telegram about the disaster and which was selling like hot cakes at that time. All the other newspapers were late.” (From an essay about a railway accident near the village of Kukuevka). All of Moscow knew or heard about “Uncle Gilyai,” and he was friends with Chekhov, Andreev, Kuprin and many others. His first book, “Moscow and Muscovites,” was published in 1926. Next come “My Wanderings” and “Slum People,” which was banned by censorship. All copies were burned, but essays, stories and articles were published in various publications before the book was published. After the revolution of 1917, Vladimir Gilyarovsky worked for Izvestia, Evening Moscow, and Ogonyok. As he grew older, his eyesight began to deteriorate, but, having become almost completely blind, Gilyarovsky continued to write and write... The best Moscow reporter at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. died before 2 months before his 80th birthday.

VIKTOR TALALIKHIN

Biography

One day, a young man of about 15 named Victor, who was dreaming of heaven, knocked on the door of the factory apprenticeship school at the Moscow Meat Processing Plant. The fate of his two older brothers, who served in the army in aviation, did not leave him indifferent, and 2 years later he enrolled in a gliding club that opened at the plant. The first flight of the future war hero was so successful that the next time Victor, by all means, decided to fly even higher: “I want to fly the way Chkalov, Baidukov and Belyakov fly.” Having learned the basics of flying, Victor heads to the flying club in the Proletarsky district of Moscow. They didn’t want to take him because of his short stature - 155 cm - although his health was excellent. But the desire and stubbornness of the future pilot overpowered all established canons. In 1937, Talalikhin entered the Borisoglebsk Red Banner Military Aviation School named after. Chkalova. Here, during one of the aerobatics master classes, the young pilot performed several loops at a dangerously low altitude. After the flight, a garrison guardhouse awaited him for two days. At the beginning of 1941, junior lieutenant Talalikhin, upon completion of the course, was appointed flight commander of the 1st squadron of the 177th fighter aviation regiment. In July, Viktor Talalikhin, after special training at the Dubrovitsy airfield near Podolsk, made his first combat flight over Moscow. On the night of August 6–7, junior lieutenant Talalikhin carried out his immortal ram on I-16. Over Podolsk at an altitude of 4.5 km he discovered an enemy He-111 (Heikel). Having come under bombardment, the enemy changed its flight course and began to evade pursuit. However, Talalikhin did not lag behind and continued to attack the enemy, spraying him with machine-gun fire. But the cartridges quickly ran out, and the He-111 was still in flight. Then it was time for the ram. Approaching the enemy closely, Talalikhin decided to chop off the enemy’s tail with a screw and at the same second came under fire: “My right hand was burned. He immediately stepped on the gas and, not with the propeller, but with his entire vehicle, rammed the enemy.” Then our hero, unfastening his seat belt, left the plane and landed successfully with a parachute. The news spread throughout the country in one day and, on August 8, 1941, for the first night ramming of an enemy bomber in the history of aviation, the pilot was awarded the Order of Lenin. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the brave pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. During his short period of participation in World War II, junior lieutenant Viktor Talalikhin flew more than 60 combat missions and shot down 7 enemy aircraft. On October 27, 1941, our troops, led by Talalikhin, flew to battle in the Kamenka area, 85 km from Moscow. Having shot down one enemy Me (Messerschmitt), Talalikhin rushed after the next one. “He didn’t leave, you scoundrel, he flew over our land,” Victor’s words were heard on the radio transmitter. These were his last words. Three more fascist planes “emerged” from the cloud and opened fire. One of the bullets hit our pilot in the head... Viktor Talalikhin is buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow. A monument to the Hero of the Soviet Union was erected in Podolsk. On September 18, 2008, the famous Hero of the Soviet Union and the author of the “Talalikhin battering ram” would have turned 90 years old.

MAYA PLISETSKAYA

Biography

Her debut took place on the stage of the Moscow Operetta Theater on June 21, 1941. The next day she had to forget about ballet for a year. The war has begun. She was distinguished by her own, unique style of choreography, in which every step, every wave of the hand, every direction of gaze formed a special dance pattern in a single impulse. At the age of 20, she received the role of the Autumn Fairy in S. Prokofiev’s ballet “Cinderella” and the small role of the young dancer eclipsed the main ones, thanks to her outstanding jump and unusual graceful movement. Ballet of the 1950s and 60s. was inseparably associated with the name of Plisetskaya and her roles in the ballets Don Quixote and Raymond. But Maya Mikhailovna’s favorite performance remains Bejart’s Bolero. Maurice Bejart himself once admitted: “If I had known Plisetskaya twenty years earlier, the ballet would have been different.” She danced almost all classical ballets, one after another. The directors and producers trusted all the main roles only to Plisetskaya. However, her dream was to do something new. Bring your own. It became “Carmen”. At first, critics and audiences Bolshoi Theater they didn't accept her. Or they didn't understand. The authorities were in panic too. But Maya did not give up. Calming the director and refining each movement again and again, she achieved her goal, creating a new image with “intensity of emotion and vividness of form.” “Swan Lake”, “Isadora”, “Sleeping Beauty” and other famous works brought Maya Plisetskaya to the world pedestal of ballet prima. In the 70s, she took up choreography and staged Anna Karenina, The Seagull and The Lady with the Dog on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. Not finding a suitable journalist who would write a book in her intonation, she sat down to write her memoirs herself. 1994 - the autobiography of the outstanding ballerina “I, Maya Plisetskaya” is published. The book becomes a bestseller and has been translated into 11 languages. To this day, Maya Mikhailovna does not betray the stage and periodically performs concert programs abroad, and also teaches master classes in ballet dancing. “The main thing is to be an artist,” says Plisetskaya, “to hear the music and know why you are on stage. Know your role and what you want to say.”

