[Nikolay] We walked near the house from this side
[Olga] Yaroslav said that Edik and Oman went closer to the entrance, right?
[Nikolay] They stood by the door, securing it
[Olga] Which floor?
[Nikolay] If I'm not mistaken, 3rd
[Olga] Right here?
I’M A HERO, MUM
[Edik] Hello. My name's Edik, when I grow up,
I dream of becoming a soldier, to defend my homeland,
so there will always be peace
[Edik] I'm going to work in reconnaissance
[Edik] I'll be a scout
[Olga Dyakonova, Eduard Dyakonov's Mother] Before 1st year, in preschool,
we asked the kids...
what they'd be when they grew up
[Olga] And for some reason, he wanted to be a scout, I remember that
[Olga] And when he'd grown up and joined the army
and was transferred to reconnaissance, he texted me...
'My hands are dirty, I have twigs sticking out...
[Olga] Hello, Mum, I'm a scout'
[Olga Dyakonova, Eduard Dyakonov's Mother]
[Olga] In preschool there were times when someone would hurt him
[Olga] He couldn't always fight back
[Olga] And I got the idea to give him something...
[Olga] Kyokushin karate lessons
[Olga] He was scared at first because they gave demos,
and they shouted like this
[Voice] The winner in this category is Eduard Dyakonov
[Igor] Open your eyes!
[Igor] Bow to the front!
[Igor] Take a stance!
[Olga] Now, as I walk into this gym...
the memories come flooding back: how he used to come here, how...
If someone failed at something, Igor would say:
[Olga] 'Let's do push-ups, at least you'll be strong'
[Olga] And they did, the kids did well
[Olga] I remember it like it was just a short while ago
[Presenter] The winner is Eduard Dyakonov...
who takes 3rd place
[Igor Tomilov, Eduard Dyakonov's Karate Instructor] What was he like?
[Igor] Very skinny!
[Igor] Put a mop up, you couldn't see him
[Igor] But he was hardy
[Igor] In character, he was stubborn, a very stubborn character
[Igor] Start to say something, and he'd... what's it called?
[Igor] 'Express his opinion!'
[Igor] Until you explained that this is this, and that's that
[Igor] So... He was fair, very fair
[Igor] It didn't surprise me, I knew...
he was a guy...
who'd always be ready to give his life for his lads, I mean, well...
[Igor Tomilov, Eduard Dyakonov's Karate Instructor]
[Igor] He always stuck up for his boys,
friends in his neighbourhood or at school
[Igor] I mean, he hated injustice, always stepped up, and here...
[Igor] It ended this way
[Olga] Just before 2022, he moved to Special Forces
[Olga] So, it was January or February...
[Olga] They were often sent on duties at firing ranges
[Olga] Just before February 25, I wished him a good holiday on the 23rd
[Olga] I asked where he was. He said, 'Krasnodar Region
[Olga] A firing range
[Olga] Don't worry, I'm fine'
[Olga] After February 25, there was nothing...
[Olga] We had no contact until March 7
[Olga] And then he sent me a message, just a text at first...
[Olga] 'Mum, I'm fine. It's Edik. I'm on duty, everything's fine,'
from someone's phone
[Olga] I was suspicious something was wrong
[Olga] I texted, 'Edik, send a voice message, so I know it's really you'
VOICE MESSAGE FROM EDIK
[Edik] I'm explaining that I'm on a duty tour
[Edik] Don't panic or freak out, I don't text from my phone, it's not allowed
[Edik] If I use a Russian SIM, no good will come of it
[Edik] Don't worry, I'm fine, alive, well-fed, and safe
[Edik] I'm in the rear...
deep behind the frontline
[Edik] So, all is well with me
[Edik] We just haul rations, we load up trucks and nothing more
[Edik] We don't take part in any action
[Edik] When it's over, I'll write and call
[Edik] Don't panic
[Edik] Do you see? You see
[Olga] Well, it was the voice...
[Olga] You know, it was a very mature...
voice, as if...
