Participants in the "Lessons with a Journey" project's special trip shared their impressions of visiting Saint Petersburg.

      Schoolchildren and students from Nizhny Novgorod — participants of the special trip of the tourist‑educational project “Lessons with a Journey” — after returning home shared their impressions of the trip to Saint Petersburg. Almost 500 young residents of the region with high achievements in studies, sports and patriotic activities were able to learn about the history of the city, including events of the Great Patriotic War. The trip lasted three days. In the morning of November 20 the children returned to Nizhny Novgorod.

      According to the government of the Nizhny Novgorod region, the children first went to the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery — the site of mass burials of residents of besieged Leningrad and soldiers who defended the city. At least half a million people who died from hunger, cold, disease, bombings, artillery shelling and in combat are buried here. The Nizhny Novgorod participants paid tribute to the victims of the war by laying flowers at the Eternal Flame and the “Motherland” monument, and also walked along the Alley of Memory, where memorial plaques in memory of the defenders of Leningrad are sent from all over the country.

      “I was struck by the size of the Piskaryovskoye Cemetery and the number of victims buried here — it’s almost half a million people and maybe even more, since the exact number of the dead is unknown. I was also greatly impressed by the ticking of the metronome that sounds in the cemetery — exactly the same as the one that sounded in besieged Leningrad,” shared Artyom Kozhanov, a cadet of the Nizhny Novgorod Cadet Corps of the Volga Federal District named after Army General V.F. Margelov.

      “Here I felt pride for my ancestors! They won Victory at such a high price — at the cost of their own lives! For me it is important to learn the history of my country, my people. I value this very much and I am glad that I took part in the project,” said Nikita Zemlyanov, a student of School No. 3 in the city of Bogorodsk.

      The visit program continued with a tour of the Central Naval Museum named after Emperor Peter the Great.

      “There are many genuine unique exhibits here — Peter the Great’s little boat, flags, bow decorations of ships, models of old ships — the entire history of the navy is reflected. And there are also canvases by Aivazovsky showing battle scenes. I could walk around here all day!” said Alexander Umrikhin, a cadet of the Nizhny Novgorod Cadet Corps of the Volga Federal District named after Army General V.F. Margelov.

      Maria Zueva, a pupil of Secondary School No. 7 in Pavlovo, admitted that she had for the first time seen so many authentic exhibits related to the development of the fleet.

      “Especially striking to me were the oars of an old ship — each weighs 100 kg, and each was handled by six oarsmen. The scale is mesmerizing! Visiting this museum gave me a lot toward understanding the history of our country,” the schoolgirl said.

      The trip around Saint Petersburg also included a visit to the interactive exhibition “Vanished in the Newsreels” at the Lenfilm studio. This new large‑scale project by the “Nevsky Batalist” team is about film documentarians of the 20th century. The installation included 15 different episodes from the history of the Great Patriotic War.

      “There the past seems to come alive! You see wounded soldiers in a hospital as if they were real, and at the same time you hear the sounds of war in headphones and eyewitness accounts of those events. You pass through a factory workshop where tanks are made, through the Arctic, a partisan hospital, the streets of Berlin up to the Reichstag. And you also see the trial of the fascists in Nuremberg. I was stunned by how cameramen did their duty, risking their lives and sometimes dying without finishing the filming,” shared Daria Markova, a pupil of Secondary School No. 7 in Pavlovo.

      During an overview tour of the city, schoolchildren and students of secondary vocational institutions visited Palace Square and the Peter and Paul Fortress. There they also learned many interesting historical facts.

      “This was my first trip to Saint Petersburg — all expectations were undoubtedly met! I remembered many beautiful sights, for example the Bronze Horseman monument and the Feodorovsky Cathedral. Thanks to all the organizers of this trip and everyone who accompanied us!” thanked Matvey Antipin, a student of the Sokolsky Technical School of Service Industry and Entrepreneurship.

      “I really enjoyed our trip, especially the exhibition at Lenfilm — it’s a total immersion in the atmosphere! I’m taking away incredible impressions! Thanks to our governor Gleb Sergeyevich Nikitin for such a ‘Lesson with a Journey,’” said Tatyana Permyakova from School No. 176 in Nizhny Novgorod.

      It should be recalled that the interregional tourist‑educational project “Lessons with a Journey” began in November 2023 at the initiative of the parental community of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The project received support from the governors of the Nizhny Novgorod and Volgograd regions, Gleb Nikitin and Andrey Bocharov. In turn, organization of the project’s special trips to Minsk and Brest was supported by the President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.

      The special trip to Saint Petersburg was organized jointly with the project “More Than a Lesson.” This is part of Rosmolodezh’s civic‑patriotic and socially useful youth tourism program “More Than a Journey.” The trip took place under the auspices of the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory and the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland.

      The implementation of the project allows for the development of youth tourism. This is one of the tasks fulfilled by the new national project “Tourism and Hospitality,” initiated by the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.

      In turn, Rosmolodezh’s program “More Than a Journey” is implemented within the national project “Youth and Children.” Through trips across regions, hikes and excursions, young people form a civic identity and are fostered with patriotism and social responsibility towards the Motherland.

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