USMAN /Lipetsk Region/, January 22. /TASS/. It is an illusion to believe that without knowing the past of the country, it is possible to expect a happy future, but it is necessary to get the youth to aspire for knowledge and that should start at school, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with members of the public in the southern Lipetsk Region on Wednesday.

At the meeting with Putin in the Lipetsk Region, some 370 kilometers (230 miles) south of Moscow, Andrei Artamonov, a high school student, said, "We do a project aimed at searching for little known information about Soviet heroes of Second World War. I have come across the problem that our generation knows little about the history of their families. Some believe it irrelevant to remember about their ancestors’ feats. I think that some research should be carried out and propose that there should be classes in regional studies or children should be advised to do research into the history of their family in History and Social Studies classes."

Putin pointed out that the issue raised by the school student is extremely important.

"It should not be allowed that an impression could appear in the public minds, especially in the minds of young people, that they can count on the good future without knowing their past. It is an illusion. As long as we want to just live well and be confident in the future, we need to know everything about the past. Without knowing it, it is impossible to understand where to move on. People lose their self-identification," he said.

The president emphasized that Russia had always been famous for its inner strength.

"We have a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, but still united nation of Russia. It fills us with enormous inner strength, as it is an inner driving tool for our becoming and for our place in the world. It is an extremely important thing," Putin added.

The head of state added that much in that work depends on teachers.

"Our teachers are talented people who are keen on their job. They also can deal with that. As for the regional and federal levels, the work should be intensified substantially," he said.