Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
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
Moscow, December 13 /Xinhua/ — The catastrophe that occurred 88 years ago in Nanjing, China, still rings a warning bell throughout the world. Does Russia today remember this blood-soaked history? On the eve of the 12th National Remembrance Day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, Xinhua correspondents took to the streets of Moscow to seek answers from ordinary people.
“Have you heard of the Nanking Massacre?” “Of course.”
Many Russian respondents answered the correspondents' question in the affirmative.
"The Nanjing Massacre is a tragedy, a catastrophe, a true crime, just like the Nazi crimes against the Soviet Union, against our people who perished," said 70-year-old Muscovite Alexander at the entrance to the Victory Museum in Moscow, dedicated to the history of the Great Patriotic War. Growing up during the Soviet era, he recalls that the Nanjing Massacre was mentioned in school history textbooks back then, and many of his generation still remember it.
Ilya, a thirty-something ecologist working in the city of Cherepovets in northwestern Russia, who was touring the Victory Museum exhibit, said, "I learned about the Nanjing Massacre from the internet. It's an extremely sad chapter in world history. Imperial Japan committed numerous war crimes; hundreds of thousands of unarmed people were slaughtered in Nanjing."
At the entrance to the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), first-year student Anastasia said her school teacher required students to read materials about the Nanjing Massacre. "The Nanjing Massacre was an act of genocide, and there can be no justification for such actions. I believe that, in principle, Japan still owes a debt of gratitude and repentance for such actions."
"It's impossible to live without knowing history. Regardless of how long ago these events occurred, they left a huge mark on the history of our countries. Therefore, it's crucial to remember such memorable events and tell younger generations about the heroic deeds that took place in our country," said Alexander.
The Nanjing Massacre inflicted profound pain on the Chinese people. However, since the war, Japan's far-right has refused to repent, not only denying the hard facts of the massacre but also visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, where tablets bearing the names of 14 Category A war criminals from World War II are kept, and falsifying history textbooks.
Mikhail, a 45-year-old schoolteacher who led his students to the Victory Museum, believes that denial of the Nanjing Massacre is hypocritical, ignoring historical facts, and attempting to obscure the historical truth. "It's fundamentally wrong, bad, and banal. It's inhumane and immoral."
"Someone who can't say 'forgive me' is truly weak. If you exchange truth for lies, calling white black and black white, then nothing good can come of it in the future," Mikhail said.
"History denial is, by and large, a consistent policy of the Japanese government these days. They deny war crimes in China and, in fact, the past itself. They're essentially erasing it from their history," said Grigory, a third-year MGIMO student.
“The only thing we can do is continue to learn, pass on real knowledge, and resist temptation,” says Daniil, also a third-year student at MGIMO.
Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made a series of erroneous statements that provoked strong outrage among the Chinese people. "The end of Japanese militarism in World War II is well known. If Japan fails to learn from history, it will ultimately only lead to tragic consequences," Alexander emphasized.
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