The Russian Embassy celebrated the traditional masquerade ball on January 13 at the embassy of Russia in New Delhi. This tradition of celebrating New Year — a custom dictated by the Russian Orthodox Church in accordance with the old Julian calendar — was started at the Russian Embassy few years ago.
The carnival spirit yet again drew numerous friends of Russia in the Embassy hall. The celebration was joined by more than 800 guests - diplomats, artists, designers, journalists, bloggers, university teachers, Russian Embassy workers and their families posted in India.
The ball was flavoured by the performance of Moscow band Stilyagi (The Teddy Boys), who performed three sets of Russian and Western popular, rock-n-roll and jazz hits as well as three songs in Hindi.
The event gave the start to a year-long celebrations of 70th jubilee since the establishment of Russian-Indian diplomatic relations.
The Christmas and New Year celebrations ended with fantastic fireworks on the Embassy’s lawns.