Conference on Gandhi-Tolstoy's deep friendship held in Russia

A day-long exhibition and academic conference on the deep friendship between Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy was held in Russia as part of the events being organised to commemorate Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary. The exhibition held at the Tolstoy Estate in Yasna Polyana was inaugurated by Indian Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar, who was in Moscow to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Ministerial Meeting.

Indian Ambassador to Russia DB Venkatesh Varma, and Director of Tolstoy Estate and granddaughter-in-law of Leo Tolstoy, Ekaterina Tolstoy, also attended the conference. The Indian embassy here, in collaboration with the Leo Tolstoy Museum and Estate and the Institute of Oriental Studies, organised the exhibition on Saturday. The event also marked the 200th anniversary of the Institute of Oriental Studies in Russia.

The exhibition, titled "Tolstoy-Gandhi: The story of personal transformations across continents bound by the infinite possibilities of universal love" was curated by renowned Gandhian scholar Birad Rajaram Yajnik. It comprised a set of panels showcasing the correspondence between the two. The exhibition is available in digital format in both Russian and English, and includes audio and visual content which can

be downloaded on the phone, the Indian Embassy said in a press statement. On the occasion, deputy director of the Institute of Oriental Studies Alikber Alikberov spoke on the relevance of an exploratory seminar of this nature in today's world, especially against the dynamic nature of the Indo-Russian relationship that has "acquired new dimensions" over the past few years.

Apart from scholars and educationalists, a large group of Russian and Indian students attended the conference. The session titled 'Are Gandhi and Tolstoy relevant in the 21st century?' evoked much interest from the participants, the release said.