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The Festival opening ceremony was attended by Aleksandr Drozdenko, Governor of the Leningrad Region.

“Today, the EXPOFORUM has gathered all people who are not indifferent to the fate of their Homeland, believe in its moral ideals and spiritual values, the triumph of good over evil and our victory. The Special Military Operation began 2 years ago. Now each of us understands that this was a forced measure aimed at protecting our Homeland and those people who want to speak Russian and share our traditional values. At present, almost 18 thousand residents of the Leningrad Region are performing their military duty. Our task is helping them bring all of us closer to victory and the peaceful sky over the heads,” said Aleksandr Drozdenko.

The governor solemnly presented awards to 32 winners of the regional youth competition “My SVO Hero 47”. In total, 190 works were submitted to the competition, telling about courage, heroism, bravery and valor of Russian fighters participating in the Special Military Operation.

Sergey Voronkov, CEO of the EXPOFORUM International, called on employers to give preference first and foremost to the SVO participants when searching for employees, and spoke about the socio-cultural mission of the Festival.

“The Festival is a venue where we can gather together, look into each other’s eyes, and feel unity with our compatriots. Presently, we refute all rumors and wild guesses that there is no unity and solidarity in our society. When watching the burning eyes and energy of children, youth, veterans and elderly persons, you understand that we are one country and one people, and we will win,” shared his thoughts Sergey Voronkov.

The ceremony was also attended by Sergey Perminov, Senator from the Leningrad Region, Protopriest Dimitry Vasilenkov, the chief priest of the SVO, Vadim Leontiev, Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District, and Aleksandr Gabitov, President of the Regional Employers Association “Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of the Leningrad Region”.

The Festival combined three cultural and patriotic events on one venue: “The People’s Power”, “The People’s Culture” and “The People’s Music”.

“The People’s Power”

At the outdoor exhibition, it was possible to examine samples of the Rosgvardiya’s military vehicles all around and refresh yourself with real soldier’s porridge.

In the pavilion, the guests of the event watched service dogs stopping criminals and searching for explosives, fired in the interactive shooting range, studied basics of hand-to-hand combating, launched drones, and enjoyed masterpieces of Russian music performed by military orchestras.

In the Poetic Lounge, the presentation of the almanac of military poetry and prose “Rodnya” (Relatives) took place. Anna Dolgareva, Dmitry Artis, Igor Karaulov, Grigory Kubatiyan, Elena Zaslavskaya, Elina Tsyrkul and Dmitry Moldavsky read poetry and told true stories. Aleksey Kolobrodov and Oleg Demidov moderated the presentation.

The ideological inspirer of the almanac is the writer Zakhar Prilepin. For sending to the front, the almanac was published in pocket format, supported by THE EXPOFORUM International. 2,500 copies have already been delivered to the combatants.

Grigory Kubatiyan, German Sadulaev, as well as Aleksandr Pelevin and Marianna Vasilieva discussed displaying events in the SVO zone in art and literature at thematic round table.

The cinema hall presented 6 documentaries about the Special Military Operation from the festival program “RT Doc: Time of Heroes”: Cultural Front, Wives, Power, I went to war, I want silence, Cossacks. As for the last two documentaries, this was the premiere. On the main stage, finalists of the patriotic song project “Rodniki” (Springs) performed, as well.

“The People’s Culture”

The event brought together the Art Gallery with the works of the St. Petersburg Artists Union, the VR project about the siege of Leningrad, the exhibition of equipment for priests in the SVO zone, the exhibition “We Remember, We Are Proud!” displaying works by students of children’s art schools of the Leningrad Region, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi blockade, and the exhibition “The Leningrad Family Is A Family of Heroes”.

The site “The Stronger the Heartland, the Closer the Victory!” demonstrated the technologies of the country’s inner regions, intended for the victory at the front, the mobile exhibition “Unsubdued Donbass” and the section “Writers – to the Front”. Actors and musicians performed front-line songs and told how to help people in the SVO zone.

Visitors to the Kirov Seamstresses Exhibition and the workshops were taught how to weave camouflage nets, make felt boots, heel lining, trench candles and dry showers.

The action “Letter to a Soldier” at the site “Ribbon of the Leningrad Victory” has collected over a hundred drawings from children, which will be sent to soldiers in the SVO zone.

The performance-reading “Radio Pasha” told on the big stage about an SVO combatant from Taganrog. Even when his leg was amputated, the mobilized soldier did not lose heart and supported other patients of the military hospital.

Amateur actors of theater studio “Talents” from Orenburg presented the heroic ballad “WE are Invincible!” telling about the struggle of the people and the army of our country for freedom and independence during the Great Patriotic War and on the fields of today’s battles.

“The People’s Music”

Within the event, the concert was held by the Honored Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan Vitaly Aksenov, who performed his hits aimed at patriotic education of young people.

The Charity Festival “And Heaven for Children”

As part of the Festival “The Russians Are Changing the World,” the charity project “And Heaven for Children” was held. Its organizer is the rector of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Protopriest Andrey Tomashevich.

Visitors were able to learn about different areas of aeromodelling and paragliding, mastered the skills of landing and competed in launching various aircraft models, some weighing eight grams, some to be giant copies of real liners, with their wingspan up to 3 meters.