On the eve of Diplomatic Worker's Day, on February 7, 2025, at the Zion Orthodox Cemetery in Jerusalem, Russian Ambassador to Israel A.D. Viktorov laid flowers for the first time at the grave of Consul General of the Russian Empire in Jerusalem Vasily Fedorovich Kozhevnikov (1828-1885).
The funeral liturgy at the diplomat's resting place was performed by Hegumen Nikon (Golovko), Deputy head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission in Jerusalem, and Deacon Makary Petukhov, a cleric of the Mission. The choir of the sisters of the Gornensky Convent sang, according to the RDM website.
The memorial ceremony was attended by Russian diplomats.
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Vasily Fedorovich Kozhevnikov was one of the prominent Russian diplomats of the second half of the 19th century. He was twice head of the Consulate of the Russian Empire in Jerusalem from 1866 to 1876 and from 1880 to 1885. During his service, V.F. Kozhevnikov made a significant contribution to strengthening the Russian presence in the Holy Land. In 1882, under his leadership, a landholding was acquired in the upper part of the Garden of Gethsemane on the slope of the Mount of Olives, on which the most recognizable Russian church in the name of St. Mary Magdalene was subsequently built. At first, the Ottoman authorities refused to allow the construction of a temple on the site, but Russian diplomacy managed to achieve a revision of this decision. The church was laid in January 1885. The ornate seven-headed church has rightfully become the "hallmark" of modern East Jerusalem.
The diplomat's work to strengthen the Christian presence in the Middle East has been awarded numerous awards, including the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree, for the successful completion of the Dome Case, a Russian-French project to repair the Dome of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
On March 21, 1885, Vasily Fedorovich, who had spent a total of 15 years in Jerusalem, died suddenly of an aggravated lung disease at the age of 58. The burial place was lost until recently. There was only information that Patriarch Nicodemus of Jerusalem, with members of the Synod and clergy of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission, had buried the Russian diplomat at the Zion cemetery, where he was buried next to his wife Lyubov Yemelyanovna, who died a year earlier.
Russian grave of Vasily Fedorovich Kozhevnikov was discovered at the Zion Orthodox Cemetery in West Jerusalem in 2023, thanks to the efforts of the Russian Embassy in Israel and researchers of the history of the Russian spiritual and political presence in the Holy Land. 
The monument on the grave was restored by Russian diplomats to mark the 140th anniversary of his death.