In Profound Memory of Former Russian Ambassador to China Igor A. Rogachev

N early one year has gone by since Mr. Igor Alexeyevich Rogachev， former Russian ambassador to China， passed away and the memory of my acquaintance with him is still vivid in my heart.

I remembered the founding of Kalinka Choir， the very first Russian chorus in China， together with my alumni from Beijing 101 Middle School and Beijing National Day School， and my own election as its head in 1993 when the Sino-Russian relations were still rather cold. Singing Russian songs were not common at that time. Therefore， activities of our choir became a hot media topic and helped revive the singing of Russian songs around the country. The Russian Ostankino TV station also reported our activities.

In the fall of 1993， our choir was invited to perform at the celebration party of the Mid-Autumn Festival hosted by the Russian Embassy. We sang several Russian songs accompanied by an accordion. There was much enthusiasm among the audience who had rarely had a chance to hear such songs for three decades.

Ambassador Rogachev was present. On learning our last item would be the famous Russian song Motherland March， he came up and， speaking in standard mandarin， offered to accompany us. He sat down before the piano and played skillfully. We were thrilled by the sonorous sound of the piano and sang vigorously the long lost tune. Friendly personages from Russia， Ukraine， Kazakhstan， Kyrgyzstan， Lithuania and more from China， gave us thunderous applause， but also sang together with us either in Russian or Chinese this song that had once been popular throughout China. I was deeply touched seeing some of them singing with tears in their eyes， and felt greatly honored to have pictures taken with Ambassador Rogachev and Vice President Galina Kulikova of the RussiaChina Friendship Association （RCFA） after the performance. Since then， Ambassador Rogachev’s tall， elegant and scholarly figure was ever in my mind.

Encouragement and support by various social circles helped our choir thrive. We actively made plans to participate in all kinds of activities related to Russian culture， such as attending the Grand Prix of Foreign Famous Songs organized by Beijing Television Station， the Russian-style friendship party organized by the Beijing Radio Station， the concert of Russian songs held during the World Women’s Films Week and Retrospection of Songs in the Soviet Films organized by China Central Television.

We made our debut of Russian Songs Concert in the Music Hall earlier than any other amateur choirs in China. Vice President Galina Kulikova led a group of staff from the Russian Embassy to join us in the performance， providing an exciting climax.

Ambassador Rogachev and RCFA Vice President Kulikova watched our performance many times and often invited us to perform at embassy celebrations， despite our mediocre singing level and Russian speaking level due to lack of professionals in our choir. The embassy invited us because our performance was a tribute to people-to-people friendship and the common Chinese people’s sincere love of Russian culture and the Russian people. People-topeople friendship better exemplified the long history of brotherhood between the two countries.

While organizing choral activities， we collected Russian songs. By 1995， we had collected words and music of two thousand Russian songs and registered and catalogued them in a file. Ambassador Rogachev was very happy to see the handwritten Russian songs catalogue made by my wife and myself at a party hosted by the Russian Embassy， and wrote an inscription with his signature in three beautiful Chinese characters “羅高壽”， which was his Chinese name. It was a very precious souvenir for me.

In 1995， the Russian embassy presented our choir with an Honorary Certificate of the Government of Russian Federation in recognition of Kalinka Choir’s contribution to the promotion of Sino-Russian friendship， which was a great honor for us all.

Ambassador Rogachev came from an extraordinary family containing quite a few sinologists. Four generations of his family learned Chinese and made remarkable achievements. His father， Alexei Petrovich Rogachev was a famous sinologist； his younger sister， Galina， is a researcher at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies under the Russian Academy of Sciences with a Licentiate Degree in history and； his youngest sister， Elena， an expert in Southeast Asia studies； his sons and grandsons have also learned Chinese.

He followed his father’s footsteps and engaged in diplomacy for more than 40 years. His life， work and career had close ties with China where he spent one third of his lifetime. He was a witness to and participant in the gradual development of Sino-Russian relations. He served in China in three different periods， as interpreter and attache， and then Counselor of the Soviet Embassy， and， finally， Ambassador.

On May 9， 2005， he watched our choir’s performance for celebration of the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Patriotic War in the CPAFFC. We learned that he would leave his office later that year. We passionately sang several Patriotic War songs. After the performance， he had pictures taken with all the choir’s members.

He worked as ambassador to China for 13 years， becoming the longest serving of all the ambassadors to China. He had great affection for the Chinese people and won their love for his legendary experience， great talent， profound knowledge， polite manner， and extraordinary diplomatic competence. During his tenure， the good-neighborly and friendly relations between China and Russia were fully restored.

October 1， 2009 was the happy day marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. A few days earlier， as a council member of the China-Russia Friendship Association （CRFA）， I was invited to the reception in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-Russia diplomatic relations and the founding of the CRFA that was organized by the CPAFFC in the Great Hall of the People on September 25. I was surprised to see Ambassador Rogachev sitting in a wheelchair on the doorstep of the Great Hall of the People when I arrived. I walked up and shook hands with him. “Good afternoon， Mr. Ambassador，” said I， “Do you still remember me？” He replied， “Of course， I do. Do you come here to attend the reception？” I answered， “Yes.” A moment later， many participants came over to meet with Ambassador Rogachev

and express their regards. I stood by and felt sorrow in my heart to see him in a wheelchair talking to people. I had heard that he had a car accident in Moscow two years before and suffered a broken leg. It was really unexpected that he， approaching 80， traveled from afar to China for the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China under such poor physical conditions. It showed the great importance he attached to China.

At the reception， many guests from both home and abroad came over to offer a toast and ask to have pictures taken with him. He would stand up slowly by leaning on the wheelchair to satisfy their requests. When the reception concluded， I did not go until I saw a staff pushing the wheelchair to escort him out of the hall. Later， I learned from a staff from the CPAFFC that Mr. Rogachev watched the National Day military parade at Tiananmen Square in his wheelchair. I thought I would have little opportunity to see him again in future.

One day in April last year， Wu Jin， one of my friends， texted me that she learned from a newspaper article that Ambassador Rogachev had passed away because of illness. The news weighed heavily on me. I rushed out to buy the newspaper and finally found one after stopping over at several newsstands. It carried several articles in commemoration of the Ambassador and a vivid sketch of him. I read through the articles and looked at the sketch closely， his voice and smiling faces kept flashing back in my mind’s eye： I seemed to see him playing the piano cheerfully for our accompaniment， making speeches in standard mandarin at receptions， writing the inscription attentively for me， talking to people at the tea party pleasantly， nodding appreciation when watching our performance， smiling with satisfaction when attending China’s National Day celebration reception.

Although Mr. Rogachev has gone， his look and his voice will remain in my heart forever. February 3， 2013

This article is written to commemorate the 81st birthday of Mr. Rogachev on March 1， 2013.