“When visiting one of the schools, I noticed a student reading a book about pioneer heroes. It’s good that the book was preserved, and the students read it with pleasure. After talking with the girl, I noted to myself that she knows about young heroes not from this book, but also from others felt joyful for the child who came into contact with the great and heroic history of her people, who imitated the actions of her peers-heroes. I am sure that she was filled with pride for her country, for her ancestors, and most importantly, she realized that she was also involved in a glorious tribe. winners."

In modern conditions, patriotism and the educational functions of domestic history are given a special, special, unifying role in solving the most important problems of society and the state, in protecting the national interests of the Fatherland. This has always been the case when there was a need to exert spiritual strength in the name of the Motherland.

The holy feeling of patriotism, truly is the source of the spiritual strength of the Russian person, encourages each of us to prepare ourselves for the defense of the Fatherland, starting from school; involves the formation, first of all, of the younger generation, in whom the future of the country lies, of high moral, moral, psychological and ethical qualities, civil and military duty, responsibility for the fate of the Fatherland.

So what is patriotism? What is the meaning of this concept? Patriotism in Russia was formed over many centuries of struggle against numerous external enemies. It contains a bright reflection of the fate of the Fatherland. The essence of patriotism, i.e. a deep, internally stable connection of an individual with his people, with his homeland, manifests itself in attachment to his native places, native language, nature, to those social relations, traditions, spiritual culture that function at different social levels, starting with the family, home .

Occurs concept patriotism, from the Greek "patris" - homeland, fatherland. Patriotism means a person’s love for his Motherland, for his people, pride in him, excitement, worry for his successes and sorrows, for victories and defeats, willingness to make efforts to prosper and ensure the independence of the Fatherland.

Patriotism personifies love for one's Fatherland, involvement in its history, culture, and achievements.

Patriotism is the highest spiritual state of a person as an individual; it develops and is filled with content based on the value orientations that have been formed in him since childhood. And it is formed in schoolchildren from an attitude towards the history of the Fatherland as personal dignity and honor. If this is not the case, then there will be no patriotism.

What do we mean by the concept of Motherland, Fatherland? The Motherland is the territory, the geographical space where a person was born, the social and spiritual environment in which he grew up, lives and is brought up. Conventionally, a big and a small Motherland are distinguished. By the big Motherland we mean the country where a person grew up, lives and which sent relatives and friends for him. Small Motherland is the place of birth and formation of a person as an individual.

Love for the Fatherland, Motherland is comparable only with love for one’s own parents, father and mother. The loss of the Motherland means a person’s loss of personal dignity and happiness. A. S. Pushkin said this beautifully and eternally:

Two wonderful feelings are close to us
The heart finds food in them
Love for fathers' coffins,
Always on them, from century to century,
By the will of God himself
Self-sufficiency of Man,
The key to his greatness!

These words resonate in a special, relevant way today.

Love for the Motherland probably arises in different ways. At first this happens unconsciously: just as a plant reaches out to the sun, a child reaches out to his father and mother. Growing up, he begins to feel attached to friends, to his native street, to the village, to the city. And only as he grows up, gaining experience and knowledge, he gradually realizes the greatest truth, his belonging to his mother-Fatherland, responsibility for it. This is how a patriotic citizen is born.

The patriotism of a Russian person is a unique, peculiar phenomenon, so great, deep and selfless is his love for the Fatherland. Many Western values ​​and guidelines have not taken root in Russia and, apparently, will not take root. Russian patriotism is characterized by its spiritual fullness. What are its features? What and how does it manifest itself?

Firstly, he is characterized by a deeply conscious national character, high responsibility for the fate of the Motherland, and its reliable defense. Numerous historical facts indicate that literally all classes selflessly defended the independence of Rus' and its national unity.

Let us remember the appeal of Peter the Great to the Russian army before the Battle of Poltava (1709). This patriotic idea is simply and succinctly formulated in it. “Warriors,” the address said, “the hour has come that will decide the fate of the Fatherland. And so you should not think that you are fighting for Peter, but for the state entrusted to Peter, for your family, for the Fatherland: And about Peter know that his life is not precious to him, as long as Russia lives in bliss and glory, for your well-being.”

