SERBIAN AND RUSSIAN PEOPLES’ TIES ENDURE THROUGH GOOD TIMES AND HARDSHIPS

BILEĆA, JULY 17 /SRNA/ - The ties between the Serbian and Russian peoples have existed for centuries, in both good times and hardship, and the assistance provided during difficult moments means a great deal, it was said today in Bileća, where a memorial service was held at the Russian cemetery for the Russian Imperial Romanov family, marking 108 years since their execution.

A memorial service was also held for members of the Don Cadet Corps who are buried in Bileća.

Miodrag Hrnjez, president of the "Osvit" Heritage Club from Bileća, which organized the memorial service, said that Serbian and Russian history, as well as their important dates, must be commemorated and preserved from being forgotten.

He said this was one of the important anniversaries that the "Osvit" Heritage Club has marked continuously for more than 20 years.

"Serbs are a people who best understand what it means to sacrifice oneself for another, to give everything for someone who is your friend and brother. That is exactly what Russia did for the Serbian people in 1914 and 1916, especially Emperor Nicholas II, the last Orthodox Christian emperor and martyr emperor," Hrnjez told reporters.

He added that the Russian emperor sacrificed himself, his throne, his family and part of his people in order to help Serbs and the French.

"The extent of that assistance is also reflected in the statement of a French general who said that, had it not been for Russia, France would have been wiped off the map of Europe," Hrnjez stated.

Georgy Engelhardt from the Culture Department of the Russian Embassy in Banja Luka said that commemorating such important dates for the Serbian and Russian peoples is very significant.

"Here in Bileća, far from Russia, people have gathered today to mark this difficult date in our history. We are very grateful to everyone who organizes this and keeps this tradition alive," Engelhardt said.

He stressed that several of his compatriots lie on the Bileća stone, people who became residents of Bileća and remained there more than 100 years ago after the Russian Revolution and Civil War, with Herzegovina embracing them as its own.

"We always remember these ties between our peoples, which exist through good times and hardships, and this assistance in difficult moments means a great deal for our people and our country," Engelhardt says.

Bileća Mayor Miodrag Parežanin noted that a memorial service for the Russian Imperial Romanov family and members of the Don Cadet Corps has been held in Bileća for many years.

"This speaks of the importance of the connection between the Serbian and Russian peoples, who have been like one people for centuries, and that is how it should remain. The least we can do is attend and support such commemorations," Parežanin said.

The Russian Imperial Romanov family - Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra Feodorovna and their five children Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia and Alexei were executed on this day in 1918.

The killings were carried out by Bolshevik revolutionaries in Yekaterinburg, and members of the imperial entourage were also executed alongside them.