On May 9, at the devotional cross in the park of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the PRC, a Panikhida was served for soldiers who fell on the battlefields of the Great Patriotic War.
Employees and families of the Embassy and the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation to the PRC, as well as Russian citizens resident in Beijing attended the Panikhida. The Panikhida was served by Archpriest Dionisy Pozdnyaev. In the morning, Divine Liturgy was served in the Red Fangzi, the Russian Embassy’s oldest building.
The devotional cross was erected in the Embassy park on April 19, 1997 with the blessing of Alexy II, the most holy Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia "in honor and memory of compatriots who died and were buried in this land."
More than 14.5 thousand Soviet soldiers found their final rest on the territory of the PRC — in the cemeteries of Harbin, Dalian, Lüshun (formerly Port Arthur), Changchun, Hailar, Shenyang, Wuhan and other cities in Northeast and Central China . Approximately 50 monuments to Soviet soldiers were erected in 45 Chinese cities. Some cities have two or three monuments, not counting those in cemeteries. Victims’ surnames are indicated on the monuments, and a number have well kept squares nearby. The largest number of Soviet military men (over 12 thousand) were lost on Chinese territory during the war with Japan in August-September of 1945.
During the victory celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, Russia's President Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude to the people of China, who look after the burial sites of Russian soldiers on Chinese territory.
Russia’s and China's Ministries of Foreign Affairs have regular consultations on military-memorial matters. On April 28, 2007 a Russian-Chinese inter-governmental agreement was signed in Beijing for restorative work at the sites of Soviet military burial places.
Sergey Razov, the Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the PRC, noted: "Concluding such a document on the eve of the Victory celebration has special significance, especially in the context and background of events taking place in Estonia, where the authorities try to erase history and revile the memory of those who died in the war against fascism."
According to this document the Chinese side will arrange the preservation of military burial places and monuments, and will bear the expenses for their care, repair and maintenance — and will render needed assistance to Russian citizens wishing to visit the burial places.
At present, restorations have been completed on Soviet soldiers’ monuments in the cities of Chongqing, Chengde, Zhangbei, Chifeng, Hailar; there are ongoing repairs of two burial places in the city of Dalian, and work is beginning on the transfer of soldiers’ burial grounds from Harbin Cultural Park to the Orthodox section of the Huangshan cemetery outside the city.
As part of Victory Day celebrations, the parishioners of Beijing’s Holy Dormition community and Russian Embassy employees in the "St. George ribbons" action, coinciding with the anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War. This year, "St. George ribbons" even appeared on the streets of the Chinese capital.