The gift from Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith is meant to mark 65 years of diplomatic relations
Laos plans to gift a pair of elephants to Russia as a symbol of peace and prosperity, Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith said on Thursday during talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Sisoulith said the gesture would be in recognition of the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
“On behalf of the government and people of Laos, we wish to present the Russian Federation with a pair of elephants, which are a symbol of peace, friendship and well-being,” he said.
The elephants, Sisoulith added, would be sent to St. Petersburg, the city where he studied at the Herzen State Pedagogical Institute.
Putin responded with a smile, saying, “Thank you, they’ll come in handy.”
During the talks, Putin highlighted growing trade ties between the two countries, noting that bilateral trade increased by 66% last year. In the first five months of 2025 alone, he said, trade volumes had risen by a further 20%.
Elephants have a long history in St. Petersburg, dating back to 1714, when the Persian Shah gifted the first one to the newly founded imperial capital. It was transported by sea to Astrakhan and then led on foot to St.Petersburg, reportedly wearing specially made slippers to protect its feet. Throughout the 18th century, additional elephants were gifted by Persian rulers, housed near the city center, and occasionally walked along what is now Nevsky Prospekt, the city’s main avenue.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, trained elephants performed in St. Petersburg Zoo, attracting large summer crowds. Some were later transferred to Moscow due to financial difficulties, while others perished during periods of war and famine – including one that starved to death during the 1918 food crisis and another in 1941, during World War II, when a bombing raid by Nazi forces destroyed the elephant house during the Siege of Leningrad.
St. Petersburg Zoo has long awaited the return of elephants, with several generations of residents growing up without ever seeing one. The last elephant to live at the zoo, a male named Xun, died in 1982.
