Indian-Origin Man Joins City Assembly After Winning Election in Russia

A historic city in Russia, Kursk, now has an Indian connection. Abhay Kumar Singh, who hails from Patna in Bihar, has now become a lawmaker in the Kursk city Assembly.

Singh won the provincial election on a United Russia party ticket as a deputat in the Kursk city Assembly last month, India Today reported. A deputat is parallel to an MLA in India. In March this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s United Russia won the election, occupying more than three-fourth seats in the federal assembly.

After joining Putin’s party in April last year, Singh got an opportunity to contest elections in 2018.

“I was very impressed by the policies of Vladimir Putin as he has been able to bring back the clout of Russia in the world and so I felt that I should also contribute to his work,” Singh was quoted as saying by the Sunday Guardian.

The businessman-turned-politician has slowly become a known face in Kursk. He came to Kursk to study medicine in the early 1990s. After he graduated from the Kursk State Medical University, Singh returned to Patna to practice medicine as a registered doctor. However, it did not work out and he came back to Kursk where he entered the pharmaceutical business, the publication reported.

After pharmaceuticals, he tried his luck in the real estate sector and got involved in the local affairs in the city. He now owns business establishments in the town.

Since being elected, Singh has been active on the social media, putting up posts on Facebook.

Singh has also been instrumental in introducing his town to Indian culture. In 2015, he organized the first International Yoga Day in Kursk.

“I am still interested in the political happenings in India, and I like Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar. I want that relations between India and Russia always stay warm as they have been,” he added, the Sunday Guardian reported.

Kursk is the capital of the Kursk region in Russia. It occupies an important place in history, as the biggest tank battle of World War II took place near Kursk in July and August of 1943. Kursk was left thoroughly battered in the war. However, the city today is an important contributor in the Russian economy with its iron, food processing and chemical industries.