June 16: Russia is the reason Stephano Maino gave his daughter the name Sonia.

And Russia is where Sonia perhaps spent her last few days alone with the man who gave her the name Gandhi.

The Congress president’s five-day tour of the world’s largest country has been soaked in sentiment.

Her Russian connection began during World War II, when the young Stephano slung a rifle on his shoulder and joined the Italian forces who had attacked the communist nation with the Germans.

Stephano was captured and detained in the towns of Vladimir and Suzdal as a prisoner of war for several years till three Russian women ? Nadia, Anushka and Sonia ? helped him escape. A grateful Stephano gave these Russian names to his three daughters.

In the two ancient towns on Tuesday, Sonia searched in vain for the prison houses where her father was jailed. The structures no longer exist.

She was, however, charmed by both cities: Vladimir, the ancient capital of Russia with its huge, gold-domed churches, drawing its name from the great king Vladimir, who brought Christianity to Russia; and Suzdal, which played a key role in the formation of the Russian state in the 11th and 12th centuries.

Stephano ? or Eugenio, as he liked to be called ? remained steeped in memories of Russia, its language, culture and food till his death in 1988. The father’s influence has been so deep that even today Sonia can converse as easily in Russian as in French, Spanish, Italian and English.

Stephano was hardworking and disciplined, qualities he passed on to his family, especially Sonia. When he arrived in the small Italian town of Orbassano, he worked as a mason and made good in a small construction business through his dedication and fair dealing.

Stephano brought up his daughters in the old traditional way ? church, confirmation and communion.

But it is not only memories of her father that Russia would have brought back to her, but also those of her husband.

Barely three months before tragedy hit her in Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991, she and Rajiv Gandhi had been in this country to have a private meal with the President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. And to be with each other.

February 25 happened to be their wedding anniversary. A day earlier, Rajiv, then leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, was to leave for Iran and Russia as part of his mission to end the first Gulf war. Sonia was in Amethi.

Suddenly, Rajiv decided she would accompany him. He sent her a short note that read, “I feel like?(being) with you, only you and I, the two of us alone, without two hundred people always about us.”

When Sonia got back to Delhi, she found he had already packed for her.

The next evening, after his official engagements, Rajiv and Sonia dined out at a restaurant in Tehran.

When they returned to their hotel to leave for Moscow, Rajiv took out his camera and the two posed for a self-timed picture together, something they had not been able to do before.

Fourteen years later, that picture would be on her mind today.