Then-Gujarat CM Modi accompanying then-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in a meeting with Putin

NEW DELHI: As Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to visit India for a much-anticipated meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, old images of the two leaders have resurfaced online.The photographs, taken in Moscow in 2001, show Modi — then the Chief Minister of Gujarat — accompanying then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during an official visit. The visuals, captured during a document-signing ceremony, had first gone viral last year when Modi travelled to Russia, and have reappeared on social media ahead of Putin’s India visit.

Modi had later recalled how Putin received him warmly despite his state-level position, engaging in candid discussions on states, hobbies, and global affairs. During the 2001 trip, he signed a protocol agreement between Gujarat and Russia’s Astrakhan region to boost cooperation in petrochemicals, hydrocarbons, trade, science and technology, education, tourism, and culture. He also visited Moscow’s ISKCON temple to offer prayers on Vajpayee’s behalf due to the latter’s health condition, spending considerable time with devotees. The visit marked Modi’s first international engagement as chief minister and his early diplomatic interaction with Putin.Modi returned to Astrakhan in 2006 to extend the pact for another five years with Governor Alexander Zhilkin, strengthening Gujarat–Russia ties in energy and trade. These subnational initiatives later fed into wider bilateral cooperation in defence, energy, and commerce during Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister. Modi has often reminisced about the 2001 meeting, including receiving a framed photograph from the ISKCON visit as a surprise gift during his 2024 interaction in Moscow.