MILITARY-PATRIOTIC EDUCATION OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE URALS DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR

The paper analyses forms and methods of military-patriotic education of students of higher educational institutions in the Urals during the Great Patriotic War. It shows that educational system operating during the war period was based on the historical traditions of Russian patriotism, which repeatedly contributed to the unity of society and achievement of victory over the enemy. When analyzing the educational process aimed at raising the level of patriotic consciousness of students, the main emphasis is placed on the characteristics of military, physical, ideological and theoretical training of high school students, as well as on their practical participation in mass political activities that united all the efforts of the people fighting Nazism to achieve the main goal — defeat of the enemy. The paper notes that the strict control of the leading party-state bodies of the regional, city, district and university scale over the process of improving the system of military-patriotic education of students, significantly increased its organizational capabilities, and bringing the base of the ideological theory that prevailed in the country at that time under objective patriotic feelings, made the practical actions of students to protect the Motherland conscious and theoretically justified. This explains an active position of the Ural students in the war years, which determined their positive performance in military and physical training, propaganda work and patriotic movements. It is concluded that the higher educational institutions of the Urals, together with other universities of the USSR, became the most important centres of military-patriotic education, which in every possible way contributed to the military and labour unity of Soviet society, which defeated German Nazism. Social unity is also necessary for modern Russia, therefore, the existing historical experience should be studied and used in practice.