Indian dancers for Moscow's 860th birthday

MOSCOW: Tens of thousands watched Lotus, a dance ensemble from Ahmedabad, perform near the Kremlin as part of the City Day celebrations marking the Russian capital's 860th anniversary.

Lotus also performed in Victory Park, a recreation place popular with Muscovites. This year, City Day celebrations on Sunday attracted about three million spectators because of sunny weather.

Although Moscow has been celebrating City Day annually since 1997, this year's event surpassed all others. Performers from India, the US, Greece, Italy, Germany, Austria and other countries took part in the festival this time.

Alla, a high-school teacher who watched the performance of Lotus near the Kremlin, said Russians mostly knew about Indian songs and dances from films and they were happy to watch live performances instead.

Ancient chronicles first mentioned Moscow in 1147, which is considered the official date of its foundation, although traces of an older settlement have been found in the region.