Yevgeny Lyulin: "During the war, Gorky sheltered thousands of children, becoming a second homeland to them."

      12 November 2025, 10:25 Society

      On 11 November, the tablet exhibition "Operation 'Children' (0+)" opened for the first time in the gallery space of the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod Region. The exhibition is dedicated to the heroic partisan operation to rescue thousands of children from occupied Smolensk in 1942.

      The opening was attended by the chairman of the regional parliament, Evgeny Lyulin, deputies and staff of the Legislative Assembly, members of the Youth Parliament, representatives of Nizhny Novgorod museums, public organizations, as well as authors of books and projects devoted to preserving historical memory.

      Through archival photographs and documents, the exhibition "Operation 'Children'" reveals one of the most heroic and tragic pages of the Great Patriotic War. The centerpiece of the exhibition is the story of the feat of three young female partisans — Matrena Volskaya, Varvara Polyakova and Yekaterina Gromova — who were tasked with getting more than three thousand children out from occupied Smolensk behind the front line.

      In the summer of 1942, under continuous fire, they led columns of children, covering more than 200 kilometers with them through forests, swamps and minefields. The partisans directed the movement, did what they could to support the little ones, and shared with them the last of what they had.

      As a result of this operation, 3,225 children were evacuated and saved from Smolensk. They were later sent to Gorky. This city became their second home, and the partisans' feat became an enduring part of the history of Soviet heroism during the war.

      Television journalist, Laureate of the Nizhny Novgorod Prize and author of the book Operation "Children," Natalya Drozdova, led a tour for the parliament's guests, paying special attention to the personal stories of the rescued children and to unique archival documents that attest to the fascists' plan to use children as a human shield against Soviet tanks, and to the overwhelming trials the young women faced.

      "This story was hidden for a very long time. For years we pieced together archival materials, and it turned out that the operation had been classified and its leader was repressed. When I was first told about it, I could not believe that such a thing was possible. But it was war, and impossible things were done during it. Today, 47 years after we began our investigation, I am happy that the memory of these people's feat has finally found a worthy embodiment here, within the walls of the parliament," Natalya Drozdova said.

      The exhibition is available to visitors of the Legislative Assembly by prior appointment.

      On the same day, the regional parliament held a round table dedicated to the Youth Parliament's initiative to establish a new award for the Nizhny Novgorod Region — the Matrena Isaevna Volskaya Medal. It is planned to be awarded for contributions to patriotic education and the protection of children's rights. At the meeting, deputies together with colleagues from the regional government and invited experts discussed the merits and feasibility of these innovations.

      "I consider it extremely important that the heroic pages of our history, which represent an invaluable resource for educational work, become a moral compass for new generations. It is gratifying that the youth themselves are becoming carriers of these ideas. The initiative is definitely good, but requires careful development. So that it does not remain on paper, I have instructed our Youth Parliament to refine it taking into account the experts' comments and to come forward with a real legislative initiative at a session of the parliament," Evgeny Lyulin said.

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