Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
KYIV, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — A bronze statue of Soviet Air Force bomber squadron commander Grigory Kulishenko has recently been erected in the central square of the Ukrainian village of Cherepin (Cherkasy region), nestled among green hills. The funds for the statue were allocated by the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine. The statue is complemented by a red marble stele with the hero's name and honorary titles, including "true friend of the Chinese people," carved on it in three languages – Chinese, Ukrainian and English.
The ceremony of unveiling the statue, which took place in early September, was attended by the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Ukraine Ma Shengkun, Deputy Head of the Cherkasy Regional State Administration Oleksandr Turchenyak, relatives of G. Kulishenko, sculptor Veronika Dirova, who worked on the monument together with Nikolai Znoba, representatives of the Cherepin administration, as well as the teaching staff and students of the G. Kulishenko School, which is located directly opposite the monument.
G. Kulishenko was born in Cherepino in 1903 to a family of farmers. In 1934 he graduated from the Military Aviation School, and in 1939, on assignment from the Soviet government, he led a squadron of bombers in China, fighting side by side with the Chinese against the Japanese invaders.
On October 14, 1939, after a raid on the Japanese airfield in Hankou, G. Kulishenko's plane was intercepted by the enemy and seriously damaged. In the sky over Wanxian County (now Wanzhou District of Chongqing), control over the aircraft was lost. Then G. Kulishenko, together with other crew members, made an emergency landing on the surface of the Yangtze River to avoid the death of civilians and save the plane. Two of G. Kulishenko's comrades were able to swim to the shore, but he himself died from his wounds. He was 36 years old.
In his speech, Ma Shengkun recalled that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. He emphasized that such internationalists as G. Kulishenko, who is always remembered in China, made an invaluable contribution to this great victory.
A. Turchenyak and other Ukrainian officials noted in their speeches that G. Kulishenko contributed to the cause of independence and freedom of the Chinese people, earning the respect of subsequent generations.
“The fact that Kulishenko still enjoys such respect and honor in China after half a century fills us, his relatives, with great pride and feelings,” said 68-year-old Maria Igosheva, G. Kulishenko’s niece, holding back tears.
Yulia Petrenko, who was previously the principal of the G. Kulishenko school in Cherepino, was deeply impressed by the respect with which the Chinese people treat the Soviet pilot. In 2009, the school received the first delegation of Chinese students. The members of that delegation took soil from the yard where G. Kulishenko once lived and took it to China. Later, a letter came from them, which said that they laid flowers on G. Kulishenko's grave and planted trees using the soil taken from his homeland.
Yu. Petrenko added that in 2019, Cherepin's school was named after G. Kulishenko. This was the best tribute to the hero.
Oksana Radchenko has been working at the G. Kulishenko School for many years, and on September 1 of this year she assumed the position of director of this educational institution. She recalls that she received that first delegation of Chinese students and after that she began actively collecting information about China and G. Kulishenko. Now O. Radchenko regularly organizes meetings with the hero's relatives and screenings of the Chinese film "Together with Grigory Kulishenko" for students.
One of the authors of the monument to G. Kulishenko, V. Dirova, said: “This statue will inspire youth generation after generation, reminding us that we have a hero here and in China. He is our common hero, whom we will remember forever.” –0–
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