Service held in Moscow to commemorate Russian Sinologist

A memorial service in honor of prominent Russian scholar Mikhail Titarenko, former chairman of the Russia-China Friendship Association, was held here Tuesday at the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Titarenko was a well-known researcher on Chinese philosophy and spiritual culture, international and inter-civilizational relations in Northeast Asia, Eurasian issues and Russian relations with its Far Eastern neighbors. He died on Feb. 25 at the age of 81 after an extended illness.

From 1985 to 2015, Titarenko was the director of the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Under his leadership, the institute has become a multidisciplinary center for research on a wide range of theoretical and practical issues of the Far East, especially China.

Titarenko was the author of over 300 publications on China and other East Asian countries, including the six-volume Spiritual Culture of China encyclopedia. He was also the author of the first dictionaries and anthologies on ancient Chinese and global philosophy in Russian Sinology.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has expressed condolences over the death of Titarenko. In a message sent to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Wang spoke highly of Titarenko's outstanding contributions to China-Russia ties.

Galina Kulikova, a senior fellow at the Institute of the Far East at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and a colleague of Titarenko, told Xinhua that the scholar was a passionate advocate for all kinds of active contacts with China.

"He wanted more and more people in this country to know China and understand it, which could only be done through the dissemination of ideas and understanding among the public," Kulikova said. Endi