Photo display highlights Sino-Russian war alliance

A visitor attends a photo exhibition commemorating the 70th anniversary of victory over fascism at the Renmin University of China, Beijing, May 6, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

Nearly 100 photographs recording the collaboration between China and the former Soviet Union army during World War II feature in an exhibition at the Renmin University of China (RUC) commemorating the 70th anniversary of victory over fascism.

The images, provided by the Russian News Agency TASS, record the former Soviet Union fighting alongside the Chinese army in China's northeast region and also Russia celebrating previous anniversaries of the victory over Nazi Germany.

The exhibition, which opened on Wednesday, will run for a month in the university's library.

It is one of a series of activities ahead of President Xi Jinping's visit to Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus during which he will attend the ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory of the Great Patriotic War (1941-45) in Moscow.

"Every family in Russia has elderly relatives who joined the war. Thanks to their bravery and sacrifice we gain peace today," said Andrey Ivanovich Denisov, Russia's ambassador to China, at the exhibition's launch.

War causes countless disasters and pain and the display allows the youth to learn more about war history and to cherish peace, he said.

Chen Yulu, president of RUC, expressed gratitude to the embassy for choosing the university to host the exhibition.

"The victory (in World War II) was an influential victory, which changed the world's structure and regulated the new global norm ... the war cost people's lives, we should remember the lost and cherish the peace," Chen said, adding that collaboration during the war is fundamental to Sino-Russian friendship nowadays.

RUC, established in 1937, has retained a strong relationship with Russia and since 1984 some 220 Russian students have graduated. There are currently 30 at the university.