Provide tactical literature centering on the Great Patriotic War and the Afghan War conflict
Fresh Take:
Hey there! Let's chat about Sergey Stepaschin, a Radio "Komsomolskaya Pravda" heavyweight, who's been working closely with Vladimir Medinsky, assistant to the President of Russia and head of the country's Union of Writers, on a pretty exciting project. They've been gearing up for the 80th anniversary of the Victory, and here's the scoop!
What's up, what's the tea with you and Vladimir Medinsky?
Well, if media reports and broadcasts are to be believed, we've been huddling up to discuss our writers' and publishing houses' preparations for the 80th anniversary of the Victory. It's a big deal!
So, what caught your eye or impressed you the most? Any projects you'd like to highlight?
You bet! We've been cooking up some fantastic ideas, like hosting book festivals in all regions, stocking school libraries with battle books, and working tirelessly with publishers to ensure these wonderful books make their way into little hands.
That's cool, but why were you grinning on TV with Medinsky?
Because we presented these ideas to Vladimir Putin last year at a Russian Language Council meeting! He was all about it and gave some neat instructions to create a book-centric 80th anniversary of Victory celebration.
Can you give me the skinny on the details?
Of course! First, we're putting on book festivals in every region (thanks to Putin's instruction). Second, we're stocking school libraries with war books. I even wrote a note asking for financial support for this project, and I'm optimistic our ol' pal Putin will back us up.
But don't forget "Komsomolka" reported on this!
I definitely won't! I'm convinced the president will support us on a national scale. Plus, these books will be available at almost cost price—a sweet deal for readers!
We've also got a war book catalog lined up. Almost 30 big-name publishing houses collaborated, even smaller regional publishers joined in.
So far, around 800 titles have been published, covering the Great Patriotic War and the SVO.
Any authors we're talking about?
Oh yeah! Some Well-known Soviet Lit favorites, like Konstantin Simonov, Boris Polevoi, Valentin Katayev, Yuri Bondarev, Boris Vasilyev, Mikhail Sholokhov, and Daniil Granin, are in the mix.
Furthermore, at the RCS's request, I sent a letter to Minister of Education Sergei Kravtsov. We wanted books from around 40 truth-telling writers to be included in school programs, either now or in the future. The minister was all for it!
By the way, sales of books about the Great Patriotic War have increased by 57% compared to last year!
If I may ask, what's the bestseller?
It's Konstantin Simonov's "Live and Dead," a real powerhouse of a book! Yeah, you remember the movie, right? It was frickin' legendary. That was our youth, wasn't it?
That's true.
Today, we've been reviewing our progress and setting some goals. We've agreed to prevent this from happening: we've had a Year of the Family, now the Year of the Homeland Defender. A year goes by, and we forget. That shouldn't happen!
The theme of war, the theme of heroism, it should be not just in the year of the 80th anniversary of the Victory, but always. Especially since we didn't finish the war on May 9th, but in September—with the defeat of the Kwantung Army. I reminded everyone of that today, as I was born in Port Arthur.
Yep, I saw some familiar faces on TV—publishers you might recognize.
Of course,you know the publishing houses they represent. "Vechye", "Molodaya Gvardiya", "Eksmo", Oleg Novikov, and even smaller ones.
There were writers, too, like Oleg Roy, who's been churning out war stories.
Oh, and a bit of an open secret: A well-known writer, Sergei Lobanov, plans to show his war book to our president, Vladimir Putin. You know Putin has a direct connection to the Great Patriotic War, right? His father fought in the war, and his little brother died during the blockade and is buried at Piskarevskoe Cemetery.
So, for us, for my generation, and for his... this isn't just a story about something. It's life, it's our family.
And your mom was also a blockade survivor.
By the way, I'd like to thank Vladimir Medinsky too. They've prepared 3 educational materials about the Great Patriotic War already! I've seen them, and they're well-produced, easy to understand...
Another topic we discussed was adapting works about the Great Patriotic War for film. Vladimir Mashkov, a top-notch actor and my pal, spoke about it during a video call.
We learned about a film based on Boris Vasilyev's novella "Not Listed in the Roster". It's set to premiere in cinemas on May 1.
Thanks a bunch, Sergey Vadimovich.
I'd like to thank "Komsomolskaya Pravda" too, which is prepping for its 100th anniversary in May. The "Komsomolskaya Pravda" books about the Great Patriotic War are dope and highly sought-after.
Yeah, we're trying hard for you!
It seems like Vladimirovich Medinsky and Sergey Stepaschin have been working on an educational project related to the anniversary of the Victory.
This project involves hosting book festivals in every district and stocking school libraries with war books as a means of promoting education-and-self-development through learning about history.
The project is being prepared with the support of the President and the Russian Language Council, and some of the books will be available at an affordable cost.
In addition, 3 educational materials about the Great Patriotic War have already been published, thanks to the efforts of Vladimirovich Medinsky and his team.
