"Vacation with the Public Council" took place at the Nizhny Novgorod Children's Center.

      As part of the departmental campaign "Holidays with the Public Council," a patriotic meeting was held at the children's center camp in the Nizhny Novgorod district of the regional center. Visitors included representatives of the city police, the Public Council under the Nizhny Novgorod Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, and the "Movement of the Firsts."

      Major Irina Latuukhina, Deputy Head of the Department for Media Relations at the Nizhny Novgorod Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, shared stories about the daily life of the Soviet militia during wartime, maintaining public order, combating looting, and protecting civilians. "In harsh wartime conditions, work on maintaining order also involved identifying fascist saboteurs, guarding important facilities from artillery strikes, evacuating civilians and enterprises. The police needed to be highly vigilant and quick in their actions to find criminals and enemy agents among the large number of evacuees and to neutralize them effectively," says Irina Nikolaevna.

      The children were introduced to the story of a young war hero— a peer of those participating in the campaign—by Ekaterina Arkhipova from the "First" Movement of the Nizhny Novgorod Auto Transport Technical School. She told them about the youngest soldier, 6-year-old Seryozha Aleshkov, who, after losing his family, became a cadet of the 142nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 47th Guards Rifle Division and participated in the Battle of Stalingrad. He was awarded medals "For Combat Merit" and "For Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945," as well as the Order of the Patriotic War I degree.

      "At such a young age, he could not fight directly, but he helped and supported the adults as he could—by bringing food, handing over shells and cartridges, and when possible, singing songs, reading poems, and boosting morale," clarified Ekaterina. The heroism of the peer amazed and impressed the listeners, though some of the children were familiar with his story thanks to a war-dramatic film based on these events.

      The conversation with the young Novgorod residents was concluded by Ruslan Belyanin, a member of the Public Council at the Nizhny Novgorod Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who recently returned from the zone of a special military operation. Ruslan Vladimirovich spoke with the kids about the duties and service of soldiers during both the Great Patriotic War and today.

      According to the press service of the Nizhny Novgorod Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, tel.: 268-74-26