Dear friends!
My name is Alexander Shein and I am serving as the head of “Generalissimo A.S. Shein Foundation”. Let me tell you briefly about the Foundation and its activities.
The Foundation’s establishment was a natural reaction to an apathetic attitude towards Russian history that has arisen in the last decade of the 20th century. Generalissimo Shein’s impeccable military career and numerous achievements accomplished throughout decades of his dedicated service to the Russian state, have inspired the organizers to use his character as a symbol of struggle against the ideological crisis and spiritual hunger that has affected our country following the collapse of USSR.
The Foundation has organized a number of charity projects and events in Azov, Tver, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Penza region.
The most important of them are:
- Establishment of a commemorative medal and a mark of “The Order of The First Russian Generalissimo Alexey Shein. For faithful service to Russia”
- Filming of a documentary "The First Russian Generalissimo”. The film discusses the historical events from the life of the commander during the initial period of Russian transformation under the rule of Peter the Great at the turn of XVII-XVIII centuries. The film has been marked by the Russian Ministry of Culture and received a National Film passport.
- The Foundation has been active in development and set up of monuments dedicated to Generalissimo in his burial place in the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra and in the city of Azov. Shein’s busts were erected in Tobolsk, where he spent time as a military governor, in the city of Azov.
The establishment of monuments dedicated to Shein is a very important achievement for our Foundation, as it meant that after three centuries, the will Peter the Great has finally been executed. On his deathbed, the first Russian emperor has issued a decree to erect monuments dedicated to his teachers and first companions-in-arms - Shein, Gordon and Lefort.
Peter has said: "These men’s loyalty and merit are the eternal Russian monuments." As a result, the monument to the first Russian Generalissimo in Azov, built with the city administration’s assistance, was not just a historical and cultural attraction and a tribute of respect towards our ancestors and their achievements, but also a symbol of stability and inviolability of the Russian state’s southern borders.
In 2012, the Fund has successfully completed negotiations and consultations with Russian Central Bank and in 2013 the Bank has issued of three commemorative series of coins dedicated to the first Russian generalissimo Alexey Shein.
In 2014-2015, the Fund has participated in outreach programmes in different parts of Russia.
Since the beginning of 2001, the Foundation’s organizers have been declaring that the country’s security is directly dependent on historical truth. The Foundation’s main mission is promotion of respect and protection of Russian history. This is actively relevant today - for instance in 2009, “the Commission against attempts of historical falsification to the detriment of Russian interests” was established at the national level of government.
The world is changing and so are the people. In the current times, when information rules the world, the path to a successful future of Russia is dependent on knowing and having respect for our nation’s history!
Sincerely, Alexander Shein.