From School Museums to International Resolutions: how Historical Truth Protected in CIS

On 4 December 2025, the international conference "The Great Patriotic War in the Collective Memory of the Peoples of the Commonwealth: on the 80^th anniversary of Victory" was held in St. Petersburg.

The event was organized by the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

Within the framework of the conference, thematic sections were held, which were attended by representatives of government authorities, cultural, scientific and educational institutions, public associations and youth organizations of the CIS countries and other countries. They discussed various aspects of historical memory, from military fraternity and labor feats to modern challenges in the information sphere and the role of youth in preserving the truth about the war.

The section "Combat Brotherhood and the labor feat of the Soviet People in the Great Patriotic War" was led by Head of the National Center for Historical Memory under the President of the Russian Federation Elena Malysheva. Experts from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan spoke about their countries' contribution to the common Victory, the evacuation of enterprises, the feat of home front workers and the unity of peoples during the war. Special attention was drawn to the reports on the besieged Leningrad, which became a symbol of resistance to Nazism.

The moderators of the section "The History of the Great Patriotic War as an Object of Information Warfare" were member of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Foreign Affairs Ivan Novikov and Chair of the Commission of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation on Sovereignty, Patriotic Projects and Veterans' Support Vladimir Rogov.

The participants of the meeting talked about attempts to falsify history, rehabilitate Nazism, as well as the destruction of monuments to Soviet soldiers. The speakers emphasized the importance of archival documents, scientific research and international cooperation for the protection of historical truth.

The section "War and Victory Memorialization: Spaces and Objects of Memory" was held under the leadership of member of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Defense and Security Andrey Serezhnikov and General Director of the National Library of Russia Denis Tsypkin. At the meeting, projects aimed at perpetuating memory were presented: from the installation of memorial plaques at the graves of Soviet prisoners of war to digital exhibitions, school museums and the publication of front-line diaries. The event discussed how public organizations, libraries and museums of the Commonwealth countries help to keep alive the memory of the war.

The section "The Great Patriotic War in the Youth Information field" was led by member of the Standing Committee of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukyanov. He spoke about the international forum "Children of the Commonwealth" held in Belarus and the 25^th meeting of the CIS Interparliamentary Youth Assembly. Following the meeting of the YIPA CIS, an Appeal to the youth of the CIS countries was adopted, and an initiative to digitize monuments was launched.

Youth initiatives, from school museums and student projects to search parties and theater productions, became the central topic of discussion. The participants discussed how local practices, family histories and the work of local governments help to build respect for the feat of ancestors and resist the distortion of history.

The conference ended with a final plenary session, where the moderators summed up the work of their sections.

The conference was organized by the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly and the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. Parliamentarians, public figures, well-known historians, representatives of cultural, scientific and educational institutions, and members of youth organizations will take part in the discussions.