For Love. The Story of Lei and Ksuysha Zhu

Ksenia and Lei met at the Repin Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. He was from China and she was from Kemerovo, Siberia. Lei immediately felt as though they had met before, while Ksenia only recognized her love after they parted. Back home in Kemerovo, she dreamed of him dressed in white against the backdrop of the Tibetan mountains. The next morning, she wrote to him. When Lei told his mentor about it, he told him not to let this one get away.

Ksenia returned to St. Petersburg, and she and Lei have not been apart since. They got married and had a child. Ksenia paints portraits of fighters in the Special Military Operation and creates works about the war in Donbass. Mothers of fallen soldiers send photographs to her with a simple request: Please paint a portrait of my son.

Among those whose memory the couple wish to honor is their close friend – an artist named Aleksandr Fyodorov, callsign Zodchy (the Architect). Lei supports his wife and also addresses the topic of Donbass in his work. They are now united not only by love, but by a shared goal to tell the stories of heroes who must not be forgotten.

Watch “For Love. The Story of Lei and Ksuysha Zhu” on RTD website and on RT’s live feed. The time of the broadcast is available on RT’s schedule page.