"The shchi my mother makes": Marina Gromova on what the Motherland begins with
What makes a country a Motherland? Perhaps it is small family rituals, the smells and voices of childhood. For some, it is the road home from school; for others, it is their parents' house or a favourite book. As part of the nationwide survey "What Does the Motherland Begin With?", TV presenter and journalist of the Rossiya 24 TV channel Marina Gromova shared her answer. Her story is about how the feeling of the Motherland is born from deeply personal memories.
"I immediately remembered how, in tenth grade, I went abroad to study for two months. As soon as the plane landed in Moscow, I called my mother and asked her to make me shchi. The shchi my mother makes, and that her mother used to make," said Marina Gromova.
For the TV presenter, the most important feelings are connected with simple things that are so familiar to everyone: family traditions, favourite books, the dacha and childhood memories.
"The first berry was always mine. The Motherland begins with the first daffodils, with that very dacha. The Motherland begins with 'The Tale of Tsar Saltan', which was read to me as a child and which I knew by heart. And when I come to the village of Konstantinovo in the Ryazan Region or, for example, to Srostki, Shukshin's birthplace, I understand that, for me, the Motherland begins there too. Our large, strong, beautiful and most beloved country," she added.
In the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia, announced by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, the National Centre RUSSIA launched the nationwide survey "What Does the Motherland Begin With?" The project brings people together around shared values and love for the country, and is being implemented jointly with the Government of the Russian Federation and federal executive bodies. It aims to strengthen civic identity, preserve cultural diversity and shape nationwide values through dialogue between generations and regions.
We invite you to share your view: what does this word mean to you? You can take part in the survey on our website.
The unusual art object was created by the National Centre RUSSIA together with the Government of the Tambov Region and the Kotovsk Nevalyashka Factory.
