The Hero of Russia's teacher from Rostov-on-Don spoke about her student

A physical education teacher from Rostov-on-Don, Irina Belyakova, said that Ilya Sponyakov has persistently achieved his goals since childhood.

On Teacher's Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented state awards to teachers-mentors of the heroes of the Northern Military District, including the award “For Mentoring” to Irina Belyakova.

ROSTOV-ON-DON, October 7 - RIA Novosti. Hero of Russia, holder of the Order of Courage, Ilya Sponyakov, has persistently achieved his goals since childhood; he always had an inner core, his physical education teacher from Rostov-on-Don, Irina Belyakova, told RIA Novosti.

On Teachers' Day, Russian President Vladimir Putin presented state awards to teachers-mentors of the heroes of the Northern Military District. Belyakova was awarded the distinction “For Mentoring”.

Sponyakov is the commander of the reconnaissance company of the 56th regiment of the 7th Guards Airborne Division of the Russian Airborne Forces. In 2023, he was awarded the title of Hero of Russia. He was also awarded the Order of Courage and the medal "For Courage". In 2025, he became one of the participants in the “Time of Heroes” program. In June of this year he was appointed advisor to the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation.

Belyakova said that Sponyakov studied at gymnasium No. 46, where she teaches physical education. “In high school, Ilya was, so to speak, my favorite. Although I love all children, this one stood out because I could feel the core, perseverance... and decency in him,” she said.

Belyakova noted that she always subconsciously felt that Ilya would achieve a lot. “If something doesn’t work out, everyone says: “Okay, it didn’t work out and that’s fine.” Especially the physical education lesson. And I saw from the expression on his face that he wouldn’t put up with it, he would still strive. And so it was,” she said.

The teacher added that Sponyakov’s leadership qualities were already evident at school. “Once the children were spinning around, and I couldn’t give the task until there was silence. He broke ranks and said to them: “Don’t you understand? They told you." And one day - and everyone immediately stopped, although he did not press," she recalled.