[Olga] As if that person had seen a lot
such...
intensity, such serious things
[Olga] I calmed down a little
[Olga] I naively believed he was really stationed deep behind the lines
[Olga] But I had a deep sense that something was off
[Nikolay Oshurkevich, Eduard Dyakonov’s Friend]
[Nikolay] We got an order...
telling us to go in
[Nikolay] We packed up...
and went
[Olga] I thought he must be there
[Olga] I said, 'I'm going to kick up a stink about this'
[Olga] He said, 'Don't try to call, let alone come here'
[Nikolay] Deep down, you know where we're going...
[Nikolay] And that...
[Nikolay] To be frank, you know we won't all make it back
[Olga] They were tasked with escorting,
as I understand it, escorting some soldiers on a mop-up
[Olga] A 5-storey building
[Olga] They went past one door with no problems,
but then got to the second, and came under mortar fire
[Nikolay] Literally, that 5-storey was the first on our way
where we ran into Ukrainians, and...
and right there... we got into a fire fight
[Nikolay] I heard the first explosion, it's when he was hit
[Nikolay] Later, I saw a man had fallen, I moved position and heard the second blast
[Nikolay] Edik was hit by bullets
[Nikolay] Then a grenade landed nearby, and he threw himself onto it
[Olga] Hello
[Oleg] Hello [Olga] Hello
[Oleg Morgun, Mariupol Mayor] Thank you for coming
[Oleg] We thank you for your son
[Oleg] Your son is a real hero. He lost the most valuable thing, his life...
saving friends and officers with no regard for his life
[Oleg] A real hero
[Oleg] And now, we'll immortalise his name in the city
[Oleg] We'll go and show you the spot where the bust will go
[Oleg] It's central Lenin St. We'll show it all
[Olga] Of course, I really needed to come here
[Oleg] It's really not far away
[Oleg] Here's the car
[Oleg Morgun, Mariupol Mayor]
[Oleg] I know what it's like to lose a child, I lost a son too
[Oleg] Many guys have fallen
[Oleg] They set up firing nests on roofs, in windows, yards. Ukrainian gear...
[Oleg] Our guys did all they could to save infrastructure and people
[Oleg] This is Lenin Street, the central one, literally 300m from the city centre
[Oleg] Lenin Square is just ahead. Here we'll build a small park
[Oleg] Two bombs hit here and one or two over there
[Oleg] There was a house here, it was demolished
[Oleg] They'll build a modern one, pros from St. Petersburg built those
[Oleg] Here, we're planning…
[Oleg] We've been to Kursk for new saplings
[Oleg] We want to beautify what remains of the trees
[Oleg] It will be called Eduard Dyakonov Park
[Olga] Anyway, thanks for meeting with me
[Nikolay] I never thought I'd be coming here again
[Olga] Were there battles here? [Nikolay] They were everywhere
[Nikolay] For every inch
[Olga] The roads were destroyed?
[Nikolay] Everything was
[Olga] So, everything's been restored, yes?
[Nikolay] It seems so, yes
[Olga] Good day. Please, may I go in for a moment?
[Olga] Only, this is where my son died
Of course
[Olga] I mean, really...
[Olga] As Yaroslav told me,
[Olga] Edik and Oman had gone up closer to the entrance, right?
[Nikolay] Yes, at first we sat here with Edik
[Nikolay] Edik was sitting near this pipe
[Nikolay] I was just in front of him
[Nikolay] Then, he changed position...
and moved to here
[Olga] I still don't understand your positions
[Olga] Edik and Oman were closest to the door, right?
[Olga] Yaroslav was behind
[Olga] But, where were the other guys?
[Nikolay] I was on that side. Ukrainian soldiers jumped from the first-floor windows
[Nikolay] We covered them
[Nikolay] Then, when I came over to this side,
I saw Edik
[Nikolay] He ran over the road
[Nikolay] Those balconies...
and a few trees
[Nikolay] He ran to the middle
[Olga] To there? [Nikolay] Yes, yes, to the middle
[Nikolay] They shot a rifle from these windows
[Olga] I ask again: if he didn't cover it, could he get behind some cover?
