The 1150th anniversary of the establishment of the Russian state was celebrated in the tranquil Kerala capital Thiruvananthapuram or Trivandrum. The program was organized by the city’s Russian Cultural Center and the Pushkin Center for Russian Language jointly with the Russkiy Mir Foundation.
The festivities, held at the Harmony Banquet Hall of Hotel Mascot, were inaugurated by Sree Padmanabha Dasa Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma the Maharaja of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore. At the inauguration, 89-year old former ruler said that Russia will always remain a true friend of India. “Russia had a cordial relationship with Kerala especially the Travancore region. I myself felt the warmth of Russian people thanks to the affinity shown by Svetoslav Roerich. I am proud to say that he was one of my greatest foreign friends,” he said.
Marthanda Varma also touched upon the roots of celebration. “1150 years back Rurik made an attempt to gather people belonging to different scattered tribal settlements near Veliky Novogorod. This resulted in the formation of a Great Kingdom named Russia,” he said.
“Russia became a great country with different languages and cultures, united under one roof. Celebrating the 1150th anniversary of the Russian Statehood all over the world, especially in Russia, underlines this facts,” said the Maharaja.
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/ Russia & India Report /
