Seventeen Moments in Golden Autumn

Both Chinese and Westem people believe in the proverb that“a friend in need is a friend indeed”. More than 70 years ago， when the Chinese nation faced its most dangerous situation， a foreign friend came with timely help. It was our northern neighbor-the fonner Soviet Union. At the critical stage of the Chinese Resistance War against Japanese Aggression， the Soviet Red Army intervened to help the Chinese army wipe out the Japanese KwantLmg Army in Northeast China， making indelible contributions at great cost to the final victory.

The Chinese people will never forget those who fought together with us in our disastrous times. When the whole world is celebrating the 70th an-niversary of victory over fascism， we should cherish the memory of those who sacrificed their lives and pay our highest respect to them and all others who helped us so selflessly.

From September l-5， the CPAFFC received 17 anti-Japanese war veterans and family members of other veterans from Russia invited to Beijing by the Chinese Government to attend the 70thanmversary of the victory of the Chi-nese War of Resistance against Japa-nese Aggression and the world’s vic-tory over fascism. The delegation com-prised Senior General Gareev， director of the Russian Academy of MilitaryScience; Major General Shudlo， formerdeputy director of the Great World War II Memorial Complex; Colonel Yasnev，a member of the Russian Veterans Committee; and the grandson of the late Soviet Marshal Zhukov and some others. Among the veterans， the old-est was 93 while the youngest was 88.Aged and frail as they were， their mili-tary fortitude and determination was not overshadowed by their silver hair and wrinkled faces. They participated in every activity in high spirits， which impressed us so deeply.

“I would like to say thanks to the Chinese people on behalf of my grandfather”

Early in the morning of Septem-ber l， the delegation arrived in Bei-jing on time. They were very excited，though they looked a little tired after the long flight. Colonel Abbasov， head of the delegation and chair of the China Branch of the Russian Veterans Com-mittee， exchanged brief greetings with us. He then introduced a middle-aged man to us， and came straight to the point， “He is the grandson of Schorn-ikov， a Soviet pilot who lost his life here in China when fighting against Japanese aggression， and was later bur-ied in Wuhan Martyrs Cemetery. He wants to visit his grandfather’s tomb，and this is also his family's wish.” We immediately arranged for him to fly to Wuhan， and contacted the Hubei Pro-vincial People's Association for Friend-ship asking them to make arrangements for the visit. Then， a woman member of the delegation also raised her request:“My grandfather was also buried in Wuhan Martyrs Cemetery. This is the first time our family has got a chance to be in China， so could you please also arrange for me to fly to Wuhan as well?”Despite the tight schedule， wemanaged to satisfy their request thanksto the help of the Hubei Provincial Peo- ple’s Association for Friendship. The two foreign guests visited the Soviet Martyrs Cemetery in Liberation Park and laid wreaths in front of the Martyrs Monument and presented a flower to everyone there.

Upon returning to Beijing， the two held the hands of the Chinese wait-ing to receive them and said excitedly，“Thank you. Thank you so much. This really fulfilled our families’ dream and consoled our deceased grandfathers. To our delight， the cemetery in Wuhan is well protected and well cared for. What especially impressed us was that local people visited the cemetery spontane-ously， and they warmly greeted us， and shook hands and were willing to have pictures taken with us. Although we spoke different languages， we could perceive the enthusiasm in their eyes and words. We found that the Chinese people cherished deep gratitude. The sacrifice of our grandfathers to such a nice nation is worthwhile. We would also like to thank the Chinese people on behalf of our grandfathers for remem-bering their contribution， which means they are not lonely here.”When saying this， their eyes were filled with tears，a proof that mutual understanding and gratitude are more precious than gold.

The neckties connecting the hearts of two peoples

On the moming of September 2，as the representatives of the Russian veterans， Senior General Gareev， Major General Shudelo， and Colonel Yasnev attended the medal awarding ceremony as part of the 70th anniversary com-memoration held at the Great Hall of the People， where they received their medals from President Xi Jinping.

There was an impressive episode in the ceremony. After President Xi put the medal around Colonel Yasnev’s neck， the latter asked him to wait for a moment， and then he took off his tie，gave it to President Xi and explained，“This is a memorial tie， embroidered with both your name and President Putin’s. Since we are celebrating the great victory together， I would like to give it to you as a token of friendship.”President Xi happily accepted this spe-cial gift. When saying goodbye to thev eterans at the end of the ceremony， the president specifically said to Colonel Yasnev，“Thank you for your gift.”

