Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been conferred upon with Russia’s most prestigious civilian honor – the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called.
Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the award to Modi on Tuesday in St Andrew Hall at the Kremlin after the annual India-Russia Summit, which was held after a gap of two years.
The formal ceremony of giving the award to the PM Modi was held five years after Putin signed a decree conferring the award to the Indian leader in 2019.
The award comes as a recognition for Modi’s outstanding contributions to developing the special and privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India and fostering friendly ties between the people of the two countries.
“Honoured to receive the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle. I dedicate it to the people of India,” Modi wrote on X.
He also dedicated it to the traditional bonds of friendship between India and Russia.
The recognition, Modi said, “illuminates the special and privileged strategic partnership” between the two countries.
The award was constituted in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia.
The Order of St Andrew is awarded for the most outstanding civilian or military merit.
Five years ago, the Russian embassy in India announced that the decision to confer the award on the Indian leader was made on April 12 that year.
Modi was on a two-day visit to Russia from July 8, 2024.
Earlier in the day before bilateral talks with Russian president Putin, Modi laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the wall of the Kremlin. The war memorial is dedicated to Soviet soldiers who died during World War 2.
“A solemn homage to the brave! PM @narendramodi laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow, saluting valour, sacrifice and indomitable human courage,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on X.
The red granite monument is decorated with a bronze sculpture of a laurel branch and a soldier’s helmet laid on a banner.
