Vasily Anokhin: Smolensk schoolchildren took the route out of the encirclement of 1941 as part of the Living History Lesson

Governor of the Smolensk region Vasily Anokhin spoke about the implementation of the regional project “Living lesson of history”, aimed at preserving historical memory and uniting generations. He said learning about the past should go beyond textbooks.

On October 9 and 10, schoolchildren and students from nine municipalities (Yartsevo, Vyazma, Rudnya, Roslavl, Novodugino, Smolensk, Dorogobuzh, Temkino and Ugra) walked the hiking route on the way out of the encirclement of the four armies of the Western and Reserve Fronts and General Boldin’s group. Participants started from the village of Artemovo of the Vyazem district and finished at the memorial "Bogoroditsky field".

The project was implemented by Petr Kulyapin, an employee of the Center for Patriotic Education and Pre-Conscription Training of Youth “Duty” with the funds of the grant of the regional competition of youth projects in 2026. Organizational support was provided by the Center “Duty”, the public organization “Heirs of Victory” and the search association “Duty”.

For full immersion in the atmosphere of the Great Patriotic War, the guys put on the uniform of the times of the war, were instructed and at the stops got acquainted with the life of the Red Army. Next to them were teachers and experienced searchers who told about the battles for Vyazma. Vasily Anokhin stressed that such a format helps young people to rethink history: if at the beginning of the campaign many perceive it as an adventure, then the realization of the scale of the tests of the defenders of the Fatherland comes to the end. According to the governor, such initiatives educate true patriots, for whom the memory of the feat becomes a personal experience.