An interesting coincidence. This weekend, Trump talked to Putin on the anniversary of what was an incredibly fruitful and mutual relationship between self-sufficient Anglo-Saxons and Slavs. Today, Americans remember a forgotten Russian trip around the world, where the participants arrived in Norfolk, Virginia, at the end of the 19th century. Our special correspondent in the United States Alexander Khristenko reports the details.

American sailors’ honor guard is giving military honors to Russian sailors. They were buried in the hospital cemetery of the US Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1877. Since then, six remains have remained unknown, but now, exactly 140 years later, it is possible to learn the names of three of those sailors. For the first time, Orthodox priest Father Victor Potapov, rector of the Cathedral of St John the Baptist in Washington, held a memorial service for them. Gabriel is Gavriil Vyakhierv, seaman 2nd class. He was 25 years old and was born in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. The other two were seaman 2nd and 1st class Arseniy Bragin and Zakhar Lebedev respectively. Spokesman for the Russian Embassy in the United States Nikolai Lakhonin started the search. The names were found in an archive by Nikoali Manvelov, an expert on the Russian Military and Historical Society. "I was very impressed. I am honored to be at this historic event and realize that American nurses took care of those sailors in the 19th century".

The log book of the frigate Svetlana, which our sailors arrived on, has been perfectly preserved in the Naval archives in St. Petersburg. There is an entry saying that our sailors got sick in the United States. They were taken to a local hospital, but they had typhoid fever and could not be saved. More American soldiers died from this unknown disease than in all the Civil War battles. Russian sailors were invited as honored guests for the anniversary of one of the battles.

Frigate Svetlana and corvettes Askold and Bogatyr arrived in Norfolk in early 1877. On March 8, Americans were celebrating, on Hampton Roads, the 15th anniversary of the victory of the biggest naval battle of the Civil War. It was the first ever battle between armored ships. The North won. Russian ships were invited to participate in the anniversary parade of the American fleet.

This beautiful three-masted ship with graceful mold lines drew stares and inspired marine painters. It was named Svetlana after a Zhukovsky ballad. It circumnavigated the globe three times. Frigate Svetlana visited newly founded Vladivostok. Because of this the main street of the city, where the celebrations and festivals are held, is called Svetlanskaya.

Made in 1858 in the French shipyards on the order of Russia, this ship was a technical marvel of its time. It was a sailboat with a steam engine producing 450 horsepower and had propellers. On board, it had a sea water desalination system, generator for lighting the deck, and 40 cannons. The firepower of the Russian fleet sobered the British and French, who, during the summer of 1863, were ready to attack New York.

At this point, Russia once again put pressure on their European, so to speak, colleagues and competitors, to help the North win. It is sufficient to recall the words that were spoken by US Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, who said that on that day all of America were thanking Russians.

In 1871, Senior Officer, Son of Alexander II, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich met with US President Ulysses S. Grant. Harper's Weekly gave a glowing description of the event. In New York, a crowd of thousands of people honored the sailors from distant and friendly Russia. We helped the US in their fight for independence and the creation of the United States. And now, this event shows that we have a common history, that we can help each other to solve common problems and, thus, we believe that we can once again cooperate in the future.

In 1992, Moscow and Washington agreed to establish a joint commission that would search for dead prisoners of war and missing people. At some point, the work was stopped. Today is a new beginning. Last year we held the first meeting in 11 years, and it was important for the renewal of our cooperation. In February, in Moscow, we will hold technical talks, for the first time since 1997. We hope that we can continue and strengthen this collaboration. Both sides have thousands of missing but not forgotten people that need to be found.