Sonia Gandhi to launch Indira exhibition in Moscow

New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi is visiting Moscow from Monday to inaugurate a photo exhibition of former prime minister and her late mother-in-law Indira Gandhi, a key architect of India-Russia partnership, on a rare overseas trip in recent years for a reason other than medical treatment.

The United Progressive Alliance chairperson and former Congress president will also visit a few museums in Moscow, considered among the best in Europe and Eurasia, but won’t interact with any political figures of Russia in what is essentially a private visit, people privy to Gandhi’s plans said.

In recent years, Gandhi has mostly travelled abroad for treatment. She is no stranger to Moscow, though, having travelled there since the days of prime ministership of her late husband, Rajiv Gandhi.


The exhibition, titled ‘Indira: Light and Shadows’, will be opened on Tuesday in the Exhibition Hall of the Federal State Archives in Moscow and will be on till May 27. The organisers are the Federal Archival Agency, the State Archives of the Russian Federation, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust and the Embassy of Russia in India.

“November 2017 was the 100th anniversary of the birth of Indira Gandhi (1917- 1984) — an outstanding politician, prime minister of the Republic of India, a consistent supporter of the development of relations with our country,” the Russian government said in a statement.

“The exhibition presents the life of Indira Gandhi, her convictions, her significant contribution to the construction of modern India; reveals the features of this bright, strong, extraordinary personality,” it said.

The photographs to be displayed at the exhibition will capture the life of Indira Gandhi from childhood spent in the mansion Anand Bhavan (Abode of Joy) in Allahabad until her assassination on October 31, 1984.

The pictures provided by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust reflect not only key moments of her work as the country’s prime minister and as an international leader admired and respected around the world but also her deep interest in nature and pride in the rich, diverse and diverse culture, art and historical heritage of India.

The exhibition will also highlight Indira Gandhi’s visits to the erstwhile Soviet Union as well as a Moscow school named after her.