The Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery (France) has been added to the list of burial sites located abroad that are of historical and commemorative value for Russia.
The Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation drafted the document in accordance with the decision of the Government Commission on Compatriots Living Abroad.
The Government Directive No.1948-r of 11 November 2010 approved the list of burial sites located abroad that are of historical and commemorative value for Russia.
The directive added the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery (France) to the list.
The historical value of this necropolis was determined by the numerous graves of compatriots who influenced Russia’s development in various areas.
The cemetery holds the graves of representatives of Russian intelligentsia, state and public figures, well-known not only in Russian but also world history: writers Ivan Bunin, Boris Zaitsev, Nadezhda Teffi, Alexei Remizov, artists Konstantin Korovin, Konstantin Somov, Zinaida Serebryakova, philosophers Sergei Bulgakov, Nikolay Lossky, dancers Matilda Kshesinskaya, Olga Preobrazhenskaya and others.
The Russian sector has over 5,200 graves and includes military burial sites, including the graves of Russian pilots who fought in French divisions during WWII.
The adopted decision will provide for the long-term safety of the memorial site, which is an integral part of Russia’s cultural and historical heritage.
