The Chairman of the State
Duma Vyacheslav Volodin
Vyacheslav Victorovich
The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation. Elected in single mandate constituency № 163 (Saratov constituency - Saratov Oblast)
and the State Duma delegation laid a wreath and flowers
at the Memorial to the Soviet pilots on People's Square in Changchun, honoring
their memory with a minute of silence.
A month ago, repair and restoration work on the memorial was completed, the largest in the entire history of the monument: the model of the plane, the cladding of the monument, steps, and columns were renovated. There was also built a convenient underground passage from the metro station to the park. The official delegation of the State Duma, headed by Vyacheslav Volodin, was the first foreign delegation to visit the renovated memorial.
“We express gratitude to the country's leadership, to all the Chinese people for such attention, care for the memorials to the liberators, those who died, sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the Chinese people, peace on earth,” Vyacheslav Volodin noted at the ceremony. “In many ways, all the achievements that we have today — friendship, trust, and openness in politics — are the contribution of Comrade President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. They laid such steps and actions at the foundation of their policies,” he added.
The Chairman of the State Duma recalled that 27 million Soviet citizens died during the war with Nazi Germany, and the Chinese people lost 35 million people during the war with Japan. “We honor the memory of the feat of the Chinese people, just as you honor the memory of the feat of the Soviet people,” he added.
There are monuments to Soviet soldiers in many countries, but China treats them and memory of the dead people so respectfully, according to Vyacheslav Volodin.
“The renovated memorial, erected 80 years ago, is an example for many European countries that consider themselves more enlightened and capable of promoting some values. The leaders of these countries are trampling on the tombs of those who gave them the opportunity to live and plan their future, said the Chairman of the State Duma. Those who do not respect history, the memory of the fallen, are hopeless, they have no future,” he stressed.
The monument is a five-step obelisk 27.5 meters high with a model of a dive bomber on top. There are the names of 23 Soviet servicemen of the Transbaikal Front who died in battles near the city in August — September 1945.
There is an inscription in Russian on the front side of the monument which says: “Eternal glory to the heroes who died in battles for the honor and victory of the Soviet Union”, in September 1959 there was added an inscription in Chinese which means: “Eternal glory to the Soviet heroes. All residents of Changchun.”
From 1932 to 1945, Changchun was occupied by Japan and was the capital of the puppet state of Manchukuo. On August 19, 1945, a small group of airborne troops from the Transbaikal Front landed at the city's airfield, and the following day, units of the 6th Guards Tank Army entered the city. This was the end of the long-term Japanese occupation. This year, the People’s Republic of China marks the 80th anniversary of the Chinese people's victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the end of World War II.
The Chairman of the State Duma is paying an official visit to the People’s Republic of China. Earlier, the Chairman of the State Duma was received by Xi Jinping in Beijing. Vyacheslav Volodin also met with the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China Zhao Leji.