Secondly, it reflects the historical fact that for most of its history Russia was a great state, the stronghold of which was the army. The sovereign character of Russian patriotism predetermined among Russians a feeling of great national pride in the great Russia, high responsibility for the fate of peace on the planet.

Thirdly, it is international in nature. People of different religions and cultures rightfully call themselves Russians, because they have one homeland - Russia. History convincingly confirms that the peoples of Russia have always unanimously and selflessly defended their united Motherland. The militia of Minin and Pozharsky in 1612 consisted of representatives of different nationalities and peoples. In the Patriotic War of 1812, Tatars, Bashkirs, Kalmyk cavalry, and military formations of the peoples of the Caucasus took part. Famous military leaders N.B. Barclay - de Tolly, I.V. Gurko, I.I. considered themselves honored to be called Russian officers. Dibich - Zabalkansky, R.D. Radko - Dmitriev, P.I. Bagration, N.O. Essen and many others.

The international character of patriotism was most clearly manifested during the Great Patriotic War. The Brest Fortress was defended by wars of more than 30 nationalities. In the battles near Moscow, soldiers from various parts of our Motherland fought in I.V. Panfilov’s division. The peoples of the former Soviet republics of the USSR still jointly celebrate Victory Day over German fascism.

Fourthly, it always acts as a powerful spiritual factor in solving practical problems of social development. This feeling is especially evident when defending the Fatherland. The history of our Motherland knows many examples when a Russian soldier reliably defended the Fatherland, demonstrating steadfastness, courage and military skill. Russian resistance in extreme conditions increases many times over, and its basis is patriotism. Russian historian and writer N.M. Karamzin noted: “Ancient and new story nations presents us with nothing more touching than this heroic patriotism. Military glory was the cradle of the Russian people, and victory was the harbinger of their existence."

The rise of patriotism dates back to the historical victories of Alexander Nevsky over the Swedes (1240) and Germans (1242). During the period of civil strife, he managed to attract the best Russians to himself and revive the moral unity of the people and the authorities.

The country rose through the army led by Dmitry Donskoy with the blessing of Sergius of Radonezh - one of the greatest images of Russian holiness.

The reforms of Peter I strengthened the love of Russians for their Motherland, increased interest in the Fatherland, its development and pride in their deeds and actions. The unconscious consciousness that “now we are no worse than others” raised people’s pride and love for Russia. Peter the Great ensured that Russia finally had an army whose fearlessness was supported by well-deserved pride. Over twenty years of continuous military action, a national Russian military generation has developed.

A.V. Suvorov fought with particular strength and intransigence for the preservation of the national order. This was a struggle not only for Russian national military art, but also for the moral and psychological qualities of the Russian soldier. The entire Russian army, which set a worthy example of patriotism for society. Being a follower of A.V. Suvorov, he made a lot of efforts to instill patriotism, high morale, and the necessary fighting qualities in the troops talented military leader M.I. Kutuzov, who called for the unity of the Russian people in the fight against foreign invaders.

The heroic, gigantic rise of the people's spirit and military patriotism in 1812, the victory over the best army in the world, which was considered the French army under the leadership of Napoleon, confirmed in our compatriots a sense of pride in their country, their people, and instilled confidence in their own strength and importance.

The 19th century in the history of Russia is full of significant events for it.

A wealth of experience in patriotic education, taking into account class interests, was accumulated in our country during the period of “Soviet patriotism” - after October 1917. Until the end of the 80s of the twentieth century. Soviet patriotism grew and was formed on the basis of Russian patriotism; it chose the best from it. In public and individual consciousness there was a process of continuity in the development of ideas of patriotism.

Soviet patriotism on a Russian basis is a new spiritual state of man. In historical publications about the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945. Soviet patriotism is seen as an invincible force. This is a unique phenomenon in the spiritual and moral history of mankind.

Currently, the creative development of patriotism using the experience of military history is of particular significance and relevance. The chronicles of our Motherland contain many examples of the steadfastness and courage of Russian soldiers, the basis of which was patriotism.

And ours the main task, enrich our children with rich historical experience and knowledge, cultivate patriotic and international feelings, love for neighbors, native land, Motherland.

