The All-Russian Admiral's Gala Reception, held on February 24, 2024, at the Central House of the Russian Army, has concluded. Organized on the birthday of Admiral Fyodor Ushakov by the Organizing Committee for the construction of the Temple in his honor, the Gala Reception was dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the general church canonization of the admiral.
The solemn event was held with the support of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, and the Ministry of Defense of Russia, in conjunction with the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy, and Veterans Affairs, the Union of Veterans of the Navy, and the organizing committee of the All-Russian contest "Admiral Fyodor Ushakov Through My Eyes", with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia as part of the activities for the construction of the Spiritual and Historical Complex and the Temple in honor of the Holy Righteous Warrior Feodor Ushakov on the Leningradskoye Highway in Moscow.
The Gala Reception was held under the patronage of the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, under the patronage of the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, Magomedsalam Magomedov, the curator of the Department for Interethnic Relations. The event began with a welcoming address by Mr. Magomedov.
Spiritual and Historical Complex
«We started the construction of the Complex and the Temple in August 2022. This project is unique in that it does not have an anchor investor. Everyone sitting here, every donor, practically participates in the creation of this space — the Temple of Feodor Ushakov, the chapel, the parish school, and a large museum. I hope that we will complete the construction of the warm circuit of our temple as early as October 15», — said Dmitry Shlopak, head of the initiative group for the construction of the complex and member of the General Council of Delovaya Rossiya, at the Reception.
The Role of the Saint in Russian Cultural Heritage
The Admiral's Gala Reception showed that even against the backdrop of unprecedented geopolitical challenges, Russian society is united on the eve of the presidential elections. And the centers of this unity, as before, remain traditional values, heroic pages, and figures in the history of the Fatherland — such as Fyodor Ushakov.
«What is Ushakov's holiness? Of course, many commanders performed feats. But the Church saw the criterion of holiness in this particular person in that he was very merciful and compassionate, lived very modestly, giving his considerable salary to ordinary and poor people. When he was canonized, the entire district gathered for the ceremony, several tens of thousands of people», — commented Vikenty, a permanent member of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Tashkent and Uzbekistan.
«Why are we celebrating the saint's birthday today, February 24? This is partly my merit: as a Sevastopol cadet, I first began to study the issue of dating and the birthplace of the saint. In military and civil encyclopedias, the data on the admiral's birth differed, and there was no such information in the archives at all. I had to do a lot of work to find the sources», — said Vladimir Ovchinnikov, captain of the first rank, doctor of historical sciences, and military historian, at the Reception.
Temple and Competition
As part of the promotion activities, the All-Russian competition "Admiral Ushakov Through My Eyes" was also held, the awarding of the winners of which took place at the exhibition "Russia — My History" a few days earlier.
«8,000 Russians from 5 to 70 years old took part in the competition: drawings, poems — all their works were impressive and inspired joy that our country has such a national hero», — said Admiral Vladimir Valuev, former commander of the Baltic Fleet.
The Gala Reception program included performances by famous artists, pop creative groups, symphony, string, wind, and military orchestras, banner groups, and ancient Russian bell ringing, various art performances, memorial events, and exhibition presentations about the life and victories of the invincible Russian naval commander, the solemn awarding of winners and laureates of the All-Russian creative competition dedicated to him, as well as a historical gala dinner complementing the official part, and a festive concert.
Bust for Donetsk School and Icon from Victoria Tsyganova
A certificate for the installation of a bust of Admiral Ushakov from the All-Russian project "Alley of Fame" from the hands of Admiral Vladimir Komoedov for Gymnasium No. 6 in the city of Donetsk was received by Senator of the Federation Council from the DPR Alexander Voloshin. And singer Victoria Tsyganova presented the church under construction with an icon of the saint made in the family workshop.
Composition of the Organizing Committee
The Organizing Committee of the Admiral's Gala Reception included: a permanent member of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, Honorary Rector of the Moscow Temple in honor of Feodor Ushakov, Metropolitan Vikenty, Archimandrite of the Sanaksar Monastery (the burial place of Fyodor Ushakov), Bishop Kliment, Patriarchal Archdeacon Konstantin Bargan, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, Co-Chairman of the jury of the competition "Admiral Fyodor Ushakov Through My Eyes" Anna Kuznetsova, Co-Chairmen of the Organizing Committee of the Admiral's Gala Reception, Director of the Department of Culture of the Ministry of Defense of Russia Artyom Gorny and Head of the initiative group for the construction of the spiritual and historical complex in honor of the Holy Righteous Warrior Feodor Ushakov Dmitry Shlopak, Co-Chairmen of the Admiral's Council at the Spiritual and Historical Complex in honor of Feodor Ushakov, former commanders of the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets, Admirals Vladimir Valuev and Vladimir Komoedov, former Deputy Director of the FSB of Russia, Colonel-General Viktor Komogorov, Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Science of the Moscow Region Anatoly Maltsan, Director of Rospatriotsentr Elena Belikova, Chairman of the Union of Writers of Russia Nikolai Ivanov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts Nikas Safronov, Rectors of Moscow State Pedagogical University Alexei Lubkov, world-famous traveler and world record holder Fedor Konyukhov, People's Artist of Russia, world-famous pianist Yuri Rozum, Honored Artist of Russia Andrei Merzlikin, and Chairman of the Center for Cultural Cooperation named after St. Spyridon of Trimifuntsky Pavel Karpukhin.
