A plaque commemorating the White Army and civilians who had to leave Russia during the Civil War of 1918-1920, was unveiled today on the territory of the Russian ambassador’s residence in Turkey, RIA-Novosti reports.
The opening ceremony was led by Russian ambassador to Turkey Vladimir Ivanovskiy, Bishop of Geneva and Western Europe of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia Mikhail and the chief executive of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin. The ceremony was attended by descendants of statesmen, artists and scientists who emigrated.
The inscription on the plaque reads: “In memory of the 90th anniversary of the retreat of the Russian Voluntary Army units, Russian fleet squadron and faithful sons of Russia from Crimea in 1920 and to the celebration of their descendants’ commemorative sea voyage, accompanied by Russian and Ukrainian citizens, over the historical route Bizerte-Malta- Piraeus-Lemnos-Gallipoli-Istanbul-Sebastopol. 14-25 July, 2010”.
The Imperial Russian Embassy was located in the same place on the Bosphorus shore as the present Ambassador’s residence.
Russian Ambassador Ivanovskiy said that Russian activities dedicated to the memory of Russian soldiers had encouraged the Turkish authorities in searching for burial places of Turkish soldiers on Russian and Ukrainian territories.
"There is no precedent for such an event since the era of Catherine the Great. We were greeted by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and the Mayor of Istanbul," declared Yakunin, and he also assured that this collaborative project would develop further.
After the ceremony, bishop Michael celebrated solemn mess in the Constantine and Helen Cathedral, founded in 1832 and renovated in 2008. This Cathedral is located on the territory of the Russian Consulate and was consecrated by the Russian and Constantinople Patriarchs in 2009.
The memorial sea voyage started on the 14th of July near Venice and will last up to the 25th of July. It will repeat the route of Russian emigrants in reverse.
