Interview with Galina Kulikova: I Have Been with China All My Life

MOSCOW, May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As Chinese President Xi Jinping is about to pay a state visit to Russia and attend the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War, a photo exhibition titled Unforgettable Commemoration: Sino-Russian (Soviet Union) Photo Exhibition - Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, co-hosted by Shandong Radio and Television Station, Shandong International Communication Center, and CICG Communication Center for Central and Eastern Europe and Central and South Asia, is currently underway in Moscow.

Ms. Galina Kulikova, First Vice President of the Russia-China Friendship Association and recipient of the Friendship Medal of the People's Republic of China, delivered a speech at the exhibition and agreed to an interview with Shandian News and Shandong International Communication Center.

01/The Photo Exhibition: Drawing Lessons from History to Illuminate the Future

Galina Kulikova was born in February 1935. In 1957, she participated in the founding of the Soviet-Chinese Friendship Association, the predecessor of today's Russia-China Friendship Association. In 1960, she began her professional career at the Soviet Union's Committee for Friendship with Foreign Countries. Since 2003, she has served as the First Vice President of the Russia-China Friendship Association. Over the decades, she has committed herself to cultivating Sino-Russian friendship and fostering people-to-people exchanges between the two nations. In 2019, President Xi Jinping personally awarded her China's Friendship Medal. She became the second Russian citizen, after President Vladimir Putin, to receive this prestigious honor.

An hour before the opening of the Sino-Russian (Soviet Union) Photo Exhibition, Galina Kulikova arrived at the venue to make final preparations.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War, and the World Anti-Fascist War. Kulikova remarked that this photo exhibition offers a unique perspective, showcasing the heroic chapters of China's battlefields and the stirring scenes from the Russian front. "China's War of Resistance began in 1931, a full decade before the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War in 1941. The fierce battles fought on the Eastern and Western fronts together forged this monumental victory. The exhibition presents iconic historical moments from both countries' wartime experiences, using parallel narrative to vividly demonstrate the immense value of cooperation between alliances in the fight against fascism."

History is the best textbook. In Kulikova's view, the precious images reaffirm that China and the Soviet Union (now Russia), during those harrowing years of resistance against fascist aggression, stood together as a community of shared future.

The youth represent the future of a nation, the future of Sino-Russian friendship, and the future of the world. Kulikova was heartened to see students from institutions such as the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration take part in the exhibition. She stated that "people-to-people bonds" are the cornerstone of "Sino-Russian friendship for generations to come," and it is crucial to help young people understand that the friendship between the two countries was forged in the flames of war. "We must resolutely safeguard historical truth and oppose any attempts to deny, distort, or falsify history, so that this friendship tempered in the crucible of war may be passed on from generation to generation."

02/Shandong: An Epitome of China's High-Quality Development

At the event, a series of historical photographs transported people back to the period of intense warfare.

Shandong Anti-Japanese Base Area was one of the four major base areas of the Communist Party of China and armies under its leadership in Northern China during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. It was also the only base area mainly based on a single province, playing an important role and making significant contributions to the world anti-fascist war. As a major economic and cultural province in eastern coastal China, Shandong has always been an active participant in Sino-Russian friendship and a firm proponent of pragmatic cooperation.

Galina Kulikova said that she had visited Shandong before and was deeply impressed. "Shandong boasts beautiful mountains and rivers, a large population, and rich resources, and is home to countless outstanding individuals. From the Confucius to Pu Songling, the author of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, to Li Qingzhao, a leading Ci poet of the romanticist (Wan Yue) style, their works have been widely translated and introduced in Russia."

Galina Kulikova frankly stated that she has many good friends from Shandong and always follows the development of Shandong through various ways. The miracles created on this land are an epitome of China's high-quality development.

"I have been with China all my life." This is a sentence Galina Kulikova often utters. She not only says it but also lives by it. Galina Kulikova's lifelong career has been closely linked to China, and she has traveled extensively throughout the country. She mentioned that the unforgettable experiences included not only the coastal scenery of Shandong but also the cherished memories from the Xiong'an New Area in Hebei province and the Tongzhou District of Beijing.

Galina Kulikova told the reporter of Shandian News and Shandong International Communication Center that she had visited Hebei in 2024, and the achievement of the Xiong'an New Area left her with a deep impression. "This rising city will become a 'new model' for China's future and witness the realization of China's second centenary goal. When I saw the planning blueprint and architectural models, I was even more convinced that this would be a century-defining project that would go down in history."

Galina Kulikova said that whether it is "the Belt and Road Initiative", "the Global Development Initiative", "the Global Security Initiative", or "the Global Civilization Initiative", they have all gathered extensive consensus in the international community. "China's development and achievements today also inspire the Russian people. I firmly believe that China will achieve its great goals, just as Russia is also forging ahead bravely."

03/People-to-People Exchanges Ensure Enduring Sino-Russian Friendship

Culture serves as a bridge for communication. In recent years, exchanges between China and Russia in the fields of culture, education, and technology have become increasingly active.

"Intimate relations between nations are built on the closeness of their people, and the closeness of their people is built on their hearts." Galina Kulikova mentioned that non-governmental forces, represented by the Russia-China Friendship Association, have always supported deepening bilateral relations through activities such as the "Sino-Russian Culture Year." She expressed that in addition to launching film festivals and art troupe performances, the Russia-China Friendship Association will also hold a cultural festival in Tambov, Russia this year to promote people-to-people exchange through folk art and further consolidate the social and public foundation of Sino-Russian relations.

Data show that the "Chinese Fever" in Russia continues to rise, with more than 60,000 Chinese students studying in Russia. Galina Kulikova said that many inter-university alliances were established between the two countries, and they jointly developed cooperative projects. For example, Peking University and Moscow State University have achieved fruitful results in the fields of people-to-people and cultural exchanges as well as scientific and technological cooperation, and Shenzhen MSU-BIT University has created a new platform for science popularization education with Chinese and Russian characteristics and open cooperation.

Against the backdrop of accelerating changes of the world unseen in a century and the transformation and instability of the international situation, China and Russia have always moved forward hand in hand and worked together to promote the sustained and stable development of bilateral relations. "The people of China and the people of Russia are eternal good friends. No force can shake the great friendship forged in our common struggle against fascism," Galina Kulikova said.

Exuding elegance and gentleness in her demeanor and emitting friendship and confidence in her speech, Galina Kulikova, who is 90 years old this year, introduced herself as a member of the "post-90s generation" - she has the energy and ability to continue working for the mutual understanding and affinity of the two peoples and the passing of the torch of Sino-Russian friendship. When she readily agreed to this interview with our reporter, she insisted on standing, as a sign of respect to the heroes who made sacrifices and contributions to the cause of peace…

SOURCE Shandian News