Sergei Mironov shares his memories

CHILDHOOD

Sergei Mironov spent his childhood and school years inSt. Petersburg, in the outskirts of former Tsarskoye Selo. His address was 30,Krasnaya Artilleriya street. "The expression 'to go to the city' in our suburb outskirts did not mean to go toLeningrad, though it seems logical as the town ofPushkinisLeningrad's suburb. Instead this expression meant to go to the center of Pushkin. So you can see that the district I lived in was indeed an outskirt. And it was actually an advantage, for we were city children who had all the benefits of living in the country", - recalls Sergei Mironov.

He used to live like any other soviet child in the 1960s. "Each summer all the parents from our apartment building took turns in providing cultural entertainment for all the children of our building. They took us on cultural trips to museums or to the river Popovka, and it was during those trips that I saw petrified remains for the first time, and geology became my life long passion", - Sergei Mironov says. Soon the entire room where he lived with his parents was filled with limps of rocks. "My mother scolded me and tried to throw the rocks away, but I was against it".

Sergei Mironov used to live in a communal apartment, which was quite common in those days. (A communal apartment is usually a large apartment that belonged to some merchant or professor before the revolution, in soviet time all the rooms in such apartments were divided into smaller ones and each small room was occupied by a person or a family; the people living in a communal apartment shared kitchen and other facilities) "We had a tight living, as many people did those days, but I have only good memories of my childhood", - Sergei Mironov says.

"We used to prepare and perform some plays, played a huge number of games, and I guess the names of those games will mean nothing to present-day children. For example, we played 'rhombi', 'twelve sticks', 'Cossacks and bandits' (I believe children still play this one). All the time we played war, pioneer ball and other games. When it was raining outside we used to sit in the stairwell and play with candy wraps, and each of us had his or her own collection of those wraps".

"There were many boys in our apartment building, many of them were the same age as I was and some of them were my classmates, but there were five of us who formed a group and always played together. Soon we decided to call ourselves 'Timurovtsy' (children who set their goal to do good deeds and help everywhere their help is needed; the movement started due to children's book titled 'Timur and his team'). During summer vacation we even tried to invent some kind of uniform to wear, and we had our team song, and of course we had to build our headquarters. And we did it. And I still know how to carpenter, to make a roof and a stove and to put glass in window panes. I must say I used these skills quite often later".

When Sergei Mironov and his sister Marina were little, they used to spend summers at their grandparents' house inNovgorodregion. Sergei Mironov recalls: "My grandma, Darya Varlamova, was an amazing person. I still remember her tenderness and care. She tricked me into drinking milk this way: she'd take a glass, fill it with raspberries and then pour milk onto them. Then she'd say, 'Seryon'ka, come eat raspberries'. So I sat down and ate the raspberries with a spoon. And each time she would put less berries and more milk in my glass, and soon I didn't mind drinking milk at all. Now I have three grandchildren of my own, but I still remember my grandmother's education techniques. And I still believe that love and care is the best way to grow a child into a good person".

Military service

"I'm proud that I served in airborne forces and I keep my blue beret as the most sacred relic".

Sergei Mironov had his regular term military service in 1971-1973 as an airborne forces trooper in the Soviet Army. His troops were located inLithuaniaandAzerbaijan, and he was discharged as a Staff Sergeant of airborne forces.

Sergei Mironov had been studying at theIndustrialCollegein 1971, so he could finish college before he was supposed to join the army. Instead he decided to join the army right away and finish college after his military service. The officer at the military enlistment office offered him to join the airborne troops. Sergei Mironov recalls that moment in his blog: "I was so excited, for two reasons. First, let me be honest, I was a bit scared. I imagined it would be something like that: I'm in the sky, falling from the plane, and my parachute won't open, and the ground is getting closer and closer, and I curse the day I agreed to be an airborne trooper…But at the same time, I felt a rush of joy, thinking that it was so cool to be a trooper, and the blue beret that attracts the girls, and they would teach me how to fight…so, I hesitated for a second and then accepted the offer".

