The Antalya-Russian Culture and Arts Foundation, which is representing Russia as an "exclusive participant" at EXPO 2016, commemorated those who lost their lives in the Great Patriotic War (Russians' title for World War II).

According to a statement released from the EXPO 2016 agency, Russian residents of Antalya commemorated their dead from the war, which occurred from 1941 to 1945, at a commemoration ceremony for "Memory and Grief Day," at Russian House in Antalya on June 22. The Russian citizens in Antalya used the day as a day of remembrance and commemorated their forefathers' sacrifices while listening to a guitar recital. During the ceremony, photographs of the soldiers who fought in the war were also put on display. Irina Balcı, the president of the foundation, said June 22 occupies a significant place in Russian history, and continued by saying: "Today, we are grieving. ‘Memory and Grief Day' is as important for us as the Battle of Gallipoli is for the Turks. On June 22, we are holding a commemoration service for those who lost their lives in World War II. Every Russian family has a family member who participated in this war. We have opened an exhibition of photographs that we collected from Russians living in Antalya. Each photograph features a name tag and says where the soldiers fought against the enemy." The photography exhibition held in the garden of the foundation building features a total of 100 photographs.