Chinese and Russian Artists Commemorate 70th Anniversary of Victory of World Anti—Fascist War

large-scale song and dance drama Victory in 1945 made its debut in Moscow on May 26. It was sponsored by the China-Russia Friendship Association （CRFA） and jointly presented by the China Coal Mine Art Troupe （CCMAT） and the Russian Alexandrov Red Flag Song and Dance Ensemble.

Seventy years ago， the Soviet Union and China won victory in their Great Patriotic War and War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Many sons and daughters of the Chinese nation fought dauntlessly， while lots of friends from the Soviet Union sacrificed their lives in the Anti-Japanese War.

On the occasion of the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the World Anti-Fascist War， commemorating these war heroes not only demonstrates the traditional friendship between China and Russia， but also serves as a powerful impetus to world peace and stability.

In early 2014， Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the Sochi Winter Olympics that he and President Vladimir Putin had decided to co-organize activities to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of victory.

To carry out the decision made by the heads of the two countries， further develop Sino-Russian relations and strengthen cultural and art exchanges， the CRFA decided that a special song and dance drama be produced for the occasion.

The drama， with “Keeping Watch on the Home， Standing Guard for Peace and Singing Praises of Heroes and Sublime” as the main themes， tells the touching story of Gregory Kulishenko， Captain of a Soviet bomber squadron， who died a hero’s death in a mission when assisting China fighting Japanese invaders， and Tan Zhonghui， a Chinese woman worker， and her son， who have guarded his tomb for over five decades. The show presents a grand picture of the Chinese and Russian people supporting each other and fighting side by side against invaders.

Chinese and Russian artists selected classic songs about majestic historical events or about soul-stirring legendary heroes to express the feelings of the times. The drama opened with a scene of a jubilant wedding in China， but as Japanese bombers suddenly attacked， houses were destroyed and people started to flee. Then came the first song and dance. With expressive dance movements， young performers vividly depicted the miserable plight of people who were forced to leave their homes to head for northeast China. The song On The Songhua River sung by Mou Xuanfu， Deputy Head of the CCMAT， took the audience back to those heartrending times. When the dancers called out： “Mum and Dad， when can we happily get together？”， emotion poured out， bringing the song to its climax.

The Sacred War， a song of the Great Patriotic War popular with both the Chinese and Russian people， was jointly performed by artists of the two countries in a new form. It best commemorates the history of WWII. In late June 1941， Germany launched a blitzkrieg on the Soviet Union. The Soviet army rose in defense but suffered repeated setbacks and heavy casualties. Numerous cities and villages were destroyed by the German artillery fire， and hundreds of big and medium-sized cities fell into the enemy’s hands.

At this critical moment， Alexander Vasiliyevich Alexandrov， first director of the Red Flag Song and Dance Ensemble， wrote The Sacred War overnight to inspire the fighting spirit of the Soviet people. The song soon rang throughout the country. Soviet soldiers fought bravely and tenaciously and held back the enemy’s attack， and finally launched an offensive for final victory.

Artists of both countries were very creative in the production of this drama. The members of the Red Flag Song and Dance Ensemble stood in a square formation， while the dancers of the CCMAT， with the help of multimedia technology， played the Soviet soldiers who came off from the memorial reliefs at the Red Square， holding high the red flag and finally planting it on the Reich Chancellery in Berlin.

With concise and clear body language， the dancers presented the cruelty of war and the triumph of justice.

With multimedia technology， precious historical images blended with the stage performance and the introduction of various forms of performing arts such as vocal music， dance， ballad singing， drama， recitation， acrobatics， sand animation， instrumental music performance， etc. produced a spectacular effect.

The Russian Army Theatre with a capacity of about two thousand seats was packed on the evening of May 26. The audience responded warmly and applauded enthusiastically， and many were moved to tears when watching the drama being unfolded. Many of them were reluctant to leave after the performance.

Having watched the show， Li Hui， Chinese Ambassador to Russia， spoke highly of it， saying that the drama， through songs and dances reflected the support the people of China and Russia gave each other during the war and depicted the unity between the people and the army of the two countries in fighting the enemy and the fraternal friendship between them.