A memorial service was held in Paris on November 11 to honour Russian soldiers and officers who lost their lives in France during World War I.

The memorial liturgy took place at the monument to the Russian Expeditionary Corps on the banks of the Seine. The service was conducted by Father Daniil Naberezhny, a cleric of the Holy Trinity Cathedral, according to the website of the Korsun Diocese.

The ceremony was attended by staff from the Russian Embassy, representatives of Russian-French public organisations, descendants of members of the Expeditionary Corps and Russian-speaking residents of Paris. Members of a Russian scout group and their parents also took part. Following the memorial service, children performed the spiritual hymn How Glorious Is Our Lord in Zion.

The event coincided with the anniversary of the 1918 Armistice, which brought the fighting of World War I to an end. November 11 is observed in France as a national day of remembrance, with commemorative events held across the country in honour of those who died in the war.

Russia's Chargé d'Affaires in France, Alexander Zezyulin, recalled that Russian military units arrived in France in 1916 at the request of the Allied powers. More than 20,000 Russian soldiers and officers fought alongside the French army, primarily in the Champagne region.

Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, approximately 900 servicemen voluntarily chose to continue serving in French military units and took part in combat operations until the end of the war.

The monument to the Russian Expeditionary Corps was unveiled in Paris in 2011. It commemorates Russian servicemen who died on French soil between 1916 and 1918. The corps suffered approximately 5,000 casualties.

On the eve of the memorial ceremony, a photographic exhibition dedicated to the participation of Russian troops in battles in France and the Balkans opened at the Russian House of Science and Culture in Paris.

The exhibition explores the history of the Expeditionary Corps, the locations of its military engagements and the personal stories of soldiers and officers who found themselves far from their homeland.