After all. It’s not for nothing that they say: “The well-being of the entire people depends on the proper upbringing of children” (Locke)

"Russia did not begin with a sword"

Russia did not begin with a sword.
It began with a scythe and a plow.
Not because the blood isn't hot.
But because the Russian shoulder
I have never been touched by anger in my life.
And arrows ringing battles
They only interrupted her constant work.
It is not for nothing that the horse of the mighty Ilya
Saddled was the master of the arable land,
In cheerful hands, only from labor,
In good nature, sometimes not immediately,
Retribution was rising, yes!
But there was never a thirst for blood.
But only meanness, I rejoiced in vain,
With a hero, jokes do not last long!
Yes, you can dip the hero,
But to win, that’s a piece of cake.
After all, it would be just as funny
As we say, fight with the sun or the moon.
This is the guarantee of Lake Peipus,
Nepryadva and Borodino rivers.
And if the darkness of the Teutons and Batu
We found the end in my homeland!
That is the present, proud Russia!
100 times even more beautiful and sweeter!
And in the battle with the fiercest war
She even managed to overcome hell
That's the city's guarantee - heroes
In the fireworks on a festive night.
And my country is forever proud of it!
That she didn’t humiliate anyone, anywhere.
After all, kindness is stronger than war,
How selflessness is more effective - stings.
The dawn rises, bright and hot
And it will be so forever indestructible
Russia did not begin with a sword,
And that's why. She is invincible.

Bibliography

1. Magazine "Preschool Education" 2006
2. E. Asadov “Don’t pass by love” M. 2001

Oleg Anatolyevich

The patriotic spirit of the Russian People manifested itself already in the first months of the war. In Moscow alone, 12 militia divisions and 25 fighter battalions were formed. Front-line writer K. Simonov said then about Moscow: “ A city that looks like a Russian man, is as invincible as the Russian man himself" Moscow power, they said at that time, is the enemy’s grave. We will stand as one, and we will not surrender Moscow.

The patriotic impulse of the Russian people manifested itself in numerous cases of heroism in various areas of national life, both among the military and among civilians.

Captain's plane N. F. Gastello On June 26, 1941, during the bombing of an enemy tank column on the Radoshkevichi-Molodechno road, he received a hole in the gas tank. There was a fire. Then Gastello, together with the crew (lieutenants A. A. Budenyuk, G. N. Skorobogatov and senior sergeant A. A. Kalinin) decided not to leave the plane by parachute. The burning car was aimed at a cluster of tanks, cars and gas tanks, which exploded along with the plane, destroying many dozens of German soldiers and a large amount of military equipment.

Another pilot V. V. Talalikhin, Aug 7 1941, in an air battle, rammed an enemy bomber, destroying it. Subsequently he shot down 5 more enemy aircraft. In Oct. 1941 died heroically in an air battle.

A brilliant example of the mass heroism of a Russian soldier was shown by the soldiers of the 316th Rifle Division under the command of General I.V. Panfilov. In the battle of Moscow in October-November. In 1941, the soldiers of this division entered into heavy defensive battles with superior enemy forces west of Volokolamsk. November 16, when the Germans launched a new offensive to capture Moscow, 28 Panfilov fighters led by commander V. G. Klochkov took up defensive positions in the area of ​​the Dubosekovo junction near Volokolamsk. Before the battle, the commander addressed the soldiers with the words: “ Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat, Moscow is behind " In a 4-hour battle, Panfilov’s heroes knocked out 18 German tanks, but almost all were killed, and on November 17. Their general also died. For heroism in battle, the division received the name Guards and was named after I.V. Panfilov.

The war provided more and more examples of the heroic self-sacrifice of Russian soldiers. Infantry School Cadet A. Matrosov voluntarily went to the front as a private. 23 Feb 1943, in the battle for the village of Chernushki (Kalinin Front), he broke through to an enemy bunker and closed the embrasure with his body, sacrificing himself to ensure the success of his unit. Sailors saved the lives of dozens of his comrades who found themselves under targeted enemy fire. Taking advantage of the enemy's confusion, Russian soldiers went on the attack and ousted the invaders.

A special form of the patriotic movement was the partisan struggle behind enemy lines, which could not be stopped by the brutal repressions of the occupiers. Even before the outbreak of hostilities, the German leadership prepared a document stating that civilians suspected of crimes against German troops should be shot without trial, and that German soldiers should not be prosecuted for crimes against the civilian population. On July 23, Field Marshal Keitel issued an order which stated: " Considering the vast expanses of the occupied territories in the East, the available armed forces to maintain security in these territories will be sufficient only if any resistance is punished not by prosecuting the perpetrators, but by creating such a system of terror on the part of the armed forces that will be sufficient to in order to eradicate from the population any intention of resistance. Commanders must find means to carry out this order through the use of draconian measures" The immense cruelty of the German occupiers gave impetus to the general partisan struggle against the conquerors. The German invaders paid for the national humiliation of the Russians and cruelty towards them with the blood of tens of thousands of their soldiers who died at the hands of the people's avengers.

By the end of 1941, several hundred were operating in the occupied territory. underground organizations and more than 2 thousand partisan detachments that provided great support to the Russian army. The partisans destroyed headquarters, attacked garrisons, blew up warehouses and bases, cars and trains.

Already during the winter offensive of the Russian Army of 1941-42, partisans, in cooperation with troops, attacked communications, enemy headquarters and warehouses, participated in the liberation of populated areas, directed Russian aircraft at enemy targets, and assisted airborne assaults. In Jan. 1942, in the Znamenka area, Smolensk partisans liberated 40 villages and hamlets and provided assistance to the 4th Airborne Corps in landing and conducting combat operations, and in February. carried out an attack on Dorogobuzh, expelling the invaders from it.

