Russia (bbabo.net), - At the expense of the National Association of Reserve Officers "Megapir", a temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was built in the hospital. P.V. Mandryka, a chapel in memory of the death of cadets of the Ordzhonikidze School in the Battle of Stalingrad. She patronizes the school of the St.Andrew Monastery and the Martha and Mary Convent in Moscow. The construction of the Main Temple of the Armed Forces took a special place in the spiritual and moral sphere of the association's activities. We are talking about this with the permanent leader of Megapir, Doctor of Philosophy Alexander Kanshin.

Alexander Nikolaevich, the temple in the Patriot Park has been open for over a year. There were doubts whether it would become in demand due to its remoteness, like, say, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, erected in honor of the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812. Fears were confirmed or dissipated?

Alexander Kanshin: Believers go to shrines hundreds and thousands of kilometers away. And there are excellent communications to the Patriot park. In addition, this is not only a cathedral, but a large historical and temple complex with unique expositions, such as the "Memory Road" with a length of 1418 meters - according to the number of days of the Great Patriotic War. The gallery of heroes, based on the latest technology, contains more than 33 million portraits and short biographies of front-line soldiers. One touch is enough, and a panel with a portrait of a loved one who has gone through the roads of war will flash in front of the visitor. Many amazing innovations, as well as the rare beauty and splendor of the cathedral complex, attract streams of tourists. The temple, opened on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Great Victory, becomes a place of pilgrimage, it can be safely called one of the wonders of the world. The folk path will not overgrow to it.

You headed the Resurrection charitable foundation, it was created to collect donations for the construction of the temple. Those who did not have time or could not, but would like to make a contribution, can you still do it now?

Alexander Kanshin: I want to emphasize that the idea of ​​creating a monumental temple complex in honor of the Great Victory belongs to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. He also proposed to create a special fund to collect voluntary donations so that the receipt and expenditure of national contributions would be transparent and controlled by society.

The Foundation has fulfilled its task. During the construction period, 6,052,590,576.18 rubles of voluntary donations from individuals and legal entities were accumulated on its accounts. We had, as they say, grants to the court - two billion rubles from the Moscow government and 950 million from the Moscow region. Donations of 1.7 million rubles came from citizens and organizations of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, all CIS and Baltic countries, as well as from Europe and Asia. But most of all - from the Russians, among them were the first persons of the state, members of the government and the State Duma, senators, the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and the FSB, governors and mayors, prominent figures of science, culture and art.

Donations continue to flow even now, although not so massively and not in such amounts. Everyone can do their bit, all the details remain the same. The funds received are accumulated in the fund's accounts and will be used exclusively for the maintenance and development of the Temple.

It is known that the National Association of Reserve Officers "Megapir" headed by you made a significant contribution to the construction of the Temple - funds, volunteers, specialists, materials and equipment, information support. Is charity a common thing for you?

Alexander Kanshin: A group of officers originally created Megapir to help not only themselves, but also their comrades. Now in the composition of the Officers' Meeting of the Association there are more than 50 thousand people, and no one was left on the sidelines. But Megapir also includes about 70 commercial and non-commercial organizations, our offices are open in all federal and military districts of Russia, in 67 constituent entities of the Federation, in 300 municipalities.

The presence of commercial structures allows us to carry out charitable activities, implement socially significant programs, including assistance to veterans, family members whose fathers died defending the Fatherland, compatriots abroad. We patronize military units, support educational and medical institutions, carry out humanitarian actions, including international ones.

Nowadays, any contacts with foreign countries become a problem, because the "collective West" in relation to Russia is increasingly reminiscent of the "Wild West" ... Alexander Kanshin: Nevertheless, not everyone there went crazy. We just recently celebrated the anniversary of the International Confederation of Generals, Admirals and Reserve Officers. It was created 10 years ago, at a congress in Lyon, France, and your humble servant has been elected president. Today, the Confederation includes 29 organizations of veterans and reservists from 27 countries, and we work in constant contact. Our motto is: "People should speak, not guns." Former military men understand the danger of hostile threats better than committed "hawks" and, as best they can, try to incline the militant position in their countries towards reason.

You are a reserve colonel, Ph.D., but a believer. From your point of view, isn't military service and faith fraught with contradictions? Holy Scripture teaches to love your neighbor, and the military oath - to use weapons that bring suffering and death ...

Alexander Kanshin: Our ancestors, speaking in defense of the Fatherland, at all times crossed themselves with the sign of the cross: "God is with us!" The priests in the Temple profess neither anger nor hatred, they instruct the soldiers to love their relatives and friends, people of good will, their native land. But if the black forces of hell are approaching, it is necessary to defend both the faith and the Fatherland. As the front-line writer-patriot wrote during the Great Patriotic War, we carry love in our hearts, and hatred of enemies - on the tips of bayonets.

Today the concept of "patriotism" has finally acquired a true, lofty and noble meaning. Although there are still voices that it is not tolerant, restricts the freedom of those who would like to consider themselves "citizens of the world" ...

Alexander Kanshin: Patriotism does not deprive a person of his inner freedom of choice. Turgenev lived almost his entire life in Paris, but he deeply loved Russia and served her in word and deed. I would call Russian patriotism a unique phenomenon, in our people it comes from the depths, it is akin to faith. We live in "love for paternal coffins, love for our native ashes", as Pushkin said two centuries ago, and the holy feat of the Pskov paratroopers, who have already laid their heads in a battle with terrorists near Ulus-Kert today. Our entire history is permeated with vivid examples of selfless service to the Fatherland.

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