🕊️ Honouring the Heroes of the First World War 🥀 On 11 November, the Russian House together with the Embassy of Russia in Belgium, held a wreath-laying ceremony at the Ixelles Cemetery in Brussels to mark the 108th anniversary of the end of the First World War. The ceremony was attended by members of the Russian community, representatives of Belgian society and staff of Russian diplomatic missions. Together, they paid tribute to the soldiers and officers of the Imperial Russian Army who lost their lives during the First World War. “Today, on the 108th anniversary of the end of the First World War, we have gathered at one of Brussels’ most renowned memorial sites to honour, first and foremost, the Russians laid to rest here, as well as Belgian, French, British and Italian soldiers who fell on the battlefields of the first global conflict in history. Russia and Belgium were allies in that terrible war, fighting together against a common enemy. In 1914, on the eve of the global catastrophe, our country did everything possible to prevent bloodshed. The Kingdom of Belgium bravely resisted the enemy and became one of the countries to experience some of the darkest chapters of this brutal confrontation on its own soil,” said Denis Gonchar, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Belgium. 🙏An Orthodox memorial service was also held in remembrance of the fallen soldiers. 🕯️The First World War claimed millions of lives and left a profound mark on the history of many nations. More than a century later, we continue to honour those who gave their lives in the line of duty and preserve the memory of the events that forever changed the course of world history.