During the summer battles of 1942, the partisans diverted 24 enemy divisions, 14-16 of which were constantly used to guard communications. In Aug. There were 148 crashes of military trains with soldiers and equipment, on September. - 152, in Oct. - 210, on Nov. - 238.

Unlike the Patriotic War of 1812, in the fighting of 1941-45, only a small part of the partisan detachments fought spontaneously and independently, while the majority of them were controlled from Moscow. By 1943, the partisan movement was centralized to a strategic scale, carried out under unified leadership of the combat activities of the partisans, stable communication between partisan headquarters and detachments, and interaction with units of the Russian Army.

A striking example of the successful interaction of the Russian army with partisan detachments was the Belarusian operation of 1944, during which the partisans became, as it were, a fifth front, along with the four advancing fronts of the regular Russian Army.

In June 1944, 150 partisan brigades and 449 detachments with a total number of more than 143 thousand people were concentrated in the Belarusian forests, not counting the reserve of 250 thousand people. (including 123 thousand armed). Most of the reserves of the German Army Group Center were constrained by the fight against partisans. When preparing the operation in May-June, the partisans identified and confirmed information about 287 enemy units and formations located in the rear, 33 headquarters, 900 garrisons, defensive lines length 985 km, 130 anti-aircraft batteries, 70 large warehouses; established the composition and organization of 108 enemy military units, discovered 319 field postal stations, 30 airfields and 11 landing sites; recorded the passage and composition of 1,642 trains, captured 105 operational documents.

On the night of June 20, the partisans carried out a massive attack on all the most important railway communications, blowing up over 40 thousand rails. The movement of German troops completely stopped in the Orsha - Borisov, Orsha - Mogilev, Molodechno - Polotsk, Molodechno - Lida, Baranovichi - Osipovichi, Baranovichi - Minsk, etc. sector. The partisans constantly attacked the enemy and blew up 147 trains on June 26-28 alone. Partisan detachments supported the Russian army in crossing the rivers Berezina, Sluch, Ptich, Drut, Lekhva, Neman and others. The partisans prevented the enemy from organizing an offensive, terrorizing him with constant attacks, forcing enemy units to turn off the roads, abandon military equipment and leave in small groups through the forests, suffering heavy losses. The people's avengers liberated and held a number of settlements until the approach of the Russian army, and with the approach of tank units they acted as tank landings and participated in the liberation of Minsk, Slutsk, Borisov, Mogilev, Pinsk and other cities. With the help of partisan detachments, forests were cleared of small enemy groups with the complete elimination of the enemy. Total only in Belarusian operation Russian partisans destroyed St. 15 thousand enemy soldiers and officers and more than 17 thousand were captured. They also executed thousands of traitors to the Motherland, policemen and other traitors who collaborated with the enemy. The scale of the people's partisan war against the German occupiers reflected the high patriotic rise of the Russian People, their ardent hatred of the enemy, which had no analogues in world history. Names of partisan heroes such as Z. Kosmodemyanskaya, A. F. Fedorov, S. A. Kovpak and many more etc., have gained wide popularity among the people.

For a partisan Z. Kosmodemyanskaya the war was a feat, the goal of which was to destroy the enemy at any cost, and if necessary, without hesitation to sacrifice one’s life. Captured by the German occupiers, before her execution she shows great courage and contempt for her enemies. Addressing the Russian peasants, rounded up by the occupiers for the public hanging of the heroine, Zoya shouted in a loud and clear voice: “Hey, comrades! Why are you looking sad? Be bolder, fight, beat the fascists, burn them, poison them!” The German standing next to him swung his hand and wanted to either hit her or cover her mouth, but she pushed his hand away and continued: “I’m not afraid to die, comrades. It’s happiness to die for your people.” The photographer had photographed the gallows from a distance and close up and was now positioning himself to photograph it from the side. The executioners looked restlessly at the commandant, and he shouted to the photographer: “Hurry!” Then Zoya turned towards the commandant and shouted to him and the German soldiers: “ You'll hang me now, but I'm not alone. There are two hundred million of us. You can't outweigh everyone. You will be avenged for me. Soldiers! Before it's too late, surrender, victory will still be ours!“The executioner pulled the rope, and the noose squeezed Zoya’s throat. But she spread the noose with both hands, rose up on her toes and shouted, straining all her strength: “ Farewell, comrades! Fight, don't be afraid! Stalin is with us! Stalin will come! »

The patriotic movement to voluntarily collect money and material assets for the needs of the front became widespread. Fundraising for the construction of military equipment has become especially popular. It was initiated by Russian peasants of the Tambov and Saratov regions. In Oct. 1942 at the collective farm "Signal of the Revolution" Saratov region in one day we collected 170 thousand rubles. for construction combat aircraft. By 10 Dec. The peasants of this region donated 33.5 million rubles. for the construction of aircraft. In the Tambov region. within two weeks the peasants contributed to the construction tank column "Tambov collective farmer" 40 million rubles

In n. Dec. 1942 beekeeper F. P. Golovaty from the village of Stepnoy, Saratov region. contributed 100 thousand rubles. on a plane for the Stalingrad Front. In the Saratov region. 44 peasants contributed from 100 to 300 thousand rubles. every. These personal initiatives spread throughout the country. From the very beginning of the war, Russian peasants sent parcels with various gifts to the army, primarily with warm clothes. In just three months of 1941, 1.2 million pairs of felt boots, more than 2 million sheepskins, 2.2 million pairs of woolen gloves and mittens, St. 2 million short fur coats.

