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Alexander Kadakin was conferred the prize for his decades-long efforts to preserve the heritage of the Roerich family in India. At a function at the Russian Center of Science and Culture in New Delhi on July 11, Alexei Bondarenko, the head of the Roerich Heritage international charitable foundation presented the award to the ambassador.
The prize was initiated in 2003, in connection with the 300th anniversary celebrations of the foundation of St Petersburg, and has been awarded every year since. The award is presented to eminent members of the public who actively participate in the preservation and development of creative traditions, cultural and moral principles.
Kadakin got acquainted with Svyatoslav Roerich and his actress wife Devika Rani in 1971 when he was an interpreter at a lunch meeting between the couple and the then Soviet Ambassador, Nikolay Pegov.
“A very intimate friendship has evolved between the elderly couple and me, who, after passing away of my parents, considered me like their adopted son,” Kadakin said. “Whenever they came to Moscow, we would spend hours together, the same happened in Delhi where they usually stayed at the Imperial Hotel. I was a young diplomat, an attaché at that time. When they grew older and moved to Ashoka Hotel in Bangalore, Svyatoslav and Devika would call me every week, and on weekends I was flying there to meet them.”
Watch the video to know more about the Russian’s ambassador’s connections with the Roerich family and his efforts to restore their heritage.
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