Secrets of building a strong family revealed at the National Centre RUSSIA

How can harmonious family relationships be built? How can mutual respect be preserved, family values passed on and traditions created that will become a foundation for future generations? These questions were the focus of the Open Dialogue "Family as a Union: What Brings Generations Closer and Helps Them Grow Together", held at the National Centre RUSSIA on 9 July as part of the III All-Russian Wedding Festival "Russia. Uniting Hearts".

The discussion was moderated by television and radio presenter and mother of many children Tatyana Romanenko (Tutta Larsen), and television presenter and father of many children Valery Koloskov. Together with festival participants, they spoke about the family as a space for growing together, mutual support and continuity between generations.

Photo: Press Office of the National Centre RUSSIA

"When people become a couple and then a family, they do not immediately think about the long life ahead, the different things they will face and the fact that they will have to go through everything together. A real family story is made up of many events. We grow older, everything changes: habits, professions, children appear, and, of course, the family changes and grows along with us. And the most important things are the skills and secrets that every couple has and that help them preserve their relationship, grow and maintain respect and trust," Tatyana Romanenko noted.

The discussion focused on questions faced by almost every family: how to preserve respect for one another, raise children, and pass family traditions and personal experience on to them.

Photo: Press Office of the National Centre RUSSIA

"Working together with children and doing good deeds are very useful. They help a child understand who they are and where they come from, where they will go next and what they will pass on to their own children. It is a kind of specific code that we pass on to our children by doing things together," Valery Koloskov said, sharing one of his secrets.

Entrepreneur, mother of many children and volunteer Pelageya Sterligova spoke about her views on marriage, motherhood and shared family interests: "In marriage, you must not abandon your ideas and values or the things you are passionate about. And when you come together with someone, it is also very important that, even if you have different personalities and different tastes, you share the same worldview. Your values must be the same, otherwise it will be difficult to build a marriage. My husband and I have been fortunate: we share the same guiding principles in life, moral values and views on how to raise children."

Families who took part in the II All-Russian Wedding Festival also joined the conversation: Dmitry and Tatyana Dronov, as well as newlyweds from the III All-Russian Wedding Festival — their son Vyacheslav Dronov and his wife Anastasia Isakova. The parents shared personal stories about how their family was formed, how they raised their children, taught them to listen to and understand one another, and passed traditions on to them.

Photo: Press Office of the National Centre RUSSIA

"You cannot build a marriage without love. Our children have the most important thing — they love each other. And that is what helped my husband and me stay together for more than a quarter of a century and have three wonderful children. It is very important that we set Slava a positive example: we always listened to and understood each other, and whenever we promised something, we always kept our word," Tatyana Dronova explained.

Newlyweds Vyacheslav Dronov and Anastasia Isakova also spoke about how they are building their marriage, learning from their parents and adopting important skills and values.

Vyacheslav shared the main rules for building a strong family that his father instilled in him: "First of all, you need to be responsible and keep every promise you make, be courageous and truly be a wall behind which your wife, and later your children, can feel safe. It is important to support your wife in every possible way. And you simply have to try to do everything you can. Even what seems impossible."

Photo: Press Office of the National Centre RUSSIA

Anastasia added that she and her husband share the same values and principles. Her husband is an incredibly caring and understanding person, which made it easy for her to decide to build a life with him and marry him.

During the meeting, everyone had the opportunity to ask the speakers questions via a special QR code displayed on the screen. The discussion was lively and interactive: guests wanted to know how to preserve mutual understanding between generations, overcome family crises and create an atmosphere of trust at home.

The Open Dialogue "Family as a Union: What Brings Generations Closer and Helps Them Grow Together" was one of the events in the business programme of the III All-Russian Wedding Festival "Russia. Uniting Hearts". The festival is being held at the National Centre RUSSIA, bringing together families, newlyweds, experts and public figures from across the country around the idea of preserving traditional family values and strengthening the institution of the family.