IN Orthodox parishes In cities and villages, funds were collected for defense needs, for gifts to soldiers, for the care of the wounded in hospitals and orphans in orphanages. 30 Dec 1942 mit. Sergius (Stragorodsky) addressed the congregation with an appeal to raise funds for the construction of a tank column named after. Dmitry Donskoy. In response to the call of the First Hierarch, more than 400 thousand rubles were collected by the clergy and laity at the Moscow Epiphany Cathedral. The entire church of Moscow collected over 2 million rubles, and in besieged, hungry Leningrad, the Orthodox Christians collected 1 million rubles. for the needs of the army; in Kuibyshev, old people and women donated 650 thousand rubles. In Tobolsk, one of the donors brought 12 thousand rubles. and wished to remain anonymous. Resident of the village Chebarkuli, Chelyabinsk region. M. A. Vodolaev wrote to the Patriarchate: “I, an elderly, childless person, with all my soul join the call of Metropolitan Sergius and contribute 1000 rubles from my labor savings, with a prayer for the speedy expulsion of the enemy from the sacred borders of our land.” Zashtatny priest of the Kalinin diocese M. M. Kolokolov donated a priestly cross, 4 silver robes from icons, a silver spoon and all his bonds to the tank column. In total, more than 78 million rubles were collected for the tank column. In Novosibirsk, Orthodox clergy and laity gave 110 thousand for the construction of aircraft Siberian squadron "For the Motherland". In one Leningrad church, unknown pilgrims brought a package and placed it near the icon of St. Nicholas. The package contained 150 gold 10-ruble coins of royal minting. In total, during the war, more than 200 million rubles were collected by parishes for the needs of the front, as well as warm clothes for soldiers: felt boots, mittens, padded jackets.

During the Great Patriotic War, patriotic feelings returned to many intellectuals; they realized that they were part of a great thousand-year-old community. Very significant was the poem by K. Simonov: “Do you remember, Alyosha, the roads of the Smolensk region,” in which he was proud that his Russian mother “gave birth to the world.” For many, a return to origins was the words:

You know, probably, after all, the homeland -
Not the city house where I lived on holiday,
And these country roads that our grandfathers passed through,
With simple crosses from their Russian graves.

Gained wide popularity play by K. Simonov “Russian People”, depicting the heroic features of the Russian People, the organically inherent feeling of love for the Motherland, a high understanding of their civic duty, the will to win, and the readiness for self-sacrifice.

A remarkable achievement of Russian wartime literature was poem by A. Tvardovsky “Vasily Terkin”, who created an epic folklore image of a daring Russian soldier, selflessly loving his Motherland, capable of heroic deeds without false pathos, perceiving heroism as everyday work with a lively and sly soldier’s joke.

Writer during the war M. Sholokhov created the story “The Science of Hate”(1942), in 1943-44 chapters from novel "They Fought for the Motherland", in which he set out to show the feat of the Russian People in the Great Patriotic War.

U L. Leonov’s play “Invasion” appeared in 1942”, followed by “Lenushka” (1943) and the story “The Capture of Velikomushsk”. All of them are imbued with a deep, unshakable faith in the victory of the Russian People over the German invaders. In the play “Invasion,” the writer revealed the depth of Russian patriotic feeling, which burns out everything small and insignificant in a person’s soul.

Russian songwriters created new popular songs, imbued with deep love for the Motherland, sacred hatred of the enemy, glorifying the steadfastness and dedication of the Russian People, the fearlessness and valor of its famous heroes. In the songs of the war years, the features of concentration, stern determination, and concentration of the people's will are enhanced. Among the songwriters of those years, V. Lebedev-Kumach (“Holy War”), M. Isakovsky (“Katyusha”, “And Who Knows Him”, “In the Forest at the Front”, “Ogonyok”, “Oh, My Mists…”, “Enemies burned their home”, “Everything froze again until dawn”, “Migratory birds are flying”).

Wartime brought to life many new proverbs and sayings. Proverbial appeals, eyewitnesses say, were written on billboards and displayed at crossroads: “ The bastard is crawling towards Leningrad and he himself is not happy; shoots his teeth at Moscow - he’ll get even stronger»; « Hitler won’t have to make a sea out of Leningrad and a field out of Moscow»; « Let's meet the Germans not with pies, but with batogs».

