New tradition by Victory Day at Kazan Hospital for Veterans of War
TAIF Management Company JSC participated in the festivities dedicated to Victory Day
The festivities dedicated to the 77th anniversary of the Great Victory took place at the Kazan Hospital for Veterans of War. Officials congratulated the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, home front workers and children of war who were receiving treatment and going through rehabilitation in the medical institution, artists of the Tatarstan capital prepared a concern and organisers of the events and sponsors did presents for them. Read more in Realnoe Vremya’s report.
Mini-parade for veterans
The hospital staff came up with the idea of having their own, though small, parade for veterans and home front workers who received treatment and went through rehabilitation on the festive days in the hospital in 2021.
“All the staff of two health care institutions gathered (we have general meetings of doctors) and agreed to make something special by Victory Day. The veterans who are receiving treatment here don’t have the chance of participating in the big, main republican parade. We thought to hold our big events — a mini-parade — than going and congratulating personally. The weather is good. It is May. Everything is in blossom,” Chief Doctor of the hospital Ildar Fakhrutdinov shared the history of the event.
No sooner said than done. But the hospital didn’t even expect the event to have such a scale a year later. Veteran organisations of the republic, the administration of the district, the Health Care Ministry, cadets of nearby educational institutions, and numerous artists joined the organisation of the event.
“I see in the veterans’ eyes, emotions are glad about the attention paid. This is precious. And we are grateful to them for our happy life, for the peaceful sky above our heads. All this is their achievement. And we pay them tribute for their deeds with this event,” Ildar Fakhrutdinov stressed in the interview.
To wartime songs
Even if one didn’t know the exact location of the event, it could easily be found due to wartime songs that had been heard in neighbouring streets two hours before the event. The bright sun, a clear sky and notably warmer air allowed the hospital patients to go outside.
And the festive programme started with a solemn part at 11 o’clock.
“Today, on this sunny and cloudless day, I would like to tell you, dear veterans, many warm words for what you did for all of us. Victory Day is a holy holiday. Look, how many guests have come today to congratulate you, both who forged the Victory on the front and those who did their best for the Victory on the home front. The saying is correct: ‘No home front — no victory.’ Kazan was awarded the status City of Labour Glory for a reason. How many plants were evacuated to our city during the wartime, how much was done here to near Victory Day. Weapons, equipment, food, clothing were made, how many hospitals opened,” Chairman of the Tatarstan Union of Veterans republican public organisation of veterans (the disabled) General Mayor Alexander Borodin addressed the audience.
Tatarstan Vice Health Care Minister Vladimir Zhavoronkov admitted that on his way to the event he decided to know the exact meaning of the word “veteran.” But in his opinion, this definition doesn’t suit our veterans:
“The dictionary reads that the veteran is a former soldier, an old worker. But looking at you I understand I don’t have the impression that we are talking about the elderly. Looking at your shining eyes, your military bearing, I really want to say a lot today, most importantly, words of gratitude for what you did, for your martial and labour feat, for what you did, for making sure today we can breath, feel, love, be happy, also for making sure we can bring up the next generations following your example. I congratulate you and hope you save this shine in your eyes and harmony in your soul. And the health care system will do its best to improve your physical state and keep you healthy.”
Head of the administration of Kirov and Moskovsky Districts of Kazan Sergey Mironov, vice head of the Tatarstan office of the Russian Investigative Committee Marsel Dulkarnayev, directors of regional public organisations of pensioners as well as veterans of local conflicts and peacekeepers were among those who arrived to congratulate the veterans on the upcoming Victory Day.
170 gifts for veterans
After the congratulations and official speeches, award ceremony for hospital workers who do an important and necessary work, the event continued with a concert. While the officials went to hospital wards together with the hospital staff to congratulate those who couldn’t attend the celebration personally due to their health or doctors’ recommendations. Vice Director General of Economic Security and Regime Rinat Galimbekov came to congratulate the veterans on behalf of TAIF MC JSC according to Director General Albert Shigabutdinov’s instructions.
“We congratulate you on Victory Day and sincerely thank you for everything you did for the Fatherland. You happened to be born and grow up during the toughest years for our Homeland. We wish you the strongest health and many many years of life. We hope everything is fine and every day makes you happy,” Rinat Galimbekov together with Director General of Novy Vek TV channel, Tatarstan State Council deputy Ilshat Aminov gave one of the hospital patients who received congratulations on that day Alfiya Ivanycheva.
“Thank you. I am touched by your kindness and attention. The treatment is very good here. I even want to keep living,” the charming woman who turned out to have a unique destiny thanked them with a smile. Alfiya Ivanycheva was born in 1939 in a military’s family. Her father comes from the Tatar land, he went to Primorye after military courses in 1936. He went to the front from there, leaving his wife and daughters. He was lucky. He returned from the war as a captain, safe and sound. While the daughters seemed to compensate for not being given sons to the officer by God grew up active, athletic. In 1956, Alfiya went parachuting for the first time. Later, she entered Kazan Finance and Economics Institute. She met her love brave parachutist Vladimir there.
So they live in full harmony, they even answered the journalist’s questions almost together:
“I came to the institute in 1961.”
“While I returned from the army.
“And we met at the aeroclub.”
“I performed by first jump from PO-2 in 1956, whereas she did in Izhevsk, approximately at the same time. So the sky turned out to unite us.”
“There was an interesting article with us in 1963, I hold a baby in my arms there. Now I can say that this baby is a lieutenant colonel of the Main Intelligence Office. He participated in military actions in Afghanistan and Chechnya. We have four sons, the four of them have participated in wars. They all are paratroopers, order bearers. Three of them are officers,” the couple said.
The sons followed in their father’s footsteps, he didn’t say goodbye to the army after his contract expired. He was a member of a group of USSR military specialists in an operation in the Republic of Congo.
About 100 festive food baskets were handed over on this day in the hospital. They had been purchased by the Tatarstan Union of Veterans with money allocated by TAIF MC JSC. The company annually earmarks hundreds of millions of rubles to do important social tasks for the good of the republic’s residents. But those who neared the Victory on the battlefield, forged it on the home front and children who were born during the toughest years in humankind’s history is a special case. Therefore TAIF MC immediately responded to General Mayor Borodin’s petition.
Representatives of the Tatarstan Union of Veterans delivered another 70 gifts from themselves and TAIF to veterans’ homes. They managed to do this a day before Victory Day.
As for the event in the courtyard of the Kazan hospital, as both the chief doctor of the hospital and co-organisers of the festivity are convinced, two times is already a tradition. Moreover, it is a tradition that can and should live, which means that in 2023, before the 78th anniversary of the Great Victory, wartime songs will again be heard on the same site.
