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India and Russia Relationship

 13 Jun 2022

 10 min read

Tags:

 GS Paper - 2
 Groupings & Agreements Involving India and/or Affecting India's Interests

For Prelims: Brahmos Missile, Indra exercise, Kamov ka-226, S-400 Triumf

For Mains: Changing trends in Indo-Russia relations

Why in News?
Recently India and Russia celebrated the 75th anniversary of their diplomatic
relations. This has come amid Russia-Ukraine war.

What are the Different Aspects of Indo-Russia Relations?

 Historical Background:
 o The India and Russia ties have been a longstanding relation.
Since the signing of the “Declaration on the India-Russia
Strategic Partnership” in October 2000, India-Russia ties have
acquired a qualitatively new character with enhanced levels of
cooperation in almost all areas of the bilateral relationship
including political, security, defence, trade and economy,
science and technology, and culture.
o During the Cold War, India and the Soviet Union had a strong
strategic, military, economic and diplomatic relationship. After
the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia inherited its close
relationship with India which resulted in both nations sharing a
Special Strategic Relation.
o However, the relations have taken a steep downfall over the
past few years, especially in the post-Covid scenario. One of the
biggest causes for this is Russia’s close relations with China
and Pakistan, which have caused many geopolitical issues in
the past few years for India.
 Political Relations:
o The Annual Summit meeting between the Prime Minister of
India and the President of the Russian Federation is the
highest institutionalised dialogue mechanism in the strategic
partnership between India and Russia.
o Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin held
their first informal Summit in the city of Sochi in the Russian
Federation in 2018.
o In 2019, President Putin signed the Executive Order on
awarding PM Narendra Modi Russia’s highest state
decoration – The order of St Andrew the Apostle. The order
was presented to PM for his distinguished contribution to the
development of a privileged strategic partnership between
Russia and India and friendly ties between the Russian and
Indian peoples
o Two Inter-Governmental Commissions – one on Trade,
Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural
 Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC), and another on Military-Technical
Cooperation (IRIGC- MTC), meet annually.
 Trade Relations:
o The two countries intend to increase bilateral investment to
US$50 billion and bilateral trade to US$30 billion by 2025.
o Bilateral trade during FY 2020 amounted USD 8.1 billion.
o From 2013 to 2016 there was a major decline in the trade
percentage between the two countries. However, it increased
from 2017 onwards and a constant increase was noticed in 2018
and 2019 as well.
 Defence and Security Relations:
o India-Russia military-technical cooperation has evolved from a
buyer-seller framework to one involving joint research,
development and production of advanced defence technologies
and systems
o Both countries regularly conduct the Tri-Services
exercise ‘INDRA‘.
o The joint military programmes between India and Russia
include:
 BrahMos cruise missile programme
 5th generation fighter jet programme
 Sukhoi Su-30MKI programme
 Ilyushin/HAL Tactical Transport Aircraft
 KA-226T twin-engine utility helicopters
 some frigates
o The military hardware purchased/leased by India from Russia
includes:
 S-400 Triumf
 Kamov Ka-226 200 to be made in India under the Make in
India initiative
  T-90S Bhishma
 INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier programme
o Russia also plays a very important role in assisting the Indian
Navy with its submarine programmes:
 Indian Navy’s first submarine, ‘Foxtrot Class’ came from
Russia
 India is dependent on Russia for its nuclear submarine
programme
 INS Vikramaditya, the sole aircraft carrier operated by
India, is also Russian in origin.
 Nine of the fourteen conventional submarines operated by
India are Russian.
What are Other Important Areas of Relations between India and
Russia?
 Nuclear Relations:
o Russia is an important partner for India in the area of peaceful
use of nuclear energy. It recognizes India as a country with
advanced nuclear technology with an impeccable non-
proliferation record.
o Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is being built in
India .
o Both India and Russia are implementing Rooppur Nuclear
Power Project in Bangladesh
 Space Exploration:
o Both sides cooperate in the peaceful uses of outer space,
including satellite launches, GLONASS navigation system,
remote sensing and other societal applications of outer space.
o An MoU ISRO and ROSCOSMOS on Joint Activities in the field
of Human Spaceflight Programme was signed during the
19th Bilateral Summit.
 Science and Technology:
 o The Working Group on Science and Technology functioning
under IRIGC-TEC, the Integrated Long-Term Programme (ILTP)
and the Basic Science Cooperation Programme are the three
main institutional mechanisms for bilateral Science and
Technology cooperation, while the Science Academies of the
two countries promote inter-academy exchanges.
o A number of new initiatives in this sphere include India-Russia
Bridge to Innovation, cooperation in telemedicine, creation of
a Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), and the
Russia India Network (RIN) of universities.
 Cultural Relations:
o About 20 Russian Institutions, including leading universities and
schools, regularly teach Hindi to about 1500 Russian students
o Apart from Hindi, languages such as Tamil, Marathi, Gujarati,
Bengali, Urdu, Sanskrit and Pali are taught in Russian
Institutions
o Indian dance, music, yoga and Ayurveda are among few other
interests that people of Russia enjoy.
What is the Significance of Russia for India?
 Balancing China: The Chinese aggression in the border areas of
eastern Ladakh, brought India-China relations to an inflection point,
but also demonstrated that Russia can contribute to defusing
tensions with China.
o Russia organized a trilateral meeting among the foreign
ministers of Russia, India, and China following deadly clashes
in the Galwan Valley in the disputed territory of Ladakh.
 Emerging New Sectors of Economic Engagement: Apart from
traditional areas of cooperation such as weapons, hydrocarbons,
nuclear energy, and diamonds, new sectors of economic
engagement are likely to emerge — mining, agro-industrial, and
high technology, including robotics, nanotech, and biotech.
o India’s footprint in the Russian Far East and in the Arctic is set
to expand. Connectivity projects may get a boost too.
 Combating Terrorism: India and Russia are working to close the
gap on Afghanistan and are calling for early finalization of
the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
 Support At Multilateral Forums: Additionally, Russia supports
India’s candidacy for permanent membership of a reformed United
Nations Security Council and of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
 Russia’s Military Exports: Russia has been one of the largest
arms exporters to India. Even as Russia’s share in India’s arms
imports fell by over 50% in the last five-year period compared to the
previous five years (2011–2015).
o In the last 20 years, India imported arms and weapons worth
USD 35 billion from Russia, according to the Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute which tracks global arms
trade.
Way Forward
 Russia To Provide Timely Maintenance Support: Timely supply of
spares and support to the large inventory of Russian hardware in
service with the Indian military has been a major issue from India.
o To address this, Russia has made legislative changes allowing
its companies to set up joint ventures in India to address it
following an Inter-Governmental Agreement signed in 2019.
o This agreement needs to be implemented in a time-bound
manner.
 Acknowledging Importance of Each Other: Russia will remain a
key defense partner for India for decades to come.
o On the other hand, Russia and China are currently in a quasi-
alliance setup. Russia repeatedly reiterates that it does not see
itself as anybody’s junior partner. That’s why Russia wants
India to act as a balancer.
 Joint Military Production: The two countries have been discussing
how they can cooperate in using India as a production base for
exporting to third countries Russian-origin equipment and services