Thaindian News

Moscow, Dec 18 (IANS) Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Moscow for the 12th India-Russia summit with President Dmitry Medvedev was the fourth such interaction that the two leaders have had in as many years. But it was the last summit meeting between them.

Medvedev will demit office in March 2010 after the presidential polls in which the ruling United Russia Party has decided to field Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as its candidate.

On Dec 16, the two leaders spent nearly six hours together from 11 a.m. — first a two-hour restricted meeting and another one hour delegation meeting, followed by a banquet that went on till 4.30 p.m.

The summit meetings between the Indian prime minister and the Russian president are the highest and the most important bilateral interaction between the two nations.

The two countries work closely in international forums such as the G20 and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and also hold one-on-one meetings during such events, developing a personal equation which was visible in the reception that the prime minister received at the Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow Thursday.

Manmohan Singh has meet Putin four times between 2004 and 2007 for summit meetings when he was the Russian president.

During this visit too, he met Putin at his residence for an hour-long meeting.

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Raj Kapoor still popular in Russia

At the official banquet, the Presidential Orchestra entertained the guests with four renditions — two popular Russian songs and two numbers from popular yesteryear Hindi film star Raj Kapoor’s movies.

The two Indians songs played by the orchestra were “Awaara Hoon” from the movie “Awaara” and “Jeena Yahan Marna Yahan” from the film “Mera Naam Joker”.

Raj Kapoor’s movies were a rage in Russia during the height of bilateral relations between erstwhile Soviet Union and India.

After their banquet lunch, Prime Minister Singh and President Medvedev, along with their spouses, walked to the orchestra to thank the members for their beautiful renditions and appreciated the quality of the music.

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Protests not visible on Moscow roads

Talking of Putin, one is compelled to look out for the demonstrations on the streets of Moscow triggered by the results of the Dec 4 Duma elections in Russia. Though they resulted in a reduced majority for the ruling United Russia Party in parliament, allegations of electoral fraud and rigging flew thick and fast from opposition and observers.

But main thoroughfares of Moscow seemed relatively peaceful, except for a massive demonstration that took place last Saturday at the Bolotnaya Ploshchad park in the Russia capital, which observers say, attracted 50,000 participants.

The local media reports, though, are not reflective of the magnitude of opposition to the Duma polls outcome and the possibility of Putin attempting to win a presidential election for a third term at the highest office, according to foreign observers.

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Tiger works gifted to Putin

When Manmohan Singh met Vladimir Putin, he presented the latter with two tiger art works based on ARTIGER project that uses this medium to spread awareness on wildlife conservation efforts.

The two art works on the theme of protecting the national animal of India, created by Indian artist Vibha Girlhotra, were presented to Putin as a small token of appreciation for his commitment to saving tigers from extinction.

Tiger lovers in India are aware of the Russian prime minister’s passion for the tiger and his commitment to wildlife conservation, and they admire his drive in holding the international tiger summit in St. Petersburg in November 2010, attended by representatives from 13 nations with tiger population.

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No events for PM’s wife

Manmohan Singh’s wife, Gursharan Kaur, accompanied him on the Moscow visit, but unlike her other recent visits to South Africa or Bangladesh, she had no official engagements of her own except to be with the prime minister during his official engagements, according to Indian officials.

When the prime minister visited Bangladesh in September this year, she had taken time out specially to visit the Nanak Shahi Gurudwara in Dhaka, where she offered a ‘rumala’, a Sikh holy cloth there.

During the prime minister’s visit to Ethiopia for the India-Africa summit and bilateral visit to Tanzania, she also had programmes of her own, including a visit to a children’s home.

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Traffic woes

If anyone in the Indian capital thought their traffic woes are the worst on earth, they should once visit Moscow and hit the roads here.

India’s Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai became a victim of Moscow traffic snarls on Dec 16 when he broke off from the prime minister’s carcade after their meeting with Putin to reach the hotel where media was staying for a briefing.

The experience on Moscow’s roads, where traffic is held up for hours most often, will only make Delhi roads feel like heaven. A five-km journey could take over two hours.

But to make it easier for commuters, cabbies carry books, newspapers and other reading material that they offer to the travellers to spend their time.

(N.C. Bipindra can be contacted at nc.bipindra@ians.in)