ST Petersburg: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid floral tributes to the victims of the World War II at the historic Piskarevskoe Memorial Cemetery in St Petersburg, the cultural capital of Russia.
Ahead of summit level talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin today, Prime Minister Modi drove to the monument on the north-eastern outskirts of the city that holds the graves of around five lakh who died during the Siege of Leningrad.
At the cemetery, PM Modi placed flowers and then stood in silence for a few minutes.
The Piskarevskoe Memorial Cemetery is the largest cemetery of the victims of the World War II. In 186 mass graves in the cemetery lie the 420,000 residents of the city who died of starvation, bombing, shelling, and 70,000 soldiers – defenders of Leningrad, the old name of St Petersburg.
PM Modi arrived in St Petersburg last evening from Spain for the 18th India-Russia Annual Summit. The Summit is being held outside Moscow for the first time. On Friday, PM Modi will participate in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum as a Guest of Honour.
PM Narendra Modi is likely to discuss two-way trade between India and Russia, which dipped to $8 billion in 2015, despite an ambitious target of achieving $30 billion by 2030. Russia is also a participant in the Belt and Road initiative, conceived by China and has started fostering close relations with China and Pakistan.
PTI