Andrei Vdovin, Russian ambassador to Greece, Russian State Duma deputies, and a naval infantry platoon from the Moskva missile cruiser of the Black Sea Fleet, which is visiting Lemnos, are expected to attend the ceremony.
A lity was conducted on Monday in the city of Mudros at the grave of Russian refugees who died at sea while evacuating from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk to Lemnos in 1919.
The Russian cemetery appeared on Lemnos in 1920-1921 when Cossacks from the volunteer army led by Baron Vrangel, a prominent general in the white anti-Bolshevik movement, arrived at the island. They had fled Russia after defeat in the civil war. A total of about 22,800 persons were evacuated to Lemnos in those days. Some 18,000 of them were Cossacks from Cuban, 4,000 were Cossacks from the Don, while the others were from the Terek and Astrakhan. Cossacks were recruited in elite troops and were used to protect the Russian Empire's borders. They also took part in military campaigns, including in the war against Napoleon, and were sent to suppress uprisings and revolts.
The Cossacks lived in camps guarded by French troops on the island. They were restricted persons and often ran out of water, clothing, tents and household stuff.
The Cossacks eventually built a rather comfortable camp to live in. They arranged for regular services at their ambulatory church and even issued a paper that wrote about camp news. However, their status was unclear throughout their stay on the island.
The refugees from Russia suffered, above all, from uncertainty. They did not receive news from Russia and did not know whether they would ever return there. Many of them hoped the Bolshevik regime would collapse or General Vrangel would raise a new army with the help of the British and French allies and resume military activities in Russia. Some of the Cossacks left for Turkey seeking to be recruited by Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk). Others joined the French Foreign Legion.
The majority of Cossacks on Lemnos ended their lives tragically. Some of them believed the Bolsheviks and returned to Russia to lead peaceful lives but were immediately executed.
In 1921, the majority of Cossacks were re-deployed to Bulgaria and Yugoslavia. Some of them joined the German army during WWII. They made up a separate unit. They were not aware of developments in Russia and wanted to contribute to overthrowing the Bolsheviks and thereby "liberate" the country. They fought on Germany's side in Greece and Yugoslavia, and almost all of them were shot by Soviet counter-intelligence services after the war.
The Russian cemetery on Lemnos is the burial place for nearly 500 persons. It had fallen into decay, but was restored in recent years. The Russian embassy to Greece contributed to its restoration.
