United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday undertook a private tour of cultural sites in Moscow visiting the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, Kremlin Armoury and Diamond Fund which houses the diamond 'Bloody Shah,' the war booty which Persia's Nadir Shah took after his invasion of Delhi in the 18th century.
Gandhi and her team visited the Diamond Fund which houses some of the world's biggest diamonds, including the
Bloody Shah. Iran had later given the diamond to Russia as compensation for the killing of its ambassador Alexander
Griboyedov in Tehran.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi paid tributes to the victims of the second World War by laying wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Gandhi, who is on a four-day visit of Russia at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin as his personal guest, on Monday visited ancient Russian twin-cities
of Vladimir and Suzdal, world famous for their churches and monasteries.
Yesterday, she also visited the grand golden domed cathedral of Christ the Saviour, near the Kremlin, which was blown by Stalin in 1934 and rebuilt in mid-1990s after the fall of Communism in Russia.
Gandhi is expected to visit the world famous Tretyakov art gallery and see a performance at Bolshoi Theatre on Tuesday might before leaving for St. Petersburg on Wednesday morning on the last leg of her Russia tour.
She will also meet her host President Putin on Wednesday to discuss ways to further enhance Indo-Russian strategic
partnership.
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