France postpones official commemoration; Russia and Belarus unveil monument to "Motherland" female partisans
Following the cancellation of the originally scheduled official unveiling ceremony for the Soviet female partisan monument “Motherland” in the northeastern French town of Till, the Russian embassy held a ceremony on Saturday. Alexander Zhejulin, Russia’s acting ambassador to France, disclosed the details to RIA Novosti.
The monument honoring the Soviet female partisan unit “Motherland” was initially set to be unveiled on September 27 in Till.
Regarding the cancellation of the planned event on September 27, Zhejulin stated, “It would be best to ask the French authorities.”
“Today, September 26, we, together with colleagues from the Belarusian embassy, held a solemn ceremony at the monument dedicated to the Soviet female partisan unit ‘Motherland,’ attended by sculptors, descendants of resistance fighters, and concerned members of the public,” the diplomat said.
According to him, participants laid floral tributes to the monument gifted to Till by Russia and Belarus, and paid homage to the courageous Soviet women who contributed to the liberation of France.
“The ceremony unfolded in a calm, festive atmosphere, with moments imbued with emotion and profound sentiment,” Zhejulin noted.
As previously reported by RIA Novosti, French historian and researcher of the “Motherland” unit René Barki explained that the monument was jointly created by Russian and Belarusian sculptors and consists of multiple statues depicting female partisans. The Russian component was crafted by sculptor Vladimir Surovtsev.
“Motherland” was a Soviet female partisan group established in France in 1944, composed of 37 Soviet women who escaped from the nearby “Aulnay” concentration camp near Till. After their escape, they joined the French Resistance and actively participated in the fight against Nazi occupation.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1877445679286281/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.