You can't find a city in Russia that doesn't have a monument to the soldiers who defended their Homeland. In Novosibirsk , it is a monument of Glory to Siberians who died during the Great Patriotic War. It looks like this. In the middle of the square is a sculpture of a grieving mother. She stares mournfully into the Eternal Flame. On the sides are pylons with the names of Novosibirsk residents who did not return from the battlefields. 39 thousand names on the stone pages of memory. In total, 135 thousand residents of the Novosibirsk Region died during the war. Recently, this mournful ensemble was supplemented with two more slabs. They contain the names of soldiers and officers who died in Afghanistan and Chechnya.

Very accurately noted the military poet Ivan Krasnov:

There was no war in Siberia,

But endless are the fallen lists,

There was no war in Siberia,

But every park has obelisks...

These obelisks are the memory of our Motherland. Not to break the link between generations, to remember the past, the sacred precepts of our fathers and grandfathers - this has always been Russia's position.

Unfortunately, from the beginning to the middle of the 90s, the historical memory in our society seemed to be blurred by economic and social troubles. This destructive process goes twice as fast if the so-called "guardians for the fate of the Fatherland"put their hand to it. It was not without their active participation that military - patriotic education was almost nullified in our country. It is hoped that the recent events in the Balkans have sobered up those who until recently, in a euphoric fervor, broadcast from the pages of newspapers and magazines that the military-patriotic education is based on a plan for total militarization of the state, which means a direct threat to the whole world.

Pseudo-democrats saw harm even in plastic children's toys. Offering a new model of education in the form of a cast from Western models, they deliberately kept silent that in many countries it is the Russian methods of preparing young people for military service that are used. By the way, we note that copying other people's ideas that are not related to the country's historical roots is often fraught with unpredictable consequences. If we talk about our Fatherland, then let's not forget that since ancient times the Russian person combined two qualities-a warrior and a plowman. It is no accident that we have "oratai" (plowman) and "warrior" (warrior) - words of the same root. A ploughman, girded with a sword, looking anxiously to the south to see if the steppe dwellers are sneaking around - such an image is imprinted in the minds of our people, vividly reflected in the epic epic. In addition, historical fate was pleased to order that Russia, in the words of Alexander Blok, always " kept a shield between two hostile races-the Mongols and Europe." When we are engaged in the revival of military-patriotic education today, we must constantly keep this in mind.

Recently, there has clearly been a revival of work on military - patriotic education in our country. This is evidenced by the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on the federal target program "Youth of Russia" of June 18, 1997, Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 890 on the same program of August 15, 1997, the concept of military-patriotic education of young people and a number of other documents.

From words to action. And this case has become quite real. Including in the Novosibirsk region. A significant event for residents of the region can be considered the fact that at the opening of the memorial to those who died in local wars at the Monument of Glory to Siberian soldiers, post No. 1 again began to operate. When boys and girls from Novosibirsk schools walked with a chiseled step to the thicket with the Eternal Flame, applause rang out among the audience. So Novosibirsk residents welcomed the return of a tradition that had existed for decades and introduced the young generation to the heroic past of the Motherland.

It is a well - known truth-it is easy to destroy, restore, and revive much more difficult. In the Novosibirsk region, military-patriotic education takes on visible and familiar features due to many factors. First, the federal authorities, by their decisions mentioned above, summed up the legislative framework for the development of the regional target program " State Youth Policy in the Novosibirsk Region (1998-2000)", which outlined the forms of coordination of joint actions of the committees for youth and education, the Department of educational work of the Siberian Military District, the regional military enlistment office, the military - technical service of thepatriotic associations, councils of veterans of the Great Patriotic War and the War in Afghanistan. In addition, the society "matured" to change the situation with the upbringing of teenagers, because the resulting void in place of social institutions, which included military-patriotic associations, search expeditions, military sports camps, the games "Zarnitsa" and "Eaglet", began to fill catastrophically quickly with semi-fascist organizations and criminal communities. There are a lot of street teenagers in the country who are out of the state's field of vision.

By itself, the work on military-patriotic education has never completely faded away. There were people who always understood that cultivating love for the Motherland, developing the ability to defend it, cannot be a temporary, temporary occupation. This position has always been defended by the Novosibirsk Council of Veterans of the Great Patriotic War under the leadership of retired Colonel Viktor Mikhailovich Orlov. Thanks to this organization, many educational institutions in the region have preserved museums of military glory, although their number has significantly decreased.

