A couple of days after the Tomsk court dismissed the case against ISKCON in relation to Bhagavad-gita As It Is, Bhakti Vijnana Swami, GBC for ISKCON Russia was personally invited by the Russian Ambassador to India, Alexander M. Kadakin on occasion of unveiling a bust of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, at Nehru Science Center. Mr. Kadakin recited a verse from Bhagavad-gita and explained how it glorified pioneers like Gagarin.

It shall be recalled that the court case in Tomsk sparked international outrage as the Prosecutor’s Office which filed the case demanded to include the Russian edition of “Bhagavad-gita As It Is”, translated and commented upon by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhpada, in the Justice Ministry’s list of banned extremist literature. Followers of Hinduism, as well as representatives of other religions globally protested against the very idea of taking Bhagavad-gita to court. ISKCON Juhu, Mumbai management had hundreds of people sign a protest petition at the temple and everyone was overjoyed when the case was dismissed in Russia on 28 December.