On September 2, 2021, the renovated Monument to the Soldiers of the Great Patriotic War was officially opened in Orekhovo village, Spassky district.
The monument was erected in the 1970s on the initiative of a local villager, the Great Patriotic War veteran Viktor Fialkin and teachers of the Orekhovo school. Its restoration was long needed.
It was funded by the Association of Private and People’s Museums of Russia. Residents of Orekhovo and the administration of the Lakashinsky rural settlement supported the restoration works. The surrounding area was landscaped: the central pathway was paved with paving stones, path lights installed, gravel laid on both sides of the path. The obelisk pedestal was reinforced. A lighted photo exhibition, courtesy of the TASS News Agency, remains the main part of the composition. An asphalt parking lot was installed near the entrance to the memorial site.
At the opening ceremony, the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Ryazan Region Vitaly Popov, Deputy Minister for Territorial Affairs and Information Policy of the Ryazan Region Ivan Ushakov, and the head of the Lakashinsky rural settlement Yuri Mashnin spoke about the importance of the event that was taking place in the small Spassky village. Amateur performers, teachers of the Gorodkovichi school, as well as athletes of the cultural and sports center Krutogor performed at the ceremony. Then fresh flowers were laid at the monument.
Several exhibitions were held in Orekhovo on that day: the Immortal Regiment of Valaam by the private traveling museum of I. Martsenyuk, the Weapons of Victory by the private museum Iron Warriors, Pogost village, Kasimov district, and the photo exhibition Our Victory organized with the support of the news agency TASS. Dmitry Oktyabrsky, the owner of the October Automuseum, brought several artifacts of the Great Patriotic War from Moscow to Orekhovo. The Moscow Military-Patriotic Club “Battalion” headed by Yuri Moskvin displayed military weapons, uniforms, and other club artifacts related to the war.
Director of the Association of Private and People’s Museums of Russia Alexey Shaburov:
“The renovation of the rural monument is a successful example of public-private partnership. It aims to preserve the memory of our heroic ancestors who had died fighting in the Great Patriotic War and pass down to the next generations the invaluable information about the exceptional role that our people had played in the victory over fascism.”
A field kitchen was open for the guests and participants of the event. Also, the children could fire the weapons of the war period under the supervision of experienced instructors. An anti-tank cannon from the Great Patriotic War fired three shots to mark the official beginning of the event.
Valentina Demishova, a resident of the Papushevo village:
“We, the villagers, are very glad that the monument in our village is now in such a renewed form. My sincere thanks to everyone who took part in the renovation. This is necessary not so much for the dead but for us, our children and grandchildren. As long as we treat memorial sites in this way, the memory will live on.”
Source: ryazpressa.ru
