Congress President Sonia Gandhi today condoled the passing away of Russian Ambassador to India Alexander Kadakin calling it a "personal loss".
"For me and my family the passing away of Alexander Kadakin's death is a personal loss. Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi held him in high esteem and valued his friendship," she wrote in her condolence letter.
The Congress leader remembered him for his "large-hearted personality, his deep love for India and his ability to strike up a real rapport with a wide cross-section of Indians won him countless friends in our country.
"He embodied all the warmth, generosity and steadfastness of the Russian soul," she said.
Gandhi also emphasised on his contribution to furthering Indo-Russian ties and said, "For him India, where he breathed his last, was truly a second home."
Long-serving Russian Ambassador to India, Alexander Kadakin, a fluent Hindi-speaking career diplomat, passed away today at a hospital here after a brief illness. He was 67.
He was the Head of the Russian diplomatic mission in New Delhi since November 2009 and had served as the Russian envoy to India between 1999 and 2004 as well.
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