Forum "Heirs of Victory. Historical Memory"
On May 19, 2025, the forum "Heirs of Victory. Historical Memory", dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, was held at Gubkin University. Representatives of the country's leading universities responsible for youth policy and educational work, as well as government officials and public figures, took part in the forum.
The forum was opened with a welcoming speech by the rector of Gubkin University Viktor Martynov and the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Olga Petrova.
"We are pleased to welcome honored guests to our forum, which is a response to the modern challenges of distortion of historical memory. More and more often, we hear from abroad theses that the Victory, which our people achieved at the cost of millions of lives, is not our Victory. It is gratifying that there is a consensus in our society that allows us to preserve this memory and pass it on to future generations. Gubkin University made a great contribution to the fight against the invaders. Our teachers trained personnel for artillerymen, and then for the fuel service, forged the foundation for the future Victory, providing fuel to units and formations of the Red Army," Viktor Martynov emphasized in his welcoming speech.
"Preservation of historical truth, dialogue with young people on the most important events of our history are the key goals of the forum. In order to build a strong and sovereign future, we must remember our heroes and traditions, educate young people based on traditional spiritual and moral values and memory of the past. This shapes us as citizens of Russia, strengthens unity, helps to preserve our identity," Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Olga Petrova noted in her speech.
The following guests took part in the plenary session "Formation of spiritual and moral values in the context of historical memory": Advisor to the head of the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs Aikaz Mikaelyan; Vice-Rector for Continuing Professional Education of Gubkin University Nikita Golunov; Deputy Director of the Department of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for the Perpetuation of the Memory of Those Who Died in Defense of the Fatherland Alla Kirilina; Deputy Director of Rospatriotcenter Dmitry Stepyko; Director of the educational and methodological center for military-patriotic education of youth "Avangard" Daria Borisova (online connection); Vice-Rector of RTU MIREA Grigory Petushkov; Head of the Central Executive Committee of the All-Russian Organization "Officers of Russia", Lieutenant General of Police Alexander Mikhailov. The plenary session was moderated by Vice-Rector for Youth Policy and Educational Work of Gubkin University Anton Tumanov. After the plenary part of the forum, two sections were held: "Preservation of Historical Memory among Students in the Context of Total Russophobia" and "Counteracting the Spread of Destructive Ideology Among Students". The sections identified and discussed best practices for preserving and strengthening traditional values among students, and especially strengthening historical memory in the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland and in the year of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War; strengthening civic identity among students; strengthening interethnic and interfaith harmony; preventing extremism and antisocial behavior, as well as raising the level of patriotism.
At the end of the official part, the film "Donbass. Voices of Unbroken People" was shown, which was presented by directors Vladimir Bannikov and Olesya Orlenko.
Events aimed at strengthening traditional Russian spiritual and moral values are held regularly within the walls of Gubkin University. On October 16, 2024, the forum “Traditional Values - the Foundation of the Statehood of the Russian Federation” was held, which also brought together listeners from more than twenty universities.
