On 02 October 2019 Ambassador Jayatilleka and Madame Sanja Jayatilleka attended the opening ceremony and participated in the tour of the exhibition dedicated to deep friendship between Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy, the two great thinkers and the moralists of the 20th century, who had a mutual influence on each other’s work and philosophy. The exhibition was organized in the Russian State Duma (Parliament) building by the Indian Embassy in Russia on the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The exposition showcased the correspondence between the two great personalities of the 20th century, tracing their relationship and the impact it had on their individual journeys.
The heads of the State Duma committees and representatives of all factions, diplomats and academics of oriental studies took part in the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
The guests were welcomed by Ambassador of India D.B. Venkatesh Varma, who thanked the State Duma for providing the opportunity to hold the exhibition and highlighted that “Leo Tolstoy had a great influence on Mahatma Gandhi, and their friendship became a symbol of friendship between the two great peoples of India and Russia.”
The Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, the Head of the United Russia faction Sergei Neverov stressed in his speech that correspondence of the two great thinkers became “a serious step in the development of relationship between Russia and India”.
LDPR faction leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky urged to spread the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi and to conduct “Lessons of Peace” at schools.
The Deputy Head of the Just Russia faction Nikolai Ryzhak emphasized that countering evil by non-violence, respect for human dignity, justice and the desire for dialogue were the fundamentals of Mahatma Gandhi’s view of the world.
First Deputy Head of the Communist Party faction Nikolai Kolomeytsev noted that it was Mahatma Gandhi who was able in India to "achieve independence without firing."
