Moving tributes were paid to three Russian airmen and a Czech passenger who died in a WWII plane crash while based at the Errol RAF base in two special ceremonies last week.
A memorial stone was installed last year in memory of those lost.
But owing to coronavirus restrictions last November, no ceremony took place.
However that was put to rights in the village of Errol last week.
The first Remembrance Day ceremony took place at the Errol Memorial Stone on Thursday, November 11.
The villagers got together to lay a ‘Scottish’ wreath, with a prayer in two languages.
Sheila McDonald, who grew up in Errol, remembers seeing the Russian Airmen as a child: “They were based at the aerodrome and used to cycle up to the village. We, children, used to shout ‘Good morning’ to them and tried to do it in Russian.”
On Remembrance Sunday, another wreath-laying ceremony took place and a ‘Russian’ wreath was laid, given by the Russian Consulate General and placed by the stone by Lewis Maitland of Errol Park and his grandson Louis.
One of the relatives of the Errol-based Russian airmen, Anna Belorusova, whose grandfather, Pyotr Kolesinkov returned home safe following the crash by Fearnan Village, said: “What was special and very moving about Remembrance Day on the Errol Memorial Stone’s First anniversary was the people’s wreath laying, very genuine and very spontaneous.
“It had always been my biggest dream, from the very beginning, that the Russian Memorial Stone would be accepted and embraced by the people of the village, the living descendants of whom had forged friendship during their stay at RAF Errol.
“So it has come to true.
“To see the villagers laying the wreath with the sound of the church bells, the Last Post and Lord’s Prayer read in two languages was such a great gift to us all here in Russia.
"These two Remembrance events are important, as we are writing a tradition for years to come.”
“It was deeply moving for all of us here, in Russia to see the ceremony. People were literally in tears and so was I. The Russian Airmen visited Errol Park during their stay at RAF Errol.
“Thus, a beautiful tradition is being established: Remembrance Day - a Scottish wreath to be laid by people of Scotland, Remembrance Sunday - a wreath from Russia.”