[Nikolay] That's unlikely. He was hit by a burst of rifle fire
[Nikolay] He knew he was dying. He had no choice
[Nikolay] So, I guess that's how it was
[Nikolay] There was no other way
[Olga] If I'd been here, I could've stopped this
[Olga] If I'd come here myself
[Olga] I come to talk to him
[Olga] At times I say, 'Edik, if you hear me, give me a sign'
[Olga] So, either a bird flies over, or a butterfly
[Olga] Even a squirrel ran up to me once
[Olga] I say, 'Let me know you hear me'
[Olga] Then a small spider appears
[Olga] It's green, it climbs up and I say,
[Olga] 'Edik, you've given a sign that you hear me'
[Olga] After it happened, I went to a church, I was heartbroken
[Olga] I talked to a nun and a priest there
[Olga] I said, 'What's the point of believing in God? Why do you need faith?
[Olga] You pray, you beg...
and still, no miracle! He wasn't saved'
[Olga] They said, 'He's with God now. He saved...
[Olga] He gave his life...
for his friends'
[Olga] The president's administration told me he'd been made Hero of Russia
[Olga] He was decorated with the Gold Star
[Woman] Come on, girls!
[Woman] We rarely meet
[Woman] Always remembered, they're with us
[Woman] Our boys are with us now
[Woman] I visited Pasha's grave yesterday. It was Parents' Day
[Woman] I tidied it up a bit. Then I saw a man standing there
on crutches... with carnations
[Woman] He looked like our grandpa. What's he doing? So I went to him
[Woman] He asked, 'Who was he?' 'My son,' I said
[Woman] He said: 'If I had 2 legs, I'd kneel before you
[Woman] For every day we live on,
we owe to those who are fighting for our country'
[Woman] And it didn't sound lofty, he said it with sincerity
[Woman] We both wept a little
[Woman] Still plenty of good folk about!
[Woman] Our boys couldn't do otherwise: we raised them that way
[Woman] I remember telling my boy: 'Son, I want to be proud of you
[Woman] I want to feel proud that you're a real man, with a strong character'
[Woman] My son asked: 'Mum, what's my purpose?' I said: 'You're a man,
a warrior, a defender'
[Woman] If there was a fight brewing among the guys,
he'd go over and try to reconcile them,
find out what they were unhappy about
[Woman] He'd patch things up. He said:
'Any conflict can be resolved by talking'
[Woman1] Diplomatic! [Woman2] Yes
[Woman] My sister tells me it's hard, but you have to talk about it
[Woman] You'll feel better that way
[Woman] Life goes on. We must move on, and we must be strong
[Woman] You don't choose the times you live in
[Woman] We need to be what our sons would want us to be
[Olga] We're uniting the parents,
supporting those who've recently experienced this
with words, and involving them in some activities
[Olga] We're bringing them together to stop them despairing
[Olga] It helps to keep me...
going, too
[Olga] I'll show you, it starts with brushing
[Woman] It bit my bag
[Olga] I used to be afraid of horses, too. That's OK. It's really good for...
rehabilitation, and it helps...
to regain your strength, both physical and mental well-being
[Olga] It's very good
[Olga] Go slow. OK, start with cleaning - That'll probably do
[Woman] Olya, they have a special hairdresser, right?
[Olga] Yes, they sometimes get haircuts
[Woman] Wow, this is great
[Woman1] Gallop like this [Woman1] Got it!
[Woman] We can see you're glowing with joy
[Woman] Did you get in saddle right away?
[Olga] I liked his eyes. He looked as if he understood my pain
[Olga] I was in tears and said: 'You understand me?'
[Olga] He looked at me and I hugged him
[Woman] Don't be afraid!
[Woman] He's good and kind
[Woman1] Pull yourself up [Woman2] Like this? I see
[Woman] Oh dear me!
[Olga] Relax! I wanted to tell her that it's like driving. You need to relax
[Nikolay] Our last talk was about the sea
[Nikolay] I told him...
we'll come back and go to the sea
[Nikolay] He smiled and said...
[Nikolay] 'We will!'
[Nikolay] Those were his last words to me
[Olga] He liked to go off hiking some place, somewhere like Lake Baikal,
to relax and enjoy the big country and nature
[Olga] It smells so nice here
[Man] Maybe your son wanted to invite you here?
