I. Metshin: “Your knowledge, experience, and love for the Motherland should be passed on to the younger generation”

(KZN.RU, August 8, Ksenia Shvetsova). Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, met today with members of the Republican Public Organization “Union of Veterans of the RT”. It is based at the DOSAAF RT building on Patris Lumumb Street, №4. The head of the city talked with veterans; he thanked them for their work and their contribution to raising children and youth.

The Union of Veterans of the RT has existed since 1994. Today it unites about 80 thousand veterans, 39 local and 16 associated veteran organizations. The Union of Veterans of the RT helps the Military Commissariat in all areas of preparing youth for service in the Armed Forces of the RF, carries out a lot of work on patriotic education of youth and preparing them for military service. They participate in the work of draft commissions. Akhat Yulashev is the chairman of the Union Since 2001.

“We have united all the veteran organizations of the republic. These are veterans of war, military operations, military service, rear front workers, widows of the dead, blockades, prisoners of fascist concentration camps, and many others”, Akhat Yulashev told the head of the city.

In 2017, additional premises were allocated for various veteran organizations after repairs in the DOSAAF RT building. Thus, the Russian Union of Afghanistan Veterans in the RT is located in one of those offices.

“We help veterans, they turn to us more often for rehabilitation, medical care”, said Evgeny Kabysh, the chairman of the Union. “We are actively working with youth and conduct various joint events”.

Another organization that is part of the Republican Union of Veterans is the Marine Assembly of the RT. According to Khamid Abdullazyanov, captain of the second rank of the reserve, the deputy chairman of the Marine Assembly of RT, the organization pays special attention to preserving the memory of the heroic deeds and the history of the navy.

One of the main functions of the Veterans Union is to take care of elder citizens. For example, an office of psychological relief is organized in the DOSAAF building, where they can receive psychological help. In addition, a social hairdresser is open there, which offers haircut services for war veterans, military operations, the Armed Forces, and labor veterans.

The public organization pays no less attention to the leisure of the older generation. On the basis of the Union of Veterans, a creative studio has been opened that combines the folk vocal ensemble of the Navy veterans “The Crew is One Family”, the chorus of the Veterans “Memory”, the vocal ensemble “When Soldiers Sing”, and others. In addition, the creative studio conducts classes on needlework, musical instruments playing, and much more. The head of the city attended classes of active veterans and wished them success in their creative activities.

The organization has created all the conditions for veterans to spend their free time in an interesting and useful way. There are a library, a leisure room with chess, billiards and other games, a fitness room, and a computer class.

“The work that you carry out is very impressive”, said I. Metshin during the inspection.

Another important direction in the work of the Union of Veterans of the RT is the military-patriotic education of youth. At the initiative of the union, various actions and events are held in the republic and its capital, and cooperation is conducted with youth associations and volunteer organizations. Thus, participants of the movement “Volunteers of Victory” (Kazan volunteers of the All-Russian public movement) gathered there during a visit to the Union of Veterans. Just last year, the Volunteers of Victory of Tatarstan helped thousands of veterans, held more than 300 events to improve memorial sites, organized 18 national events, including the St. George Ribbon and the Candle of Memory. Another 1200 volunteers took part in the Victory Parade and in the action “Immortal Regiment”.

“This year we are raising funds to help specific veterans”, said Olga Dyutina, the coordinator of the federal project “Generation Relations” of the Tatarstan regional branch of the all-Russian public movement “Volunteers of Victory”. “In addition, we carry out various campaigns, participate in projects. For example, children select letters for the action “Letters of Victory”. The essence of the action is that schoolchildren and students write letters of gratitude to veterans, which are presented to them on the eve of Victory Day”.

In conclusion, I. Metshin examined the Museum of the Veterans in the RT. Talking about the exhibits of the museum, Akhat Yulashev noted that the main goal of the museum is to preserve the historical memory of the activities of veteran organizations. The museum displays expositions of the Great Patriotic War, the emergence of sections of veterans in Moscow and in the capitals of the Union republics, and then in the regions of the former USSR.

“Thank you for the enormous work that you are doing with your large team of 80000 veterans”, Ilsur Metshin addressed Akhat Yulashev. “You are our reliable mentor and assistant in all our endeavors. The most important work you do is the patriotic education of youth. It is very important that children come here and see such examples, study the history of our people. “Your knowledge, experience, and love for the motherland must be passed on to the younger generation”.

Akhat Yulashev also thanked the head of the city for his work and. On behalf of Army General Mikhail Moiseev, the chairman of the All-Russian public organization “Russian Union of Veterans”, he handed the Order of Valor to Ilsur Metshin. “You already have an Order of Merit in the veteran movement, and now I am pleased to present you a new order”, said Akhat Yulashev.

Roman Fatkhutdinov, the head of the Sovetsky district’s administration, Damir Dinniulov, the chairman of the board of the regional public and state association DOSAAF RT, and others also attended the inspection.