Those who are even slightly familiar with the museum business know what a meticulous and long-term work the creation of these educational and educational centers, where literally everything-lovingly collected documents, restored exhibits, photo exhibitions, lighting, music-creates a special atmosphere imbued with the spirit of history, has a beneficial effect on young souls. It is in the museums of military glory that courage lessons are held, which are so important for the future of boys and girls.

This is especially true now, when some textbooks on the history of the Fatherland distort and miserably describe the deeds of our ancestors. When you look at such textbooks in detail, you come to the conclusion that their authors are not familiar with the works of the luminaries of historical science - Karamzin, Klyuchevsky, Solovyov and others. The newest period, starting from the end of the thirties, is also interpreted in a very peculiar way - there is almost no place for the feat of our people in the Great Patriotic War. With the light hand of such "forgetful patriots", a wonderful museum dedicated to the Young guardsmen of Krasnodon ceased to exist at School No. 19 in Novosibirsk. Almost ruined and unique in its kind museum in the school N 76. His priceless relics told about the hospitals of the Great Patriotic War and the feats of doctors during this period. The museum located in SPTU No. 2 was also in a neglected state.

In order to focus public attention on this problem, in 1997 the Council of veterans held a seminar-meeting on the work of school museums in the Novosibirsk region. It caused a great response in the local press and received support in the regional administration, the headquarters of the SibVO.

But the most important thing is that moral support was given to the museum's devotees, those who in recent years have almost single-handedly conducted heroic and educational work in educational institutions. Now the youth affairs committees, public education departments, district military enlistment offices and military schools have joined the half-forgotten case. And already in 1998, that is exactly one year later, at the museum review competition, it became clear that the efforts made were not in vain. Museums in educational institutions of the Novosibirsk region are once again becoming centers of patriotism education, gaining a second wind.

The Museum of the three-time Hero of the Soviet Union, Air Marshal A. I. Pokryshkin in SPTU No. 2 has been updated and replenished with new exhibits. Its branch was also deployed in the local Rostov, from where an unknown boy from Zakamenka took a plane to the sky back in Osoaviakhim times. The work in the museums of partisan glory at school No. 41, "Normandie - Niemen" - at school No. 70 was filled with a new sound. New museums also began to open. The famous Novosibirsk journalist Ivan Nechay, who found himself in the Spandau concentration camp as a child, together with his friends created a museum in memory of young prisoners at school No. 192...

When you get acquainted with the museum business in Novosibirsk, you remember the now-forgotten word "enthusiasts". Such people include Alexandra Ivanovna Kuzmina, a teacher of Russian language and literature from the 149th school. Like all people who are not indifferent to their work, she at one time scrupulously and for a long time looked for methods of educational influence on her wards. And the sixth grade, which came to her, turned out to be ruffled, bad. We needed a single, general idea that could attract boys and girls for a long time. Once, when talking about General Karbyshev, I noticed how quiet the classroom was, how the children reacted to the words of the Russian patriot, which he threw to the Nazis: "I don't sell my homeland..."

So the idea of creating a school museum dedicated to Dmitry Mikhailovich Karbyshev and the Young Karbyshevets club was born. Very little time passed, and the guys began to correspond with the daughter of General Karbyshev-Elena Dmitrievna, with former prisoners of the concentration camp. Suddenly, to their delight, they learned that there was a whole Karbyshev movement in the country. They began to participate in meetings, competitions in engineering and sapper business. Officers from the Siberian Military District helped here. At the first invitation of Alexandra Ivanovna, they came to the school and became good mentors of the children. And Karbyshevtsy became frequent guests in the brigade, which was commanded by Colonel Sergei Ivanovich Belonogov. The result of such a partnership is the first places in viewing competitions and a certificate from the Department of the Chief of Engineering Troops of the Ministry of Defense, which contains the following words:"...For their great contribution to strengthening the historical and combat traditions of the engineering troops, promoting military service... " Children received lessons of moral purity, lessons of courage and love for the Motherland. A little later, the school-wide military - patriotic club "Young Karbyshevets"emerged from the classroom corner-museum. Its former pupils, as a rule, serve in the engineering and sapper troops.

In the Novosibirsk region, the peak of the military-patriotic movement falls at the end of the eighties. And there is an explanation for this. Head of the affairs of the youth Committee of the Zaeltsovsky district, permanent head of the military-patriotic association "Desant" O. B. Makiev says about this

- The greatest revival in the military-patriotic movement in our region can be attributed to the eighties, because the "Afghans" actively joined it. They became the idols of the boys. In Novosibirsk at that time, there were more than thirty military-patriotic associations, in which hundreds of boys were preparing for military service. And suddenly the collapse - the situation has changed dramatically. The phrase "military-patriotic education" has become almost abusive. It was almost impossible for military-patriotic associations to survive in such conditions...

