Moscow School No. 1694 was named after a foreign intelligence officer – Pavel Mikhailovich Fitin

September 7, 2022 was a special day for the students and teaching staff of Moscow School No. 1694. She received the name of the legendary head of the Soviet foreign intelligence Pavel Mikhailovich Fitin, who held this post in the most difficult pre-war years and during the Great Patriotic War.

The solemn ceremony was attended by employees and veterans of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, the head of the Yasenevo municipal district I. V. Grishina, journalists, students and teachers of the educational institution. The opening of the bust of P. M. Fitin by the sculptor I.N. Novikov and architect A.K. Tikhonov, who also attended the celebration.

The tradition of giving the names of prominent people to public buildings, ships, settlements and even cities has centuries-old roots. So contemporaries are trying to perpetuate their memory. But assigning the names of heroes to schools stands apart in this series. Studying at the school named after P.M. Fitin or another outstanding person who left a mark in the history of our country, a child from a very young age sees before him an example of serving the country and a direct role model. This is how, from an early age, the process of patriotic education of the younger generation brings the greatest effect.

The leadership of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, employees and veterans of the intelligence service met with gratitude the decision to award school No. 1694 “Yasenevo” named after P. M. Fitin, since they are sincerely convinced that it is difficult to find a better example to follow. Having headed the intelligence after the tragedy of repressions, the young 32-year-old leader in the shortest possible time managed to organize the extraction of intelligence data for the political and military leadership of the country on the widest range of issues – from the plans of the Nazi command on the Eastern Front to penetration into the atomic secrets of the West. He managed to achieve unconditional confidence in Stalin’s intelligence information, thwarted attempts at separate negotiations between the Western allies and Nazi Germany, and much more.

Today, many books and articles have been written about the life and work of Pavel Mikhailovich, films have been made. In 2017, the Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia, S. E. Naryshkin, solemnly opened a monument to P. M. Fitin on Ostozhenka Street, in the center of Moscow. In a word, students of SBEI “School No. 1694 “Yasenevo” named after P. M. Fitin” have every opportunity to learn more about this outstanding person and it will be an exciting activity, cleaner than any adventure novel.

In her speech at the solemn event, the head of the Yasenevo municipal district, I. V. Grishina, noted that the assignment of the school named after P. M. Fitin is a holiday for the entire Yasenevo district. The performance of the Song and Dance Ensemble named after V.S. Loktev with the performance “The history of intelligence is the history of the country. Nuclear Shield ”, where participants in Moscow theater studios will talk about the very time when P. M. Fitin was in charge of domestic foreign intelligence. The 80th anniversary of the heroic movement of the Komsomol members of the underground “Young Guard” and the beginning of the battle for Stalingrad, which marked the beginning of a radical turning point in the course of the Great Patriotic War, will not be forgotten.

Chairman of the Board of the Association of Veterans of the Foreign Intelligence Service A.P. Zinoviev expressed gratitude to the organizers and participants of the holiday, noting that the members of the association are set to interact with the school and will gladly accept an invitation to participate in school events for the patriotic education of students, where they will talk about the work of foreign intelligence and share their memories.

It is symbolic that the school is located in the same area as the headquarters of foreign intelligence and not far from the street, which also bears the name of Pavel Mikhailovich. Therefore, we do not exclude that some of the current students in a few years will decide to link their fate with the service in foreign intelligence. And now we wish all of them only excellent marks!

Information and photos Press Bureau of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia.