To mark the 70th anniversary of victory over the German Nazis and Japanese militarists, China Daily and Rossiyskaya Gazeta jointly launched a photo album in Beijing on Monday that offers a kaleidoscope of compelling glimpses into modern life in Russia.

One Hundred Photographers Focus on Russia, the latest addition to China Daily's Focus series, highlights the intricate creativity of Chinese and Russian photographers. It contains more than 200 photos by more than 140 photographers, comprehensively reflecting Russia's history and culture, the optimism and perseverance of the people and the beauty of the landscape.

A number of selected photos will be on show at the Russian Cultural Center until Sept 12. The center is located on Dongzhimen Nei Street in Beijing's Dongcheng district.

Zhu Ling, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, said the album was introduced as strategic cooperation between China and Russia has advanced to a new stage.

"China Daily will deepen cooperation with Rossiyskaya Gazeta and other Russian media, in a bid to build a better image of China and Russia and tell the stories globally," Zhu said.

Russian Ambassador to China Andrei Denisov said he is a loyal reader of China Daily.

"It was decided that the Sino-Russian Year of Media will be held from 2016 to 2017. In the future, there will be more exchanges of journalists, photographers and media staff between China and Russia," Denisov said. "And we have put this decision into practice before 2016."

The Focus series, launched in 2003, has included breaking news events, landmark celebrations of sportsmanship and insights into places such as Taiwan and Macao. The latest effort is the first time it has focused on another country.

Kang Bing, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily, said the album captured the vivid moments of Russia and highlighted the friendship between China and Russia.

Together with Zhu, Mikhail Shvydkoi, special representative of the president of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation, and Pavel Negoitsa, general director of Rossiyskaya Gazeta, wrote the preface for the album.

Shvydkoi said the international cultural cooperation project is an excellent way of consolidating and developing country-to-country relations and providing interesting insights into people's daily lives to residents of other countries.

"Only when we know each other's lives and traditions can we really trust each other and resist any attempt to distort history," he said.

At the launching ceremony, Zhu presented the album as a gift to Denisov.

suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 09/08/2015 page3)