There are especially many proverbs about Moscow: “ The fascist eye sees Moscow, but the tooth hurts»; « Close, Hitler, Moscow, but you won’t bite»; « Don't let an acorn grow in the grass, don't be an enemy in Moscow»; « Moscow is like granite: no one can defeat it ».

Hatred of the enemy was expressed in the following proverbs: “ The fascist is disgusting - he is greedy for murder»; « If you fall into the hands of the Nazis, you will suffer torment»; « The Nazis are quick to kill and torture».

The restoration of guards units in the Russian Army was welcomed by the people as follows: “ Suvorov's covenant is sacred: the guards stand to death»; « The best soldier is our guardsman»; « From the guards' grip the fascist seems to be on his heels»; « Guards glory is poison to enemies».

Dozens of new catchwords appear: “ The Nazis wanted to rest in Moscow, but they had to die near Moscow»; « The Nazis wanted to come to Moscow to visit, but they left their bones near Moscow»; « To Moscow - on tanks, and from Moscow - on sleds»; « The Krauts started a parade in Moscow, but did not return from near Moscow»; « To Moscow - “Hoh!”, and from Moscow - “Oh!”»; « Hitler went to Moscow, but Bitler left"(i.e. broken); " Hitler wanted to swallow Russia, but he choked on Moscow»; « Hitler walked towards Moscow with the royal crown, but flew away from Moscow like a wet crow».

The feeling of patriotism became the main factor in the great victory of the Russian People over the creators of the new world order.

(Emphasis in the text was made by the military-industrial complex "Sevastopol")

Word from Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) of Leningrad and Novogorod during the Liturgy in the Cathedral of the Epiphany.

Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) of Leningrad and Novgorod

The patriotism of the Russian person is known to the whole world. According to the special properties of the Russian people, it bears the special character of the deepest, ardent love for the homeland. This love can only be compared with love for a mother, with the most tender care for her. It seems that in no other language is the word “mother” placed next to the word “motherland”, like ours.

We say not just homeland, but mother - homeland; and how much deep meaning there is in this combination of the two most precious words for a person!

A Russian person is endlessly attached to his fatherland, which is dearer to him than all the countries in the world. He is especially characterized by longing for his homeland, about which he has a constant thought, a constant dream. When the homeland is in danger, then this love especially flares up in the heart of a Russian person. He is ready to give all his strength to protect her; he rushes into battle for her honor, integrity and integrity and shows selfless courage and complete contempt for death. Not only does he look at the matter of protecting her as a duty, a sacred duty, but it is an irresistible dictate of the heart, an impulse of love that he is unable to stop, which he must completely exhaust.

Prince Dimitry Donskoy

Countless examples from our native history illustrate this feeling of love for the homeland of the Russian people. I remember the difficult time of the Tatar yoke, which weighed heavily on Russia for about three hundred years. Rus' is destroyed. Its main centers have been destroyed. Batu crushed Ryazan; Vladimir burned to ashes on Klyazma; defeated the Russian army on the City River and went to Kyiv. With difficulty, the prudent leaders - the Russian princes - restrained the impulse of the people, not accustomed to slavery and eager to free themselves from the chains. The time has not come yet. But one of Batu’s successors, the fierce Mamai, with ever-increasing cruelty, is trying to finally crush the Russian land. The time has come for a final and decisive struggle. Prince Dimitri Donskoy goes to the Trinity Monastery to St. Sergius (of Radonezh) for advice and blessing. AND Venerable Sergius gives him not only firm advice, but also a blessing to go to Mamai, predicting success in his business, and releases two monks with him - Peresvet and Oslyabya, two heroes, to help the soldiers. We know from history with what selfless love for the suffering homeland the Russian people went to battle. And in the famous Battle of Kulikovo, although with enormous casualties, Mamai was defeated, and the liberation of Rus' from the Tatar yoke began. Thus, the invincible power of love of the Russian people for their homeland, their universal irresistible will to see Rus' free, defeated a strong and cruel enemy who seemed invincible.

Prince Alexander Nevsky

The same features of the general non-native upsurge marked the struggle and victory of St. Alexander Nevsky over the Swedes near Ladoga, over the German knight dogs in the famous Battle on the Ice on Lake Peipus, when the Teutonic army was completely defeated. Finally, the famous era of the Patriotic War in Russian history with Napoleon, who dreamed of the conquest of all peoples and dared to encroach on Russian state. By God's providence he was allowed to reach Moscow itself, to strike the heart of Russia, as if only to show the whole world what the Russian people are capable of when the fatherland is in danger and when almost superhuman strength is needed to save it. We know only a very few names of these countless patriotic heroes who gave all their blood, to the last drop, for the fatherland.

At that time there was not a single corner of the Russian land from which help did not come to the motherland. And the defeat of the brilliant commander was the beginning of his complete fall and the destruction of all his bloodthirsty plans.