To Colonel Yasnev’s surprise and joy， President Xi gave him four Chinese brocade ties in return. Yasnev was so fond of the gift that he stroked the brocade repeatedly， unwilling to put them down. The following day he wore one of the ties when he watched the military parade on the Tian’anmen Rostrum. He showed everybody his tie and proudly told them how President Xi had given him the gift. He said，“President Xi grew up from among the common people to be the state leader，so he cares about and understand them. Last May， when he attended the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow， Xi also pre-sented memorial medals t0 18 repre- sentatives of the Russian veterans who helped Chinese people fight against Japanese aggression. One thing on theoccasion， though petty， was impressive for everybody present. Noticing that a veteran had difficulty moving around，President Xi said， ‘I’ll come over， please stay where you are.’ This shows how amiable he is， especially to these veter-ans. What a great leader he is! How can we not respect or support hin!”

The ties given by President Xi are red， yellow， blue and white， coinciding with the colors of the national fiags of China and Russia， therefore very sym-bolic. They are not only gifts， for they not only bring closer the leader of a bigcountry and the World War II veterans，but also help to enhance the relation-ship between the two nations.

Once a soldier fighting for peace，always a man of honor

Seventy years ago， when Senior General Gareev was fighting for the liberation of Mudanjiang in Heilongji-ang Province as chief of the Operations Division of the Fifth Field Army Head-quarters under the Far Eastern First Front Army， he was very young. Now，aged 92， he is held in high esteem by people from all walks of life in Russia as director of Russian Academy of Mil-itary Science as well as a veteran hav-ing won so many decorations. On the Victory Day， he sat by President Vladi-mir Putin watching the military parade in Red Square. For Russia， Gareev is a“national treasure”.

The Chinese Government re-quired that all necessary measures be taken to ensure the health and safety of the veterans during their stay in China.Therefore we prepared wheelchairs，diapers and emergency buzzers for them and arranged medical workers and voluntary interpreters. However，Senior General Gareev made some of the preparations unnecessary. Wher-ever he went， he insisted on walking by himself. Only on very difficult occa-sions， for instance， going up and down the stairs， were we allowed to give him a hand. He always led the crowd， as de-termined as he was when he rushed to the front line in the war.

On the afternoon of September 2，CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin visited the veterans at their hotel. Given their health conditions， Li was worried that they could not stand the heat during the following day’s military parade. She suggested that the foreign guests， es-pecially the three veterans who were to be seated on the Tian’anmen Rostrum，wear loose and comfortable clothes in-stead of uniforms. To our surprise， all the veterans insisted on wearing uni-forms， which were heavy， especially with the medals pinned on them， which alone weighed over 10 kilograms.

Senior General Gareev expressed his gratitude for the considerateness of Ms. Li， but said， “We’re soldiers，whose first duty is to obey military discipline. We shared the victory， so today we also share the celebration. We should commemorate the victory in the most ceremomous way!”

Senior General Gareev was wounded many times in the war， result-ing in poor eyesight and hearing. He said to me in private several times，“I was invited by the Chinese Govern-ment to Beijing to attend the 65th an-niversary of the victory of Chinese War of Resistance against Japanese Aggres-sion. Now here I am again， at the 70th anniversary. Next year， I will definitelycome again for the 80th anniversary!”The “next year”was obviously a slip of the tongue. Looking at the medals pinned on his uniform and the content-ed look on his face， I knew there was no need to correct him. The Chinese people wish you good health and surely look forward to your visit in Beijing at the 80th anniversary of the victory of Chinese War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

During the military parade， Senior General Gareev and two other Russian veterans stood to their feet to salute the Chinese soldiers when the Guard of Honor marched past the rostrum.The silhouettes of the Russian veterans standing bolt upright against the sun-light made a beautiful scene.

A soldier once fighting for peace is always a man of honor.

“Seventeen Moments of Springu，a TV drama about the former Soviet Union in the Second World War， has had great impact on many generations of Russians， including President Putin. An interlude in this drama involves a song with the words，“seventeen mo-ments of spring linger in your heart for-ever， and I believe we will be surround-ed by music， to whose beat trees will dance gracefully.”Joy and peace de-scribed in the song have been achieved already， and we are bathed in the peace at the cost of blood and lives of our predecessors. In the most beautiful season in Beijing this year， the senior heroes and their family members with touching sentnnents and noble person-ality shared with us far more than sev-enteen warm and moving moments full of hope and faith.

We salute you.