On one of the monuments at the Russian cemetery in Champagne province, near Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand, it is written in French: "Children of France, when the enemy is defeated and you can freely gather flowers in these fields, remember us, your Russian friends, and bring us flowers."

One of the most significant places for Russians in France is the memorial dedicated to the soldiers of the Russian Imperial Army who died on the French front in World War I for France and Russia. The memorial complex includes the graves of Russian soldiers, a monument to fallen warriors, an Orthodox chapel, and a church.

As of 1967, the Russian cemetery "St. Hilaire le Grand (Mourmelon)" listed 939 Russian soldiers of the expeditionary corps, according to information from the "Association de Officiers Russe A.C. sur le front Francais."

To commemorate the fallen Russian warriors, the Union of Officers of the Expeditionary Corps, who participated in the war on the French front, acquired a plot of land near the military cemetery. In 1937, a Memorial Church in the name of the Resurrection of Christ was erected on this site with the support of the public.

The idea to commemorate the fallen Russian warriors on the French front emerged in 1925. It was proposed by the editor of "Evening Time" B.A. Suvorin, as well as members of the Union Colonel V.S. Narbut and V.V. Bakanov. Officers of the 5th Special Regiment, gathered by Colonel Narbut, supported this initiative.

In the summer of 1934, the construction committee approached architect Albert Alexandrovich Benois with a request to develop a project for the Memorial Church for Russian soldiers who fell on the French and Macedonian fronts in 1916-1918. The church was built on the land acquired by the Union of Officers of the Expeditionary Corps, three kilometers from Mourmelon.

On May 16, 1937, the consecration and solemn opening of the Memorial Church took place.