The Dialogue of Generations forum was held in Kazan on October 17, 2026, dedicated to the interaction of veterans of a special military operation, youth, volunteers, church and public organizations, as well as support for military personnel and their families. Deacon Igor Kulikov, Director of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission, delivered a speech at the plenary session.
The event was attended by more than 200 representatives of the regions of the Volga Federal District: veterans of the Russian Military, schoolchildren, students, activists of youth associations, volunteers, heads of social departments of the dioceses of the Volga region, clergy, employees of state and charitable organizations.
Before the plenary session, the forum participants viewed the photo exhibition "Dialogue of Generations", which tells about the meetings of military veterans with children, adolescents and youth.
In his speech at the opening of the forum, Metropolitan Kirill spoke about the need to restore a lively dialogue between the older and younger generations and the importance of national unity in the face of external challenges. He noted that the true unity of society is manifested, among other things, in the support of the defenders of the Fatherland, and stressed that "our weapons are not earthly, but the Cross of Christ and grace in the sacraments."
During the plenary meeting "Dialogue of generations: memory, service, responsibility", the director of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission, the author of the manual "Return. Spiritual and practical aspects of supporting the participants of the SVO" Deacon Igor Kulikov.
"Today, there is a lot of talk about the problems of military veterans: about PTSD, combat trauma, rehabilitation and socialization. It seems that the combatants, returning to civilian life, will only bring problems with them. But this is fundamentally wrong. Both foreign and domestic research, and most importantly, the experience of working with veterans, suggests the opposite: most of those who return from the front become more holistic, courageous and honest people than they were before they went to the front. In the process of overcoming severe traumatic events, most of the combatants rethink their value systems — in relation to life, service, family and homeland. Many people are seriously thinking about faith and the meaning of life for the first time," emphasized Deacon Igor Kulikov. — It is important to understand the main thing: the so—called post-traumatic growth does not work automatically - it reveals itself in a person if he correctly understands the experience he experienced in the war, finds himself in peaceful life and feels his relevance. And this primarily depends on the society to which he returns, on each of us. If we are able to support the man who defended our Homeland at the right moment and create all the conditions for him to reach his potential and fully realize himself in peaceful life, then after the return of the participants of his military from the front, we will face not the social problems of veterans, but the recovery of our entire society, our country."
The forum had thematic sections. The section "Veterans and youth: a dialogue of generations" was focused on the participants of the SVO, teachers, mentors and representatives of Orthodox youth associations; the participants discussed successful forms of interaction between military personnel and the development of moral and patriotic education. The section "Assistance to Veterans: Practices, Experiences, Solutions" brought together specialists from relief services, clergy, and social workers, focusing on pastoral care for veterans, parish initiatives, volunteer service in hospitals, and support for families of fallen soldiers.
Summing up the results of the forum, Deacon Igor Kulikov expressed the hope that the ideas for developing cooperation between youth, veterans and church social services, voiced by the participants of the thematic sections, will be implemented in the near future throughout the Volga Federal District.
The Dialogue of Generations Forum was organized by the Orthodox relief service Mercy Kazan with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund.
The Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission was established by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church with the aim of coordinating and systematically developing assistance to civilians in the Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions, as well as providing assistance to wounded servicemen.