Nikolai Chistyakov's book “Memory of the Heart” has been presented in the Central Tourist House in Moscow. The book is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the mass act of heroism of the residents of the Circasse mountain village Besleney, who saved Jewish children during the Great Patriotic War. EAJC PR Department Head Roman Spector was invited to speak at the presentation.

The “Memory of the Heart” describes how, in 1942, an echelon of children from different orphanages from blockade Leningrad was evacuated to the south of the country. The train was bombed near Armavir. Part of the children were able to reach the mountain village of Besleney on farm wagons, and over half of those children were Jewish. The village elders – mostly women, because the men were at war – took the children into their homes, hid them, and wrote new birth certificates overnight. In the morning, German troops entered the village. The Nazis knew, that the Circasse hid Jewish children somewhere in the village, and threatened shooting the villagers should they find at least one Jewish child, but over the course of five months of occupation, not one child has been given out by residents of Besleney.

The author of the book, Professor Nikolai Chistyakov, is the Head of the Department of Theory and History of the Financial University under the Government of the RF, has a doctorate in history, and is a member of the Moscow Union of Journalists.
The evening was emceed by the President of the Adyghe Federal National Cultural Autonomy Alexander Ohtov. He came out with the initiative of placing a memorial in Saint-Petersburg in honor of the heroism of the women in Besleney. Among the speakers at the presentation were: Director of the “Besleney: Right to Live” movie Vyacheslav Davydov, editor-in-chief of the “Muslims” program on the RTR channel Vasily Antipov, Rector of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation Muhadin Eskindarov.

Roman Spector noted in his speech that “It is remarkable that a Russian has written a book on how Circasse women rescued Jewish children. This is especially meaningful today, when interethnic relationship often become bargaining chips in the hands of unscrupulous politicians. The events in Besleney must not remain a white spot in the history of the Great Patriotic War, in the history of the Holocaust, it should be spoken of aloud and often. This is an example of true courage, true mercy, internationalism in the highest sense of the word. I am certain that the Jewish community will support the initiative of placing a memorial in the Northern Capital of Russia to commemorate the heroic act of the women of Besleney.”