[Olga] He always dreamt of coming here,
that his friends would come and he'd take them to Baikal,
and he'd show them round
[Olga] I said, 'Edik, take me with you'
[Olga] He said he walked too fast and I wouldn't be able to keep up
[Olga] I said that I'd keep up as best as I could
[Olga] He said we'd go some day
[Olga] What a view!
[Olga] How beautiful!
[Olga] Wow! Amazing!
[Man] There's a way down here
[Man] There you go!
[Olga] I should've done what my son told me to do:
'Mum, you don't know how to relax. If you want to, just pack and go'
[Olga] So, he's got me to Baikal, after all
[Olga] He gave me this chance
[Olga] Thank you!
[Olga] The lake gives off a huge amount of energy: a powerful recharge...
[Olga] It's so peaceful...
and it helps...
your soul recover
[Olga] They say Baikal accepts some people and others not. We're lucky
[Olga] It's a beautiful sunny day today
[Voice] So, you made one of your son's dreams come true, right?
[Olga] Yes!
[Olga] It's a terrible feeling - people lived here in peace
[Olga] Then a bunch of 'Azov' soldiers came
[Olga] They did this to people
[Olga] It's scary, of course
[Olga] But it's also reassuring that they've started to rebuild everything
[Olga] People hold on and endure the hardships
[Olga] They live without heating and light but...
they get by
[Olga] This is 'Azovstal'...
all destroyed!
[Olga] 'Heroic feats never die, people always remember them'
[Olga] They erected this memorial to our boys
[Olga] It was a nightmare what happened here
[Olga] Such an ominous place!
[Olga] I still...
pray to God...
and ask Him to help our boys
[Olga] Let them win!
[Olga] Let them win. I realise it probably wasn't in vain,
that Mariupol is being restored
[Olga] People are coming back, and returning to peaceful life
[Olga] They live and kids are being born
[Olga] We live under a peaceful sky
[Olga] Probably...
if our boys hadn't gone to defend us...
we wouldn't be talking so calmly now
[Woman] All that nature gives us has meaning
[Woman] So let us bow down to her
[Woman] There's a beautiful, thoughtful mystery in it, elevating us, her children
[Woman] Why and where are you running, dear animals?
[Woman] Scattering along secret paths
[Woman] You run, suspicious of folk
[Woman] I understand there's a reason not to trust them
[Woman] You're escaping from rifles and traps
[Woman] Oh, good people, when was it you turned into evil giants?
[Woman] True giants are kind
[Woman] Take care of these waters and rivers, love even the smallest speck of dust
[Woman] Take care of all of nature's beasts
[Woman] Kill only the beast within yourself!
[Woman] Thank you, girls, for coming to our centre
[Woman] We now have one destiny
[Woman] Our boys were...
on this same land. They wanted to win,
to ensure that we live in peace
[Woman] Let's pray and never forget them
[Man] See you, guys
[Voice] Hi Mum!
[Song] I need your advice, I seem to be a little confused
[Song] But I'm strongest when sure they're waiting for me at home
[Song] They know my ups and downs and love me simply for being
[Song] There I share my heartaches, even years later, we're still children
[Song] They've long been asking my advice but over the years I hesitated to give it
[Song] Sometimes you're the one who knows best
[Song] But a hug's better than words
[Song] You know, Mum – I have a plan, I want to be myself
[Song] Even years later, I can still snuggle in your arms
[Song] You know, Mum – I have a plan, I do what's in my heart
[Song] My soul's bidding, and we don't need anything else
[Man] Wait for us, nearest and dearest, we'll return
[Song] You know, Mum
[Song] I have a plan, I want to be myself
[Song] Even years later, I can still snuggle in your arms
[Song] You know, Mum – I have a plan, I do what's in my heart
[Song] My soul's bidding, we don't need anything else
[Song] You know, Mum – I have a plan, I want to be myself
[Song] Even years later, I can still snuggle in your arms
[Song] You know, Mum – I have a plan, I do what's in my heart
[Song] My soul's bidding, we don't need anything else