17 August 2025 в 09:00

Sergei Sobyanin describes how the City of Heroes project strengthens the connection between times and generations

To date, more than 750 events have been held, involving more than 10,000 Moscow residents.

The City of Heroes project came into being in 2016. It was created to preserve the memory of the exploits of heroes of the Fatherland, to strengthen the connection between times and generations, and to support young people who seek to realize their own patriotic initiatives. Sergei Sobyanin wrote about the project in a post on his blog.

“As of today, more than 750 events have been held, involving more than 10,000 Moscow residents. These include more than 100 Patriotic Hours: meetings with heroes of Russia, war correspondents, participants of the Special Military Operation and representatives of veterans’ organizations,” wrote Sergei Sobyanin.

Young people in the capital have organized more than 250 patriotic actions, including laying flowers at war graves and monuments dedicated to the events and heroes of the Great Patriotic War, and concerts to mark the Day of Remembrance and Mourning, Defender of the Fatherland Day and other commemorative dates.

With the start of the Special Military Operation (SMO), many project participants became involved in supporting Russian troops. They weave camouflage nets, make trench candles and learn first aid skills.

“Heroes are not a separate class of people. In most cases, they live near us, on the same street, in the same house, and even in the same stairwell. In 2022, students from the Moscow City Pedagogical University and the Higher School of Economics had the idea of telling Moscow residents about their neighbors, who can rightfully be called wonderful people,” added the Mayor of Moscow.

The Hero of My Neighborhood student initiative quickly developed into a citywide project. It hosts regular forums, meetings, discussions and roundtables. And interviews with heroes residing in different Moscow districts are published on the website.

These include a conversation with Nikita Pastushok, a participant in the Special Military Operation. He graduated from the Preobrazhensky Cadet Corps in 2019, and in 2022 he volunteered to go to the Special Military Operation zone. He was wounded twice during his time in the conflict zone. Nikita has been awarded the Order of Courage, and the medals For Outstanding Service in Combat Honors and Participant in the SMO.

The project has also published an interview with Anna Schelkushkina, director of the Sunday school of the Church of All Saints, and initiator and organizer of the Russian Donbass volunteer humanitarian project. Anna is actively engaged in volunteer work, helping those at the front and the residents of the new territories. She independently collects humanitarian aid, and organizes trips and events to support the people of Donbass.

Visitors to the website can also read an interview with Bulat Sakhibgareev. He is the initiator of the Mosdonor project, which promotes blood donations among young people. This project will be 10 years old next year. During its implementation more than 400 liters of blood were collected, and more than 900 people became new donors.

Anatoly Korobochka, Honored Physical Culture Worker of the Russian Federation, an active participant in the public and sporting life of the Aeroport district and a member of the Presidium of the CSKA Sports Veterans Council, also shared his story in the project. Anatoly takes part in the improvement of sports recreation facilities. Thanks to his efforts, various tournaments for veterans, young people and students in cadet schools are held on a regular basis in the Aeroport district.

Ksenia Chudotvorova, a teacher at the State Fire Service Academy of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations and the founder and head of the Women in Epaulets project introduced herself for the City of Heroes project. Her project brings together female officers from different security agencies and helps them develop leadership skills. Participants in the project include staff from the Ministry of the Russian Federation for Civil Defense, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, and the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation.

Participants in the Women in Epaulettes project have prepared 10 projects. For example, Daria Limontieva, a cadet at the State Fire Service Academy of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, won the first season of the Rosmolodezh.Grants competition, presenting her project Trail of Life: In the Footsteps of Zoya. It was developed in honor of the 100th anniversary of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya’s birth and is dedicated to the research into her family tree.

“The City of Heroes and Neighborhood Hero projects make a very important contribution to the preservation of historical memory and patriotic education of young residents of the capital,” emphasized Sergei Sobyanin.