According to a report by the Russian newspaper 'Businessmen' on September 4th, a monument commemorating the 'Victory Day over Japanese militarism and the end of World War II' was unveiled in Khabarovsk, Russia. The day before the unveiling ceremony, Japan requested that the Russian side modify the monument, but this request was rejected by the Russians.
The main part of this monument is a 15-meter-high statue of a Soviet Red Army soldier named “Ivan”. This soldier used his gun barrel to destroy a border marker from the Japanese militarist era. The border marker bore the words “Grand Japan Empire” and featured a chrysanthemum crest. Reports say this is Russia’s first monument dedicated to commemorating the defeat of Japanese militarism.
Russian Khabarovsk Monument Commemorating "The Victory Day Against Japanese Militarism and the End of World War II" – International News Agency
Nikolai Ovsidenko, vice chairman of the Russian Military History Society, revealed that just one day before the unveiling ceremony, the Consulate General of Japan in Baranavsk announced that Russia should remove the memorial's commemorative part, citing the Japanese imperial crest as a symbol of the Japanese royal family.
The Russian side rejected this request. Ovsijenko stated that Japan's request was 'extremely inappropriate', and the Chrysanthemum Symbol will be retained on the monument, serving as a 'symbol of Japanese militarism that committed heinous crimes'.