But they survived because they saw their work not as a game, not as temporary fun.

Now there are eleven military-patriotic associations in the Novosibirsk region: MGiV, Desant, Delfin, Soyuz, Pogranichnik, Fiord, Karavella, Club of Young Sailors, Young Karbyshevets, Scout, Patriot. MGiV is now organically included in the structure of the Siberian Cadet Corps, and it has been headed by Andrey Mikhailovich Nekrasov for many years. Among the many areas of work of this association, two stand out in particular: the Argonauts of Siberia club and the Poisk expedition. The Argonauts of Siberia project inside MGiV can probably be considered the embodiment of childish romance in life. Siberian boys in the center of the forest-steppe Novosibirsk region literally rave about the seas. This is probably why a good half of the existing associations have such names: "Karavella", "Fiord", "Club of young sailors", "Dolphin", "Argonauts of Siberia".

In the absence of seas, young sailors plot their routes along Siberian rivers. "Argonauts of Siberia" is a boat trip along the Ob and Irtysh River along the same paths that the pioneers - ataman Ermak and his comrades-went, it is a study of the places of their battles with the Tatars, the installation of commemorative Orthodox crosses, archaeological excavations. Physical training, touching the past of your region give excellent educational results.

Another area of work of MGiVa is search work, which is carried out by students of the cadet corps, traveling near Leningrad to the battlefields of the Great Patriotic War. Natalia Izotovna Nekrasova, head of the Poisk group, believes that hard, sometimes grueling work in the most difficult conditions allows children to fully appreciate the high feat of Soviet soldiers through their own hardships. Of course, working with students in such conditions requires special training, pedagogical skills, and a holy faith that every dead soldier should be buried with military honors. Nekrasova has all this. There is also a striking result: the remains of more than two thousand soldiers were raised by "mgivovtsy" and reburied.

"These expeditions probably wouldn't have taken place," says Natalia Izotovna, " if the regional council, the regional administration, the youth affairs committees, the VINAP joint - stock company, and sappers from the Siberian Military District hadn't helped us. For almost ten years, we have been traveling to the battlefields of the Great Patriotic War and always meet with warm support and attention from the military. Soldiers and officers, traveling with us and defusing hundreds of explosive objects, risk their lives...

It is a rare case when in one city, even if it is large, almost two million, not one, but two expeditions are engaged in reburial of the remains of soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. The second is from the military-patriotic association "Desant", which is headed by O. B. Makiev. The remains of more than 1,600 soldiers and officers were found and reburied by the "paratroopers". 97 of them came from obscurity with names and surnames that could be deciphered from "mortal" medallions.

The high recognition of the Desant search expedition was the naming of this club after the 22nd Guards Siberian Volunteer Division. Of this legendary formation, only eleven people are still alive. It is clear that they are surrounded by the care and attention of the guys from the "Landing". By the way, here, in the Committee for Youth Affairs of the Zaeltsovsky district, we managed to hear another forgotten word - "Timurovtsy". And the point, probably, is not even in the word itself, but in the deeds that it implies. It turns out that these very good deeds live and live in the "Landing". In the summer, children grow crops of potatoes, onions, cabbage and give vegetables to the surviving veterans of the Great Patriotic War from the 22nd Guards Siberian Volunteer Division.

Delving into the work of this military-patriotic Association, you constantly catch yourself thinking that maybe this is the formula you are looking for in the activities of military-patriotic clubs, whose leaders are wondering: what is the best way to build your work? I will express a controversial thought: isn't it because our Airborne troops are still considered the best in the world that they are "fueled" by the military-patriotic movement? Take the same "Landing". When you carefully study its work, you can see that it annually supplies the army (specifically the Airborne Forces!) mentally and physically prepared students. As it turns out, paratroopers are not just interested in this, but also constantly supervise military - patriotic work. Until recently, all such military-patriotic associations (and there are more than seventy of them in Russia) were part of the V. F. Margelov Union of youth landing clubs. That is why the clubs of young paratroopers have a verified, well-planned program, close communication with military units. In Novosibirsk, for example, the guys from the "Landing" are engaged in the training base of the brigade, which is commanded by Colonel L. L. Polyakov. Here they shoot, make skydiving. As a rule, young men from this association get to serve in the Airborne Forces. Isn't this a state approach?

- Love for the Motherland, - said in our conversation the head of the association "Landing" O. B. Makiev, - should be specific. For us, it is about protecting it...

It is impossible not to agree with this.