(Oslo, Norway) – In the historic halls of the Russian Embassy, under the soft glow of chandeliers, the unyielding spirit of Stalingrad was remembered not with speeches of conflict, but with the universal language of art and music. On February 3, the exhibition “Stalingrad Suite” by British World War II veteran and artist Kenneth Loynes opened, marking the 83rd anniversary of the battle that changed the course of the war.
The event, captured in photographs shared by the Embassy of Russia in Norway on its official Facebook page, wove together a tapestry of remembrance that stretched from the Volga to the Norwegian fjords.
The main guest was Lyubov Kovaleva, a living witness to the siege of Stalingrad, whose presence served as a powerful, human anchor to the historical moment being honored. Alongside diplomats, Norwegian citizens, and members of the Russian compatriot community, the audience embarked on a journey through Loynes’s evocative paintings—a British perspective on one of the Soviet Union’s most defining trials.
In his address, Russian Ambassador Nikolai Korchunov framed the evening’s purpose. “The Great Patriotic War affected every family in our country,” he noted, paying tribute to those who made victory possible. He then highlighted the role of culture in the present day: “In times of geopolitical tension, culture and art remain one of the most important tools for restoring trust and reminding us of universal human values.”
The artistic dialogue continued beyond canvas. The hauntingly beautiful wartime songs and classical pieces by Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev, performed by musicians Timur Dorfman, Adrian Kharitonov, and Svyatoslav Grabovsky, filled the room, connecting emotional threads across decades.
The program underscored a deep Norwegian connection to this chapter of history. Guests viewed an excerpt from a documentary by renowned Norwegian filmmaker Jarle Andhøy, focusing on the veterans who survived Stalingrad. An interview with the late artist Kenneth Loynes, presented by his friend Margrete Geurts-Lakin, added a personal, reflective layer to the displayed works.
The most resonant local chord was struck at the evening’s conclusion. Ambassador Korchunov presented compatriot Tatyana Toresen with the prestigious Honorary Sign of a Compatriot. She was recognized for her years of dedicated work in identifying Soviet prisoners of war buried in Norwegian soil and tirelessly searching for their relatives—a solemn mission of closure and respect that binds the two nations’ histories in a shared duty to the dead.
The “Stalingrad Suite” evening was more than a diplomatic reception. It was a multifaceted act of remembrance: a British veteran’s artistic testament, a Norwegian filmmaker’s documentary pursuit, a musician’s elegy, and a civilian’s quiet, determined work to restore names to the forgotten. It demonstrated how the memory of a pivotal battle, fought far from Norway, continues to foster cultural dialogue and humanitarian cooperation, reminding all that from the darkest chapters of history, seeds of shared human understanding can still grow.
(Information and Photos courtesy of the Facebook page of the Embassy of Russia in Norway).
