How it was №1 24.10.2001 (2001)

Video chronicle: Soviet-Chinese border. 1969. Damansky Island.

Soviet border detachment.

Border guards spread out along the border line, trying to stop the Chinese who are trying to squeeze through the military cardboard.

Soviet military armored vehicles.

Machine gun fire.

Soviet border guard ID card stained with blood.

Mao Zedong on the podium, greeting the participants of the parade in Beijing.

Military parade in the USSR on Red Square.

Soviet-Chinese negotiations in the Kremlin.

The Chinese delegation signs an agreement.

Joseph Stalin, Vyacheslav Molotov, Sun Ziwen, Wang Shi-Jie.

In the studio, Vasily Ivanov talks about the history of interstate relations and military aid provided by the Soviet Union to China.

After the death of the leader of the Kuomintang Sun Yat-sen, civil strife began in China.

Against this background, in 1931 Japan takes away part of China's territory - Manchuria, where the puppet state of Manchukuo is created, headed by the last Chinese emperor Pu Yi.

Video chronicle: The Kwantung Army conducts military operations against China, captures part of the territory.

Japanese military aviation, armored vehicles, infantry.

Killed Chinese.

Revolutionary slogans in China.

Chiang Kai-shek speaks to the Chinese army.

After Chiang Kai-shek's appeal, the Soviet Union decides to provide assistance.

Joseph Stalin, Mikhail Kalinin, Sergo Ordzhonikidze, Kliment Voroshilov in the Kremlin. 1937: Soviet pilots conduct air battles with Japanese aviation in the skies over China.

Andrei Rovnin, a participant in the military operations in 1937-38. According to him, the Soviet military had to maintain complete confidentiality: all the pilots had fictitious names.

In 1938, Soviet aviation gained complete dominance in the skies.

A photograph of the memorial complex erected for Soviet pilots in Wuhan.

Sergei Fedorov talks about the events of the late 1930s.

He arrived in China as part of a detachment of bomber pilots.

He talks about the death of the detachment commander Grigory Kulishenko, and about the overall losses of the military.

A photograph of the monument erected in memory of the Soviet pilot in Wanxiang.

Soviet military aid to China officially ceased in 1941, but the Soviet military took an active part in training the Chinese-Korean partisan detachment formed to fight against the occupiers.

Vasily Ivanov talks about what prompted the Chinese-Korean detachment to join the Red Army.

The Korean battalion was commanded by Kim Il Sung, the future leader of the DPRK (North Korea).

Vasily Ivanov shares his impressions of his communication with Kim Il Sung.

A joint photo of the Korean military brigade.

Kim Il Sung among his comrades.

All are dressed in Soviet military uniform.

According to Vasily Ivanov, this brigade, despite its preparation, was never allowed into battle.

Video chronicle: August 9, 1945 - the beginning of the military operation in Japan.

Soviet troops fight with the Kwantung Army.

Liberation of Manchuria.

Japanese troops surrender.

The ceremonial march of the Red Army.

Vasily Ivanov gives details of the battles with the Japanese army, talks about suicide bombers.

Grigory Kalachev, a participant in the battles of the Transbaikal Front, talks about the tactical tricks undertaken by the Red Army, which caught the Japanese command by surprise.

Shares his memories of when, after the liberation of Port Arthur, he, together with other soldiers, walked through the places of military valor of his ancestors.

Alexander Zhelvakov about his escort of Pu Yi to the Soviet Union.

He talks about the retinue accompanying the last Chinese emperor and the value of his luggage - filled with precious items.

After the liberation of China, a civil confrontation began in the country between two forces: the Communist Party (leader Mao Zedong) and the Kuomintang (leader Chiang Kai-shek).

The Soviet Union, supporting Mao's regime, continued to provide military, technical and financial assistance.

In 1950, when Kuomintang military units took refuge on the island of Taiwan, Soviet troops were again sent to China.

Ivan Yurkevich, led by a squadron of MiG-15 pilots, took part in actions against the Kuomintang regime.

According to Vasily Ivanov, friendship with China cost our country at least 13,000 Soviet soldiers.

Monuments to Soviet soldiers stand in 46 cities of the PRC.