In Russia, the Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre of the Embassy of India organized IDY events in about 70 Russian regions (States) spanning 11 time zones. In terms of geographical spread and scale, these were the largest Yoga celebrations in the world. The week long celebration started on June 18 in the Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok and will continue throughout the week in various regions before culminating in the iconic cultural capital of Russia, St. Petersburg on June 26.
2. The main celebrations were held in Moscow on June 19 on the banks of Moskva River in Gorky Park, the largest and the most prestigious Public Park. More than 4000 Russian Yoga enthusiasts participated in the event in Moscow. The event began with a video message by Prime Minister Narendra Modi dubbed in Russian language and another message by eminent modern Russian singer Sati Kazanova. Ambassador Pankaj Saran led the two hours long Yoga session with performance of the Common Yoga Protocol. Speaking on the occasion he highlighted the relevance of Yoga in contributing for physical and mental health in the modern world. Mr. Sergey Repin, President of Russian Yoga Federation also spoke on the occasion. High technology cameras, including drone cameras, were deployed to cover the event.
3. The overwhelming majority of participants were Russian citizens, especially young women and men. Apart from the Russian Yoga Federation, socio-cultural organizations participated in the events. Regional Governments were supportive; in most cases, senior officials from the local government participated. Many local governments provided whole hearted support in arranging events and gave centrally located park, stadiums and sports centres as venues. On their own initiative, organizers in many regions supplemented the Yoga sessions with Indian cultural programmes and food festivals.
5. A special website www.worldyogaday.ru was created to invite online registrations for the Moscow event. All Yoga materials including booklets, the Common Protocol and DVDs were translated into Russian.
6. The last official event for 2nd IDY will be celebrated in St. Petersburg on June 26. The local authorities this year have provided the prestigious Peter and Paul Fortress as the venue for the celebrations.
7. In total, IDY events are being held in more than 300 locations during week long celebration in Russia.
Moscow
June 21, 2016
