“I don't consider myself a hero”: how do children and adolescents who have received awards for courage live

In 2019, the Federation Council received 215 awards for students from 54 regions. Behind each of them was a heroic story. Children and adolescents pulled people out of the fire, overtook criminals and even sacrificed themselves to save loved ones. RT recalls their exploits and tells what the characters think about the events that made them famous throughout the country.

“Saved quickly and efficiently”

In Irkutsk, 16-year-old Vyacheslav Doroshenko rescued a little girl they tried to abduct. He saw a child being dragged into a car, and immediately rushed to the rescue. Together with another man, they caught up with the car of the attacker.

“The child was saved quickly and efficiently, lucky. I heard screams, then turned around, saw the girl being dragged, called Gleb. He (criminal . - RT ) tried to hide, we followed him, then he went to meet us, stopped and let go of the girl, who burst into tears and ran to us, ”says the teenager.

Vyacheslav told RT that he plans to work in law enforcement.

While he most of all likes to go in for sports - plays basketball, and earlier was engaged in free-style wrestling and volleyball.

Vyacheslav Doroshenko

“The main thing I’ll be doing next year is to prepare for the exam and train in order to meet the physical education standards for entering the police,” says Vyacheslav.

“They ran for a long time, I managed to be the first”

15-year-old Cyril Shavkunov from the village of Semushino, Kirov Region, went with friends in the summer to swim on an island on the Chepets River. Suddenly they were called by friends who were on a nearby beach. It turned out that one of the teenagers was carried away by the current to a depth. His friends tried to save him, but they failed to do this, and they asked for help.

“We ran for a long time, I was the first. Already tired along the way, but still swam quickly and pulled out the boy. He drank water, but was conscious, though in great shock. He sat on the shore, came to his senses a bit and went home, only on the bridge he understood what had happened and thanked me, ”Kirill recalls.

According to him, after this incident, friends often made fun of him. “They all joked: they say, a lifeguard, a lifeguard, they joked for a very long time. And in November I was invited to Moscow to be awarded a medal for courage, ”he says.

Now Cyril is in the ninth grade. “Often there is not enough free time. After school I go to training - athletics and volleyball. Then I do my homework and it's time to sleep, ”he describes his standard day.

Kirill Shavkunov

In the future, Cyril wants to work as a teacher, to teach the exact sciences: physics and computer science. “I like working with children, it’s always something new,” he explains his choice.

The main event this year for Cyril became school exams, the first in his life. “It was the strongest impression. And next year I’m most looking forward to Euro 2020, I really like football, ”he shared.

“I had to act fast.”

On March 12, 2019, 16-year-old Bogdan Rudik received an award from the hands of Moscow City Duma Chairman Alexei Shaposhnikov for being able to quickly provide medical assistance and save a passenger on board an airplane flying Sochi-Moscow.

Bogdan returned with his family from rest. During the flight, one of the passengers blew nose and he lost consciousness. Bogdan participated in the project “Medical Class at the Moscow School” and was the only person on board who knew what to do and was able to quickly provide assistance.

“We realized that blood had collected in our mouth, it curled up and prevented the passage of air. We pricked with a needle in order to spread the cheekbones, because they brought them together, ”he said.

As Bogdan specified, "it was necessary to act quickly, because there is no oxygen for five minutes - there could be a cardiac arrest." He was able to quickly open the jaw of the victim and extract blood clots from there. Bogdan said that while helping, he tried not to panic.

As a result, the man’s condition stabilized, he was handed over to doctors in Voronezh, where the plane made an emergency landing.

The actions of the Moscow schoolchild were noticed by the head of the Moscow Department of Health Alexey Khripun and invited him along with classmates from the medical class on an excursion to the Botkin Hospital.

“It is excellent that in Moscow there are such dedicated students as Bogdan. He was not confused in an emergency, successfully put into practice the knowledge that he received in the classroom, behaved like a real medical professional. Of course, I would like to see him in the future in the ranks of Moscow doctors, ”said Khripun.

"Lost consciousness, then woke up from the cold"

Muslim Dalgatov from the Dagestan village of Leninul is only eight years old. On the evening of May 30, 2019, he and his friend Umar Shavkhalbiev went to play on the outskirts of the village. Glade ended with a cliff. Approaching the edge, the children fell and fell from a height of about 70 meters into the Aktash river bed. Umar from numerous bruises lost consciousness. Muslim broke his arm, but was not at a loss and saved a friend.

“My friend fell, I followed him, he first held on to the grass, then grabbed my leg. I held on to the branch, it broke - and the two of us fell, ”Muslim recalls. - First, they lost consciousness. Then I woke up from the cold. I look around, I see: Umar lies. He took it out and dragged along the path. Then he came to himself and was able to go himself. "

On the road they were seen by a passing police captain who drove the boys to the district hospital.

Muslim Dalgatov

Muslim is currently in third grade. “I like mathematics most of all, most often I have fours, but sometimes they put deuces,” he admits.

“There is nothing special here”

Andrei Sorokin, a student of the Kostrovskaya secondary school in the Rylsky district of the Kursk region, also received an award for courage in saving. On March 6, 2019, he saved his grandmother, who fell into a well.

“Grandmother began to feel bad a year ago, it is clear that she is losing her mind. She is now 70 years old, it seems she’s not so old, but she is no longer aware of her actions, ”says Andrei. - I went out to chop firewood, I heard some suspicious sounds from the side of the well. He was 30 meters from me, at first I did not understand what happened. When I approached 10 meters, I heard that my grandmother was calling for help. I quickly ran up and pulled it out, she clutched at the well ring with her hands. It took just a few minutes. I say: “Let's go home, why did you get in here?”

Andrei himself does not see anything heroic in his act.

“There is nothing special here, I do not consider myself a hero at all, this is an ordinary case that could happen to anyone. I may have a different understanding of the word "hero." First of all, he is the one who defends his homeland, ”he says.

Andrei is now 17 years old, he is finishing school, where for ten years he was the only student in the class. Most of all he likes physics and physical education. He is also actively involved in sports, in 2019 he once again passed the standard for the gold badge of the TRP.

Andrey Sorokin

“The year was completely ordinary. It doesn’t matter to me what was awarded, I don’t remember what it was, ”Andrei admitted. He is due to graduate next year and plans to enter aviation college.

“I like physics, I like working with technology. I can’t do what I don’t like, and no one can, probably, ”he argues.

Useful life lessons

On June 3, 2019, 15-year-old Timofei Savinkov from the Voronezh region was relaxing with his peer Nikita Dereglazov on the Tolucheevka River. When they were swimming together, Nikita began to go under water. At first Timothy thought his friend was just playing.

“He began to dive, grab his shoulders and pull under water. At first I decided that he was just playing, and went ashore. Then he started shouting that he was drowning, and it was strange to move, ”says Timothy.

He rushed into the water and saved a friend.

Timofey Savinkov

“I told him to dive and grab my leg. When we almost swam, he unclenched his hands and fell. But I found him at the bottom, pulled him ashore and provided first aid, ”recalls Timothy.

He said that the rules for assisting drowning people were explained at the OBZh lessons and this knowledge was useful to him. For the salvation of a friend, Timofey was awarded a medal in Moscow for courage, of which he is very proud.