One can find an analogy between the historical situation of that time and the present one. And now the Russian people, in unparalleled unity and with an exceptional impulse of patriotism, are fighting against a strong enemy who dreams of crushing the whole world and barbarously sweeping away in its path everything valuable that the world has created over centuries of progressive work of all mankind.

This struggle is not only a struggle for one’s homeland, located in great danger, but, one might say, for the entire civilized world, over which the sword of destruction is raised. And just as then, in the era of Napoleon, it was the Russian people who were destined to free the world from the madness of the tyrant, so now our people have the high mission of liberating humanity from the excesses of fascism, returning freedom to enslaved countries and establishing peace everywhere, so brazenly violated by fascism. The Russian people are moving towards this holy goal with complete selflessness. Daily<…>There are news about the successes of Russian weapons and about the gradual disintegration in the fascist camp. This success is achieved through indescribable tension and unprecedented feats of our amazing defenders amid the incessant roar of guns, among the terrible whistle of hellish shells, the alarming, insidious sounds of which no one who heard them will forget, in an atmosphere where death hovers, where everything speaks of the suffering of living human souls.

But victory is forged not only at the front, it originates in the rear, among civilians. And here we see an extraordinary uplift and will to win, an unshakable confidence in the triumph of truth, in the fact that “God is not in power, but in truth,” as St. Alexander Nevskiy.

In the rear, which under the current conditions of the war is almost the same front, old people, women, and even teenage children are all actively participating in the defense of their native country.

One can point to countless cases where people who seem completely uninvolved in war and hostilities show themselves to be the most ardent accomplices of the belligerents. I'll point out a few examples. An air raid alert has been declared in the city. Disregarding the danger, not only men, but also women and teenagers rush to take part in protecting their homes from bombs. They cannot be kept in the house, they cannot be driven into a shelter. In my presence, one 12-year-old schoolboy, when asked by his mother not to go to the roof during an air raid, told her with conviction that he could extinguish bombs better than an adult, that his father was protecting his homeland, and he must protect his home and his mother. And in fact, this young patriot was ahead of many adults and put out four bombs in a few days. There are so many examples when young and, conversely, older people try to hide their years so that they can be enrolled as volunteers in the Red Army. One old man cried bitter tears in front of me because he was refused to sign up as a volunteer and thus he was deprived of the opportunity to contribute his share in the defense of the fatherland. This is the will to win, which is the key to victory itself. And here is another case from life itself. A man comes out of the temple and gives alms to an old beggar. She tells him: “Thank you, father, I will pray for you and for God to help defeat the bloody enemy - Hitler.” Isn't this also the will to win?

But here is a mother who accompanied her son, a pilot, to the Southern Front and then learned that it was on this front that there were hot battles. She is sure that her son died, but she subordinates the feeling of maternal grief to the feeling of love for her homeland and, having cried out her grief in the temple of God, she says almost with joy: “God helped me to contribute my share of helping my homeland.” I know more than one case when people with the most insignificant means put aside a ruble to contribute to defense needs. One very old man sold his only valuable thing - his watch - in order to make a sacrifice for the defense.

All these are facts, randomly taken from life, but how much they say about the feeling of love for the homeland, about the will to win! And there are many such cases that can be cited, each of us has them before our eyes, and louder than any words they speak about the invincible power of patriotism that has gripped the entire Russian people in these days of testing. They say that truly the entire people both effectively and spiritually rose up against the enemy. And when all the people rose up, they were invincible.

As in the time of Demetrius Donskoy, St. Alexander Nevsky, as in the era of the struggle of the Russian people with Napoleon, the victory of the Russian people was due not only to the patriotism of the Russian people, but also to their deep faith in God’s help to a just cause; just as then both the Russian army and the entire Russian people fell under the cover of the Mounted Voivode, the Mother of God, and was accompanied by the blessing of the saints of God, so now we believe: the whole heavenly army is with us. It is not for any of our merits before God that we are worthy of this heavenly help, but for those exploits, for the suffering that every Russian patriot bears in his heart for his beloved motherland.

We believe that even now the great intercessor for the Russian land, Sergius, extends his help and his blessing to the Russian soldiers. And this faith gives us all new inexhaustible strength for persistent and tireless struggle. And no matter what horrors befall us in this struggle, we will be unshakable in our faith in the final victory of truth over lies and evil, in the final victory over the enemy. We see an example of this faith in the ultimate triumph of truth, not in words, but in deeds, in the unparalleled exploits of our valiant defenders-soldiers who fight and die for our homeland. They seem to be telling us all: we were entrusted with a great task, we courageously took it upon ourselves and preserved our loyalty to our homeland to the end. Among all the trials, among all the horrors of war, which have not happened since the world stood, we did not waver in our souls. We stood for the honor and happiness of our native land and fearlessly gave our lives for it. And, dying, we send you a covenant to love your homeland as well. more life and, when someone’s turn comes, also stand up for it to the end and defend it.