Congratulation of the Rector of SPbPU Andrei Rudskoi on Victory Day

Dear Polytechnics, I wholeheartedly congratulate you on Victory Day! On this day, we rejoice in the peace that our heroes defended, and we mourn those who gave us Victory at the cost of their own lives. Among them are our Polytechnics: students, professors, scientists. Their names are forever inscribed in the «Book of Memory» of our university. Today, more than ever, it is important to remember: their feat is not a page of history, but a living example of courage that inspires us even today.

The harsh war years spared no one. In July 1941, the Leningrad People’s Militia Army was formed. More than 300 students and professors of the Polytechnic immediately volunteered for the ranks of the Third Frunze Division.

Several thousand Polytechnics fought on various fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Anatoly Kalyaev, a student of the Electrotechnical Faculty, liberated his native Leningrad and the Baltics, and after the Victory continued his studies. Fourth-year student Rostislav Mokhov survived encirclement, participated in the Sinyavinsk operation, and met Victory Day in German Breslau. Student Nikolay Belyakov led his squad into an attack after the commander was wounded, and died in March 1942 near Myasnoy Bor. Thousands of such heroes are inscribed in the Polytechnic «Book of Memory.»

The Polytechnics brought Victory closer not only at the front. During the war, the institute worked for the defense industry. For example, Vladimir Tsimbalin created a device to protect pilots from overloads, Yury Baymakov devised a technology for producing an alloy for fuses of bottles with incendiary mixture. Mikhail Koshkin, a graduate of the Mechanical Engineering Faculty of LPI, created the legendary T-34 tank. And this is only part of the scientific contribution of Polytechnics to the Victory.

May 9 is not just a date on the calendar; it is a day when we bow our heads before the feat of millions, a day when we feel a living connection with those who gave us a future. Today, we remember their names, bow our heads before them, and promise: their feat will not be forgotten. It is our duty to preserve the memory of the heroes of those terrible years and to pass the history on to the next generations, so that they too may learn courage, fortitude, and selflessness from our heroes.

Happy Great Victory Day!