"There were only 9 of us from Pushkin who were selected to become airborne troopers. After the selection was over, we were gathered in a hall, and the chief enlistment officer told us about the airborne forces and said we were to go toLithuaniafor the training. And then suddenly he said that the worst thing is if someone, after going through all the training, is too scared to jump off the plane. Then he announced a 10-minute break and said that if anyone feels he wouldn't be able to jump, they are free to go and come the next day to be assigned to some other troops. So we went on a break, and when we got back to the hall 10 minutes later, suddenly I realized that there were only 8 of us".

During the years of his military service Sergei Mironov was granted a 10-day vacation for good service twice, but he never used his vacations.

According to Sergei Mironov, the principles of airborne troops have defined his path of life and help him a lot in his political career: "The 'Blue Berets' have everything that is the best about Russian people and Russian warriors. Russian people love them and are proud of them. And there's a unique talent to each airborne trooper: he is taught and he knows how to overcome the difficulties using his brain and his abilities, and not brute force. That is why the airborne troops always perform the most complicated tasks and always succeed, showing bravery and heroism".

Every year on August 2, on the Day of Airborne Forces, Sergei Mironov congratulates all the airborne troopers and airborne forces veterans, and participates in the events dedicated to this holiday, as he considers this day to be his holiday as well.

In May 2003 Sergei Mironov received an award as 'the veteran of airborne forces guard division #104'. In 2004 he was made an honorary member of Karelia Union of Airborne Troopers, and as of January 2007 Sergei Mironov is Chairman of Supervisory Board of Russian Airborne Troopers Union.

"For millions of Russian citizen airborne forces mean the school for the brave and the brotherhood of the people who proved to be absolutely devoted to our Motherland. And I'm sure that today we can see a special airborne troopers' world, that includes the troopers themselves, their unions and other organizations, their creative works such as songs and a huge number of other things. The main principle holding this world together is its ethics and the troopers' code. First of all it is honesty, decency, fidelity to duty, the ability to self-sacrifice and patriotism. These are the qualities that help our nation believe in Russian Army, as they create a special connection between the army and the citizen ofRussia".

Profession: geologist.

In 1980 Sergei Mironov graduated from Leningrad Mining Institute named after G.V. Plekhanov. He started working earlier, when he was still a student, and participated in the research for crude uranium at R&D company "Geophysics".

Sergei Mironov has worked as a geophysicist engineer for 17 years, and has visited Karelia, the Urals andSiberiawith geological field trips.

According to Sergei Mironov, each trip was interesting and each was unique. Thus, he returned from his first field trip toKola Peninsulawith a backpack full of specimen - rock crystals and amethysts. "I've been to Tuva, too, but haven't found anything there, and that's a pity, for I appreciate not only the search itself, the findings are also important. It's interesting to search, but it's even more interesting to find", - Sergei Mironov recalls.

In 1986 Sergei Mironov was sent toMongoliaby the Ministry of Geology of theUSSRto work as senior geophysicist of an aerial survey team. First he took filed trips there regularly, and then his family moved to Ulan-Bator, where they all lived till 1991.

Sergei Mironov is still very interested in geology issues. In 2009 he participated in the IV All-Russia Conference of Miners, and on October 14, 2010 he has been named a honorary member of Russian Mineralogy Society at the XI session of RMS.

Favourite songs

Leader of the Political party Russia of Justice, Head of the parliamentary group of Russia of Justice in the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Sergei Mironov has performed and recorded a famous wartime song "Temnaya Noch'", and dedicated it to the upcoming anniversary of WWII victory and to the memory of his father.

In his address on the cover of the CD with the recording of this song Sergei Mironov said:

"My father Mikhail Mironov was born in1920 inSmolenskregion. When he was 20 he joined the army and fought in WWII onLeningradfront. He went through the war, was awarded Order of the Red Star and many medals. My father, probably like many other soldiers who went through the war, didn't like to talk about it. He was a strong-willed man, and very brave. And that's how I remember him.

I'd like to dedicate this song to my father and to all the people who fought in the Great War. Dear veterans, thank you for the victory, may you all be in good health and live in peace and happiness".

You can listen to the song here.

In his address on the cover of the CD with the recording of this song Sergei Mironov said: "I've heard just one wartime song from my father. When I grew up I found out that the song was from the movie that went on screen in the last days of war. Maybe that is why my father liked it so much, as it symbolized the end of war to him".

You can listen to the song here.