Amid the turbulence of a reshaping global order, India’s ties with Russia stand at a critical juncture. Long anchored in trust, strategic necessity, and a deep Eurasian connection, the relationship now intersects with shifting equations among the US, China and Russia. Understanding why India still sees Russia as indispensable offers a window into the choices confronting Indian foreign policy today.
For a relationship that has been central to, if not the touchstone, of India’s “independent” foreign policy, there is surprisingly little scholarly writing and analysis on Russia or India-Russia relations in Indian literature. India’s world is, in fact, incomplete without Russia. There are many reasons for this, but some stare us in the face.
The weight of the colonial era still hangs over the Indian psyche. In collective memory, Russia is identified as the unblemished power that did not occupy Asian or African lands and confronted Western imperialism during the Cold War era. It was this sentiment that earned it the support of the vast majority of nations newly independent from colonial rule.