Commenting on the death of Academician Gury Ivanovich Marchuk, Indian ambassador to Moscow, Ajai Malhotra said on Wednesday that in the sad demise of the one of the prominent scientists of Russia, India has lost a highly admired friend. Marchuk died in Moscow, on Monday, after a prolonged illness, at the age of 87. He was one of the last veterans of Soviet science. Marchuk played a pioneering role in creating the bilateral Integrated Long-Term Program (ILTP) of Cooperation in Science and Technology in 1987.
“Academician Marchuk was a very dear and highly admired friend of India, where he had many good friends,” Malhotra said, adding “He was a pillar of our bilateral cooperation in science and technology.”
“He was the first co-chairman of the flagship Integrated Long-Term Programme for Cooperation in Science and Technology between our two countries. His friendship and guidance contributed greatly to nurturing strong and mutually beneficial scientific ties between India and Russia,” he stressed.
Recalling his close association with Marchuk, Malhotra said he was privileged to know him as a friend for 31 years, since 1982, and was absolutely delighted to meet up with him once again on my return to Moscow in 2011.
“We will always remember him with utmost admiration and deep respect. The gap he has left behind will certainly be impossible to fill,” the ambassador said. “He was a remarkable human being, a versatile personality, and an eminent and very highly respected figure in the world of science.”
“On this sad occasion, I would like to convey heartfelt condolences on behalf of the Government of India, the people of India and on my own behalf. Our prayers are with the grieving family of the departed soul as indeed with the Russian scientific fraternity and the people of Russia,” Malhotra said, referring to the “irreparable loss” in the demise of Marchuk.
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Russkiy Mir Foundation Information Service
