Chennai, Aug. 2025
The friendship between Russia and India has been built painstakingly and over the course of many years. Officially, diplomatic relations between the two countries are 75 years old but, in reality, they are much older. Back in the 15th century, Russian people read the travel notes of the Tver merchant, Afanasy Nikitin, “Walking across the Three Seas”, about a trip to the Bahmani Sultanate in southern India. Since those times, the people of Russia and Bharat have learnt more about each other’s existence, and friendship and strong partnerships have since been established.
Today, there is a convenient direct flight service between Moscow and Delhi, and tourists from both countries can easily apply for electronic travel visas. In Moscow tourism ranking, India ranks second in terms of the volume of tourist influx: in the first quarter of 2025 alone, 18,000 guests from India came to Moscow. Many Indian travellers, while exploring Moscow, are surprised to discover the ‘spirit of India’ in the Russian capital — Indian culture has penetrated so deeply into Moscow life. Let’s walk through the places in the city where this spirit is felt especially clearly.
India Days, yoga in Moscow parks and meditation festivals
Moscow residents and visitors alike demonstrate a strong and sustained interest in Indian culture. This vibrant cultural exchange is consistently nurtured through a variety of events held throughout the city. A prime example is the “Days of Indian Culture” festival, which took place in July 2025 on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow.
Another highly popular event is the annual Yoga Day, which draws thousands of people passionate about Indian practices and their modern interpretations. This deep engagement is further evidenced by approximately 400 yoga studios across Moscow, with many corporations even offering classes for their employees. Yoga is also integrated into the capital’s “Sports Weekend” project and frequently taught in city parks and at various public events. Adding to this rich tapestry of events, 2024 saw the inaugural International Meditation Day held in one of Moscow’s city parks, highlighting the evolving interest in different facets of Indian spiritual practices.
A Centre for Indian Culture has also been opened in Moscow. It operates with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of India in Russia, and in co-operation with representatives of the national Indian community. Here, every resident of Moscow can taste traditional Indian cuisine, practice yoga and Indian dancing, get advice from a Vedic astrologer, participate in ritual celebrations and attend an open lecture on Indian philosophy.
Monuments to the great people of India on Moscow streets
In Moscow, monuments to important Indian historical figures commemorate the deep ties between the two countries. As in India, they are known and respected in Russia, too.
Several sculptures are dedicated to the Indian politician and public figure, Mahatma Gandhi. One of them is a replica of an Indian monument, based on a real photograph of Gandhi. It shows him during his symbolic march to the ocean shore: with a staff, wearing familiar glasses and simple clothes. This monument can be seen at the intersection of Michurinsky and Lomonosovsky Avenues in Southwest Moscow. Another sculpture, recently returned to the Museon Art Park after restoration, is a copy of the image that is kept in the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Museum in Delhi. But these are not all the monuments dedicated to the Indian Bapu. Another Moscow monument with the quote “My life is my message” was created specifically for the Indian Embassy in Moscow and is located on its territory.
Monuments to the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, have also been erected in Moscow (under him, relations between Russia (in his time, the USSR) and India noticeably improved), the politician, Indira Gandhi (in the USSR, she was respectfully called the Great Daughter of a great nation), as well as the poet, Rabindranath Tagore.
Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy — a meeting of two great souls
There is another place in Moscow that is not directly connected with India, but preserves the spirit of a deep connection between the values, ideas and thoughts of our two peoples. This is the estate of Leo Tolstoy in Khamovniki. Mahatma Gandhi and writer Leo Tolstoy are known to have corresponded and exchanged their views, which turned out to be extremely close and eminently understandable to each other. Tolstoy was indeed interested in India and its people — he was just living through his own spiritual upheaval, plus a reassessment of values, and preached the ideas of a simple life, proximity to the earth, vegetarianism, and renunciation of property. He agreed with Gandhi, both in these senses and in the ideas of non-violent struggle. Mohandas admitted that correspondence with the Russian writer significantly influenced his life position, and fortified him in the struggle for independence. Their intense, heartfelt correspondence ended only with Tolstoy’s death. The last letter of the Russian writer and philosopher came to Gandhi after the death of its author. The politician published this letter in the Indian Opinion magazine, where it sounded like Leo Tolstoy’s testament to the entire Indian people to continue the struggle and be steadfast in their beliefs.
You can touch the life of a Russian writer and see ‘up close and personal’ the details of a great life at Tolstoy’s estate in Khamovniki. He lived here with his family for 19 winters and wrote about a hundred works, including the novel Resurrection, the novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich, The Kreutzer Sonata, and Father Sergius. Living at this manor, Leo Tolstoy embodied the principles of ‘forgiveness’ that Gandhi wrote about. He chopped firewood, carried water from the well, shined shoes, made boots and worked hard. The Tolstoy Museum in Khamovniki participates in the city summer festival ‘Estates of Moscow’ . This is a large-scale Moscow project with not only classic tours of numerous urban manors, but also immersive performances, augmented reality quests and master classes. The new excursion format engrosses participants in the atmosphere of Moscow manor life, in which Leo Tolstoy also lived.
Red Square, the Conservatory, the Polytechnic Museum — places of fame of Indian celebrities
The heart of Moscow and arguably all of Russia, Red Square, is sure to be included in the tourist route, but for visitors from India it is a particularly precious place. The first Indian astronaut, Rakesh Sharma, took a memorable photo here in 1982. Thanks to the co-operation of India and the USSR in the field of Space, he went into Space as part of the Soviet crew. Indian jewellery is also kept in the treasury of the Russian monarchs, the Kremlin Diamond Fund, on Red Square. Among them is the precious Orlov diamond, which, according to legend, decorated the eye of the statue of the Indian deity Brahma, and after a long time fell into the imperial sceptre of Catherine II. Another diamond named “Shah” was found in the Golconda mines in South India in the 15th century.
Most of the life of the Indian musician and mystic, Hazrat Inayat Khan, was connected with pre-revolutionary Moscow. He was a member of the Moscow musical circle, was friends with teachers of the Imperial Conservatory, singers, composers and poets of that time. Inayat Khan performed at the Moscow Conservatory and the Polytechnic Museum, the most important centre of Moscow’s cultural life.
India’s vibrant presence is felt in Moscow not only on historical sites, but also in many restaurants and cafes of traditional Indian and vegetarian cuisine. There are dozens of them in the capital, from luxury restaurants of authentic cuisine to Indian outlets in large food markets, located throughout the city.
Convenient travel logistics, ease of visa processing, direct flights, native cuisine, a rich common history and a deep friendship between Russia and India will undoubtedly create a feeling of warmth and hospitality during a trip to Moscow.
About the Author
