Galiya Vasilievna Dubieva Tributes Paid to the "Angel of Peace"

A Chinese-Russian girl born in 1928 in Suifenhe, a border city in Heilongjiang province, was named Galiya Vasilievna Dubieva.

But to the people of that city she is known as "The Angel of Friendship and Peace" for her bravery and ultimate sacrifice during the closing days of World War II.

Local archives record her as the daughter of local resident Zhang Huanxin and say she "sacrificed her life after traveling to the base to persuade the Japanese to surrender".

In August 1945, the Soviet Union's Red Army joined Chinese military forces to drive out Japan's Imperial Army.

After taking Suifenhe on Aug 9, an all-out attack forced about 300 Japanese soldiers, 200 collaborating Chinese policemen and 150 of their family members to withdraw to a garrison on nearby Tianchang Mountain.

To reduce injury to noncombatants, the Soviet Red Army, instead of launching an attack with artillery, decided to send a special envoy to the base to persuade the Japanese to surrender.

On Aug 11, Galiya was selected as the interpreter and special envoy after an interview with the Soviet commander.

Zhang Shulie, Galiya's younger brother, said in a 2003 interview that on Aug 11, 1945, Soviet Red Army soldiers called the family to register at its headquarters.

"A Red Army official asked, 'Who speaks good Japanese?' and Galiya was recommended," he recalled.

At the time, 17-year-old Galiya was quite well-known in the city because of her fluency in Russian and Japanese.

"Galiya told mother that she would calmly persuade the Japanese to surrender, but my mother couldn't help weeping," said Zhang. "We all knew how dangerous the trip would be. Mother took off a new red kerchief from her head and placed it on my sister's shoulders."

In Russia, it is believed that a new kerchief can bring people good luck.

"Galiya kissed mother on the forehead and told her not to worry; she would return soon after the negotiations," said Zhang. "But she never came back."

On Aug 12, a party led by Soviet officer Fedorchenko Stepan Zakharevich arrived at the garrison.

Zakharevich, who survived the war, told his wife many details about the incident before he died in 1981.

His wife recalled Zakharevich saying that Galiya shouted for more than an hour outside the garrison but nobody came out to negotiate.

The Japanese later agreed to let her enter unaccompanied. Before going in, Galiya said, "I probably won't come back."

Three hours after she entered the garrison, a fierce quarrel could be heard followed by gunfire.

Zakharevich thought Galiya had been killed. He shouted to the garrison, and the Japanese troops opened fire, killing two Soviet soldiers and injuring three others.

In response, the Soviet Red Army launched an artillery barrage and destroyed the garrison.

Zhang said, "After bombarding the Japanese, we searched for my sister for more than a month but never found anything."

In 1946, Zakharevich was awarded the Order of the Red Star for his part in the action at Tianchang Mountain. He always told his wife that the medal should have been awarded to Galiya. It is now displayed in Suifenhe in the Galiya Memorial, which opened to the public in July 2013.

The memorial, covering 300 square meters, has received more than 120,000 visitors, some from Russia, according to its curator, Yu Guanchun.

The only photo of the young Galiya on display at the memorial was taken with her older brother Zhang Guolie when she was 15.

Statue for martyr
On Oct 8, 2009, 64 years after Galiya sacrificed herself during the liberation of Suifenhe, a statue of her was erected in the city's Peace Square.

"In 1984, when I began researching local history, I found the story of Galiya and was deeply moved by this brave young girl," said Sun Boyan, 65, a retired official who initiated erecting the statue. "After that, I began to collect everything about her and had the idea of a statue."

"I received strong support from the government and local entrepreneurs, which helped me realize my dream," said Sun.

He invited world-class sculptors from Russia to design the statue, which took five years to complete.

"The highest-standard bronze was chosen for the statue, which will ensure it lasts for 60,000 years," he said. "We hope Galiya can be remembered for generations."

Preserving peace

In May 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote a letter to the city.

He ended the letter by saying: "Sino-Russian friendship means mutual understanding, trust and common values and benefit. We will remember the past and look forward to the future." Those words were inscribed on the statue in both Russian and Chinese.

On April 26, a motorcade comprising eight cars and 27 people crossed the border from Vladivostok, which borders Suifenhe, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the ending of World War II.

After they reached Suifenhe, the first commemorative act was to present wreaths and flowers to Galiya.

Members of the motorcade included four survivors who experienced the war in their childhood.

"In Russia, lots of people know of this young girl who tried to save the lives of Chinese and Russian soldiers at the end of World War II. There were lots of such heroes in our country during the war," said one of the survivors, Katchenkova Nataliia, 77. "War is cruel and we two peoples suffered profound losses. Now we should try our best to preserve the peace."

Russian newspaper journalist Alexey Mikhailov, 24, was also among the visitors.

"Young people know a lot about the war from history books," said Mikhailov. "During the hard times of war, we two peoples helped each other, and now the common goal of our countries is to protect the peace."

When Wang Lei, a resident of Suifenhe, was crossing Peace Square with his 4-year-old daughter, she asked him, "Who is Galiya?"

He answered, "She is the heroine who helped the city."

Wang said: "In Suifenhe, almost everyone knows the story about Galiya. I often take my daughter to see the statue and tell her something about Galiya. Maybe she is too young to have a deep impression about Galiya now, but I believe that when she grows up, she will understand the profound significance Galiya had for the city and even the country."