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| In Soldiers’ Remains, Russia Plots a Way to Reconcile With France | In Soldiers’ Remains, Russia Plots a Way to Reconcile With France |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| On a recent cloudy afternoon, the remains of three Russian soldiers were buried in virtual secrecy in a small corner of northeastern France. There were no Russian officials at the funeral. No Russian flag was hoisted. No Russian anthem was played. | On a recent cloudy afternoon, the remains of three Russian soldiers were buried in virtual secrecy in a small corner of northeastern France. There were no Russian officials at the funeral. No Russian flag was hoisted. No Russian anthem was played. |
| The soldiers had died on the French battlefield more than a century ago, fighting as part of the French-Russian alliance during World War I. But their remains, hidden deep beneath a farmer’s field, were found only late this summer — by a man with close ties to the Kremlin. | The soldiers had died on the French battlefield more than a century ago, fighting as part of the French-Russian alliance during World War I. But their remains, hidden deep beneath a farmer’s field, were found only late this summer — by a man with close ties to the Kremlin. |
| Worried that Moscow may try to use the discovery as a propaganda ploy and mindful of the new sensitivities generated by Russia’s war in Ukraine, the French authorities took no chances with the burial. | Worried that Moscow may try to use the discovery as a propaganda ploy and mindful of the new sensitivities generated by Russia’s war in Ukraine, the French authorities took no chances with the burial. |
| “The ceremony took place very quickly and with a very limited attendance,” said Mayor Antonia Paquola of Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand, the village where the soldiers were laid to rest in late October in a small Russian military cemetery. “You could feel that it was very tense.” | “The ceremony took place very quickly and with a very limited attendance,” said Mayor Antonia Paquola of Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand, the village where the soldiers were laid to rest in late October in a small Russian military cemetery. “You could feel that it was very tense.” |
| Russia, however, was delighted by the discovery of the fallen soldiers’ remains. | |
| “Truly an amazing find,” Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said, adding that Russia must give credit to France for burying the soldiers. Work is underway to find their descendants so they can come to France and honor them. | |
| Moscow’s touting of the discovery is part of what analysts say is an attempt by Russia to leverage history for diplomatic purposes as the country seeks to renew ties with the outside world and as some countries are growing weary of the conflict in Ukraine. |