In 2022, Anatoly Kiryanov was in the Northern Military District zone, where he went as a volunteer. According to the man, last winter letters of support from strangers were delivered to their trenches along with humanitarian aid from Transbaikalia. One of them, written by an adult woman, fell into the hands of Anatoly.
“It’s probably better to read it in its entirety, but the main gist is: we support you, you are fighting not just the enemy, but evil spirits, and we, civilians, are sharing our piece of bread with you,” the fighter tells RT.
According to him, the letter also contained the text of a prayer.
“This letter came at a time when it was very difficult morally. It was December, very cold, severe frost. There is no connection with your family, you constantly carry out assigned tasks - you yourself understand what the situation is like. And then this letter is touching, it really brought me to tears. And until the end of my business trip, my contract, I prayed. I don’t know, maybe thanks to this letter I came back alive and well,” recalls the volunteer.
© Photo from personal archive
The man decided to find the author of the message who supported him in difficult times and turned to his subscribers from Shilka, where the letter came from. He explained that he wanted to personally thank the author for helping him and his unit. A touching story from the front lines quickly spread across the media and social networks. As a result, the fighter managed to find a resident of the city, Marina Anatolyevna, who had sent a letter to the front, and talk to her.
“I have already contacted that woman. Low bow to her. In that letter, in addition to the “Our Father,” there was another prayer: “My angel, walk with me, you are ahead, I am behind you.” My mother taught me this prayer as a child. I already forgot about her. And then I read it - and I had an epiphany, as if God had sent me this man and this letter, as if this was not an accident. During the conversation (with Marina Anatolyevna. -
RT
) I told her that she was like a mother to me, like something sacred,” Kiryanov shares.
“I addressed the fighter as if he were my son”
RT found Marina Anatolyevna, who wrote a letter that supported the fighter in the combat zone. The woman said that she decided to send a message to military personnel on the front line in October 2022.
“I came to the humanitarian aid collection point and saw a box with letters there. They told me that children write them, and I decided to write my own. First I made a draft; I probably spent two days compiling it. It was important for me that these were not some common phrases, not profanation, but from the heart,” says Marina Anatolyevna.
“I wasn’t just addressing a fighter - it was as if it were my son. I saw this trench, that he was sitting in this trench, that he was cold, that he was scared... I wanted to cover him with myself, to say: “Don’t be afraid. We are all with you,” she adds.
The woman noted that she was very pleased when she found out that her letter had found its addressee and Anatoly was trying to find her to thank her personally. Marina Anatolyevna also became very interested in communicating with the recipient of her message.
“I wondered who this person was. I wanted to see him, to find out under what circumstances he received the letter, why he was looking for me, what prompted him to do this... Then I want to call him separately, too, just to talk, without cameras, without correspondents. Just like person to person,” added RT’s interlocutor.
© Photo from personal archive
She emphasized that she did not think that by writing a letter to the front, she had done something special: in Marina Anatolyevna’s opinion, she was obliged to support the soldiers. The woman added that she still collects humanitarian aid for military personnel and considers it her civic duty.
“We continue to help the guys on the front line. In our city (and I know that this exists in other cities) girls have organized a whole production, they make trench candles and stretchers and collect humanitarian aid, and medicines, and camouflage nets... I also take part,” she says .
“We live in Russia, this is our Motherland, these are our people, and we worry and root for them. I have to take part, I think so. This is my life and civic position - we are together, we are obliged to help,” summed up Marina Anatolyevna.
Anatoly Kiryanov has already completed his service in the Northern Military District zone and returned home, having received the status of a combat veteran. He left a letter from Marina Anatolyevna, who supported him at the front, to his colleagues - those who are now on the front line - in the hope that it will help other soldiers.
“I left the letter further to the boys who came to take my place. I don't know where it is now. I would like to believe that the fighters pass it on to each other and that it supports our guys,” hopes Anatoly.