December 31, 2025, 15:41 Society

      On December 31, a large-scale art installation dedicated to the selfless work of #MYVMESTE volunteers who help participants in the special military operation (SMO) and their families appeared in the Sormovsky District of Nizhny Novgorod. A bright graffiti piece decorated the wall of a three-story building at 103 Kultury Street.

      The artwork was created on the initiative of the Volunteer Center of the Nizhny Novgorod Region as part of a grant from the Rosmolodezh competition “Region of Good Deeds” and the national project “Youth and Children.” The Nizhny Novgorod Region has won this contest for the seventh consecutive year, demonstrating the region’s effective, systematic work in developing volunteer initiatives.

      Nizhny Novgorod schoolchildren, activists from the “Movement of the First,” local territorial self-government bodies (TOSs), and #MYVMESTE volunteers took part in the graffiti unveiling.

      It took more than three days to create the three-story painting, which covers about 80 square meters. The new art installation has become a symbol of recognition and gratitude from the public to all those involved in the volunteer movement, including the work of the #MYVMESTE headquarters.

      This vivid image has become not just a city decoration but a reflection of the real, intense work of Nizhny Novgorod volunteers. In 2025 the Volunteer Center of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, together with the regional #MYVMESTE headquarters, Victory Volunteers and other partners, organized the shipment of almost 1,340 tons of humanitarian aid to residents of border areas and SMO participants, and also handed over 26 vehicles, including off-road vehicles and motorcycles. Nine humanitarian missions were organized: five trips to Anapa and four to the Kursk Region.

      “Today we unveiled not just a graffiti piece but a true symbol of kindness and unity of the regional volunteer movement. This large-scale art installation is dedicated to the heroes of our time — volunteers whose sincere compassion changes lives for the better. The Sormovsky District is receiving not just a mural but a work of gratitude to every volunteer in the region. The new graffiti is further proof that support for volunteering, the national project ‘Youth and Children,’ and related initiatives create the very environment where real deeds are born,” emphasized Svetlana Anufrieva, Minister of Youth Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

      The Nizhny Novgorod Region has been among the leaders in developing the volunteer movement for several years. According to the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), more than 306,000 people in the region are involved in volunteering, nearly 10% of the population. There are 3,740 volunteer organizations and associations and 20 “Dobrocenters” operating in the region.

      “When we conceived this project, we wanted the volunteers’ work to become visible — literally a part of the urban landscape. Let everyone who passes by see that people with big hearts live in our city. Their daily labor and readiness to help others cannot be measured in tons of humanitarian aid or the number of boxes of medicines and gifts. Volunteering has become a huge social force; I would even say — partly a new Russian ideology. For us, this is not just a picture but a monument to humanity that will remind all Nizhny Novgorod residents and visitors that the soul of the Nizhny Novgorod region lies in this unity and desire to help,” shared Maria Samodelkina, head of the regional #MYVMESTE headquarters.

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