The 9th Annual India Day festival was recently held in Moscow, Russia at the “Dream Island” Landscape Park. This past weekend’s event (August 15-18th), which is the heart of the multi-day festival, welcomed more than 600,000 people. Over 2 million were estimated to attend all the festival days.

Dozens of religious and cultural organizations participated in the massive event, which included 20 themed zones, each with a wide variety of tents. ISKCON Russia, one of the leading organizations involved, has been participating in this hugely popular gathering for years. “Devotees had a ‘tent city’ at the festival, which welcomed tens of thousands of guests and distributed large quantities of prasadam,” said Acyutatma Das, the ISKCON GBC for Russia.

A stunning Rathayatra procession with Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva, and Lady Subhadra, coordinated with appreciative city officials, was also organized by ISKCON devotees and has become a centerpiece of the festival.  Additionally, there was a Jhulan Yatra with Radha-Krishna on a beautifully decorated swing, a boat with Radha-Krishna that could be led by guests, and even Vedic marriages conducted.