In the era of Nikita Khrushchev and Jawaharlal Nehru, the public read his work "The Discovery of India", empathized with the heroes of films with Raj Kapoor in the title role, and was interested in the fate of Indira Gandhi, the daughter of the first prime minister of an independent country. It was not uncommon for Soviet families to name their girls Indira. And even under Brezhnev and even later, at the time of perestroika, many in our country knew Rajiv Gandhi and his wife Sonia by sight thanks to TV.

Today, even those Russians who read newspapers and are interested in politics are so immersed in the concerns and problems of our own state that ask them offhand to name the current head of government of India, and hardly anyone will give an answer. But this does not mean that interest in India is completely lost. No, the Indian culture and philosophy, the life of the ancient country still attract attention. This was confirmed by the recent presentation of several books about India at its embassy in Moscow.

The hall, where films are usually shown or artists perform, was filled with guests. The meeting was opened by Kanwal Si-bal, Ambassador of the Republic of India to Russia. He briefly described the works published by the Embassy and Russian publishing houses. They can be divided into two groups: books devoted to Russian-Indian relations, and essays whose authors lived in the country or traveled around it.

The book "Birch and Banyan" by Professor Galina Goroshko and Vladimir Skosyrev, who worked for many years as Izvestia's correspondent in South Asia, traces the history of relations between Russia and India from the time when they exchanged embassies to the present day. The book tells about the meetings of the Indian ambassadors to the USSR with Stalin, Vyshinsky, Khrushchev, Brezhnev, and how both countries supported each other during international crises.

Diplomatic ties between our countries were established even before India gained independence. This fact was usually interpreted by Soviet propaganda as confirmation that the USSR was ready to extend a hand of friendship to a state that had thrown off its colonial shackles. In fact, it was much more complicated. Nehru conveyed to Molotov, through his representative at the Paris peace conference, a proposal to start negotiations on the exchange of diplomatic missions as early as November 1946. And diplomatic relations were established only in April 1947.

The reason for this delay was, on the one hand, that India was not one of Stalin's foreign policy priorities. He was primarily concerned with the post-war structure in Europe, with the formation of a "peace and socialism camp." And Gandhi and Nehru, thanks to whom the transfer of power to the Indians took place in a peaceful, rather than revolutionary way, the leader of progressive humanity looked with great suspicion.

On the other hand, until the declaration of independence in August 1947, control over India's international policy remained in the hands of London, and it from behind the scenes, and sometimes openly hindered the establishment of direct ties between Delhi and Moscow. Be that as it may, during the Khrushchev "thaw", relations between the two states experienced a rapid rise. With the help of the USSR, the foundation of heavy industry was laid in India. The two leaders continue these traditions today.

Russia and India have become strategic partners, and their positions on key international issues coincide, according to the authors of the collection "Russia and India-Strategic Partners", published by the International Center for Socio-Political Studies under the editorship of Arun Mohanty. The work is interdisciplinary in nature. The authors focus on Russian-Indian trade, economic, scientific and technical ties, interaction on the world stage, and prospects for the transformation of the international system under the influence of cooperation between the two countries.

page 74

countries. A special place is given to the dialogue between Indian and Russian civilizations.

Speaking about the coordination of the two countries ' actions on the world stage, Director of the 3rd Asia Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry G. Ivashentsev notes that Russia and India oppose "anyone's monopoly on the right to decide the fate of the world through 'humanitarian' or other interventions. They are in favor of building a multipolar international order that would give each state - in the West and East, North and South - justice and development, and, consequently, peace and security."

Journalist Natalia Beglova spent about six years in South Asia. In the book "Sweet Poison of the East", she tells in a fascinating way about the years spent in India and Bangladesh. The genre itself can not help but intrigue - you don't often find notes of a diplomat's wife on the shelves of bookstores.

Writer Marina Moskvina and artist Leonid Tishkov made a trip to mountainous India. They went to the Western Himalayas, places that Rudyard Kipling sang about and where George Harrison and his friends liked to hang out. The result of this pilgrimage was the book "Heavenly Tardigrades: A Story-journey".

-----

THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD

Such a high title was awarded by the International Council on High-Rise Buildings to the Taiwanese skyscraper "Taipei 101". Taipei 101 took the palm from the 425-meter towers in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Its height is 571 m.

The Taiwanese skyscraper is equipped with 57 elevators, two of which are world record holders for speed: 60.6 km per hour.

DESCENDANTS OF THE "ZULU NAPOLEON"

The so-called Cultural Village of Chakaland, located in the province of Kwazulu-Natal, is very popular with foreign tourists coming to the Republic of South Africa. The village is named after the first Zulu king Chuck, nicknamed "Zulu Napoleon"for his ingenuity.

Tourists can get acquainted with the life of the descendants of the great Chuck, with the Zulu martial art, customs and customs of this people. In particular, Zulu unmarried beauties perform for tourists. According to custom, they, unlike women burdened with family life, do not cover their magnificent breasts from prying eyes.

With their smiles and amazing outfits, these beauties can win the hearts of the most demanding representatives of the stronger sex.

Permanent link to this publication: