Indo-Russia Relations: Consolidating Historic Ties

          India-Russia relationship today has evolved into an equal and long-lasting partnership. The deep roots of this relationship go back to the early 20th century when India was under British rule and the Czars ruled Russia. The Russian Revolution of 1905 inspired Indian freedom fighters including Mahatma Gandhi who was struck by the similarity in the prevailing conditions in Russia and India. After visiting Soviet Union in 1927, Jawaharlal Nehru came back deeply impressed with the Soviet experiment. He was convinced that a poor developing country like India needed to follow not the capitalist path, but Russian development model that emphasized social justice, equality and human dignity.

          India’s relations with the Soviet Union in the first formative years after its independence in947 were ambivalent as it was guided by the policy of non-alignment and peace. However, India was alarmed in February 1954, when the US administration announced the decision to provide arms and supply sophisticated military hardware and economic aid to Pakistan. This close Pakistan-US relationship also did not go down well with the Soviet Union, which also utilized this opportunity to develop a closer relationship with India. Although Indo-Soviet cooperation had begun much earlier, Indo-Soviet defence and military cooperation began mainly when Sino-Soviet and Sino-Indian relations started deteriorating.

          Relations with the USSR started changing from about 1952, when the communist superpower began supporting India in the United Nations on resolutions pertaining to Kashmir. In 1955, relations improved vastly with the visits of the two leaders to each other’s countries and the grant of considerable Soviet aid to India. It was possibly because of these growing relations that, when the Suez Crisis erupted in 1956, India was vociferous in denouncing Western colonialism than the actions of the USSR at the same time in Hungary.

          This approach paid dividends when USSR denounced China’s madness in attacking India. USSR also urged the two countries to a peaceable settlement but assured India that the USSR would never support China’s aggressive policy against India. India could not forego such strong support that came without the conditions that the US imposed on its support during the Indo-China conflict of 1962. Following the 1962 Sino-Indian war, the Sino-Pakistani axis was also a force for growing cooperation between India and Soviet Union.

          An important event took place on August 9, 1971 when the USSR and India signed a Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation. It is important to note the circumstances under which this treaty was signed. It was in 1971, when the national movement in East Pakistan erupted. This led to the proclamation of the Republic of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971. Tensions between India and Pakistan were running high. Pakistan was being supported by China and through this relationship China trying to contact Washington. The United States helped Pakistan considerably not just with political support, but by supplying arm as well.          During this time, both Beijing and Washington were interested in stemming the spread of soviet influence in Asia, where India was becoming one of Moscow’s few allies.

          It was on August 9, 1971 when the USSR and India signed a Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation. This treaty clearly stated the Indo-Soviet commitment that they shall not enter into or participate in any military alliance directed against each other. The parties also undertook to abstain from providing any assistance to any third country that engages in armed conflict with the other party. This was an important to India especially during the time when its territory was under pressure from both East and West Pakistan. The fact that the USSR had the ability to threaten the US would undoubtedly have also influenced India’s decision to turn to Moscow after the 1962 war.

          The 1971 treaty created a legal foundation for ties between USSR/Russia and India It reflected the existing alignment of forces in the region and the world, and played a historic role by helping India to assert its regional and global positions and secure its special relation with the USSR. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, India and Russia have taken important steps in cementing this relationship further. 

          However, in recent times, there has been an inexplicable drift in relations between the two countries and some major issues of dissonance have appeared between them. This is partly because India has a growing strategic relationship with the US after the path-breaking civilian nuclear deal 2008. Another issue concerns the growing defence relationship between India and USA. Between 2011 and 2014, the United States overtook Russia as India’s largest supplier of weapons systems.

          While Russia supplied India with an estimated US$40 billion worth of military materiel between the 1960s and 2011, the US has sold arms and equipment estimated at approximately US$4.75 billion between 2011 and 2014. Russia was its second-largest supplier with US$3.7 billion, followed by France with US$1.75 billion and Israel with approximately US$500 million.  India has so far been heavily dependent on Russian armaments with more than 70 per cent of its weapons being sourced from Russia. Although in absolute terms Russia is still the largest supplier of defence equipment to India, its share in overall imports has progressively declined. This is also because Russia, under a resurgent Vladimir Putin, challenged the US and Europe, and in doing so, cosied up to India's arch Asian rival China and even flirted with Pakistan.

          Most recently, India’s reported decision to sign the three ''foundational'' defence Agreements with USA, viz., Logistics Support Agreement (LSA), Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for Geo-spatial Cooperation, has surfaced as a cause of serious concern for Russia. The latter feels that India is virtually entering into a military alliance with USA, which will severely restrict Russia's ability to share sophisticated defence technology with it.

          In fact in 1990s, after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Russia found it difficult to keep up its economic position with India. The infrastructure that supported trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation was practically destroyed. Notwithstanding this, relations with Russia remains a key pillar of India's foreign policy, and Russia has been a longstanding time-tested partner of India as delineated above. Since the signing of “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, trade and economy, defence, science and technology and culture.         

          Both India and Russia have now realised that in their quest for global power status, it is imperative that they restore the climate of intimate friendship. Russia needs India as a market for its goods to bypass Western sanctions imposed after its power push in Ukraine. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment partnership driven by the US will also force Russia to eye markets beyond Europe. Despite its renewed friendship with China, Russia will soon find itself in competition with Beijing.

          India can help provide the multi-polarity that Russia fiercely seeks. It is in view of the developing geo-political realities that the relations between India and Russia were up-graded from "strategic partnership" to "special and privileged strategic partnership" in 2010. Be it in the field of equipping our defence forces or industrialisation of the country or strategic support in the UN Security Council, Russia has always come to India’s help.

          India is energy deficient country and Russia is energy surplus and therefore, a mutual interest lies in this sector. India imports oil, mostly from the volatile region of Middle East. However, to sustain current high rate of growth, India need to secure and diversify sources of energy import. According to the International Energy Agency, India would be the third largest energy consumer in the world by 2025 after US and China. Russia, India’s trusted strategic partner is destined to play a vital role in ensuring India’s energy security in the coming decades. India has geared-up its energy diplomacy and is moving quickly to penetrate the Russian energy market. Indo-Russian energy cooperation is expected to get a boost in the coming years.

          India needs Russia because it can meet its abundant energy requirements at a cost-effective price. There is active co-operation between the two countries in subsurface surveys and exploration for hydrocarbons offshore in Russia’s Arctic region. Hydrocarbons is an active area for exploring cooperation between the two countries. In December 2015, Tata Power signed an agreement with the Russian Ministry of Far East Development for investment projects in energy sector in the region. The Solar Energy Corporation of India signed an MoU with Russian counterpart for constructing solar plants in India.

          Despite expanding its defence purchases from the US, Israel and Europe, India still needs to collaborate with Russia to master future technology including for space. It improves India's bargaining power when it negotiates arms deals with the West. Russia can be a major market for Indian industry such as pharmaceuticals, manufactured goods, dairy products, bovine meat and frozen seafood. Geopolitically, Russia continues to be a countervailing force against any designs China and Pakistan may have in our region.

          India has had a longstanding and wide-ranging cooperation with Russia in the field of defence. India-Russia military technical cooperation has evolved from a simple buyer-seller framework to one involving joint research, development and production of advanced defence technologies and systems. BrahMos Missile System, Joint design and development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft, as well as the licensed production in India of SU-30 aircraft and T-90 tanks, are examples of such flagship cooperation.

          However, it is felt that many of these projects need to be executed swiftly. Particularly the projects on the fifth generation aircraft, air transport programmes and the new tie-up to manufacture Ka-226 helicopters in India, making it the first major defence project under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. India has recently concluded some visible, high-ticket, defence deals including the missile defence system with Russia. The two countries also hold exchanges and training exercises between their armed forces annually. In December 2014, the two governments signed the Agreement for Training of Indian Armed Forces Personnel in the Military Educational Establishments of the Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation.

             Any attempt to view the relationship between India and Russia purely in terms of the defence materiel bought and sold will, however, prove short-sighted since the relationship extends well past a mere buyer-seller arrangement. The real push has to come in economic relations between the two countries. It is notable that some of India’s globally competitive public sector companies like BHEL, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), as well as the steel industry in India, were set up with Soviet cooperation. The first Indian Institute of Technology set up with foreign collaboration was the one in Mumbai with the Soviet support. Soviet Union helped India in many ways to become more self-reliant and has been a true partner of India.

          Today, making economic partnership a strong pillar of the strategic partnership between India and Russia is a key priority for the two governments. Bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to approximately US$9.5 billion in 2014, with the balance of trade decidedly in Russia’s favour. In December 2014, the two countries set a target of US$30 billion bilateral trade by 2025. The bilateral trade during in 2015 amounted to US$ 7.83 billion (decline of 17.74% over 2015), with Indian export amounting to US$ 2.26 billion and imports from Russia amounting to US$ 5.57%.

          Major items of export from India include pharmaceuticals, tea, coffee and tobacco, nuclear reactors and boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, organic chemicals, and electrical machinery and equipment. Major items of import from Russia include pearls, precious and semi-precious stones and metals, nuclear power equipment, electrical machinery and equipment, mineral oil and products, iron and steels, and optical, precision and surgical equipment.

          Indian investment in Russia now totals $8 billion and comes mainly from the oil and gas sector. There is tremendous potential in diamond, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers and food sectors that needs to be exploited by India Inc. Russia too needs to step up its investments in India which currently stands around $3 billion. Meanwhile, major opportunities are opening up for Russian companies in India with its 'Make in India' initiative in sectors such as defence equipment, civil aviation and in railways. The agreement during Modi’s recent visit to Iran on the construction of the Chabahar seaport, associated rail-road linkages and development of the International North-South Transport Corridor will spur ties between India and Russia as well as with Central Asia and Afghanistan.

          Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) is the apex G2G forum to review economic cooperation. It reviews sectoral cooperation under working groups on trade and economic cooperation, priority investments, modernization and industrial cooperation, outstanding issues, energy and energy efficiency, science and technology, communications and IT, tourism and culture, and sub-groups on banking and financial matters and on conservation of wildlife.

          India and Russia are also trying to collaborate on new areas which need to be explored further, like in the area of democratisation process, social policy diffusion, in religious dialogues, in promoting secularism, tolerance, multi-ethnicity, for developments of internal economic management and planning etc. which are all significant areas for both India and Russia and could be addressed together. Indian and Russian railways also signed agreement on high speed rails in India and modernization of railways. Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC), Ranchi concluded agreements with Russian company CNIITSMASH on establishing a Centre of Excellence in India and modernization of HEC’s facilities.

          Russia is an important partner in peaceful uses of nuclear energy and it recognizes India as a country with advanced nuclear technology with an impeccable non-proliferation record. In December 2014, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Russia’s Rosatom signed the Strategic Vision for strengthening cooperation in peaceful uses of atomic energy between India and Russia. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) has been built in India with Russian cooperation. The first reactor became commercially operational in December 2014 and the second is due to become operational in 2016-17. General Framework Agreements have been signed for Units 3 and 4. The leaders of the two countries announced that Russia would build at least six more nuclear units in India during their annual summit in December 2015. An agreement on localization in India of nuclear equipment was also concluded during the Annual Summit on 24 December 2015.

          India-Russia cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of outer space dates back to about four decades since the launch of India’s first satellite “Aryabhatt” on a Russian (then USSR) launch vehicle ‘Soyuz.’ In 2007, India and Russia signed a framework agreement on cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, including satellite launches, GLONASS navigation, remote sensing and other societal applications of outer space. In June 2015, the space agencies have signed an MoU on expansion of cooperation in the field of the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.

          There is no substitute for spontaneous and natural people-to people exchanges. India and Russia will need to build direct contacts with the entire spectrum of stakeholders and interest groups in the political, economic, military and other spheres. There are regular educational and cultural initiatives to promote people-to-people contacts between India and Russia. There are approximately 4,500 Indian students enrolled in medical and technical institutions in the Russian Federation. Indian Community in the Russian Federation is estimated at about 30,000About 500 Indian businessmen reside in Russia out of which around 200 work in Moscow. An estimated 300 registered Indian companies operate in Russia. Majority of Indian businessmen/companies in Russia are involved in trading while some represent Indian banks, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbon and engineering companies.

          India and Russia are natural allies. It is in the interest of both countries to have vibrant relations. Their track records prove that they have the vision and capacity to once again achieve heights in bilateral relations earlier witnessed during the Soviet times. A notable instance of the close co-operation between the two countries, albeit one predicated upon mutual self-interest, is the co-opting of India by Russia into the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation. Russia chose to bring India into the organisation, presumably to balance China’s influence within it, and India joined the organisation to avail itself of the economic opportunities that could arise from membership as well as balancing China and Pakistan, which China had brought into the organisation.

            It must be noted, however, that the dependence on each other is mutual: Russia’s induction of India into the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation to lend it support in balancing China, especially in the Central Asian republics and Afghanistan, is just one indication of that. India, moreover, refused to condemn Russia after it invaded the Ukraine and annexed the Crimean Peninsula. Moscow needed that support. India’s potential participation in the Eurasian Economic Union will be a win-win proposition for all members of the grouping. Both the countries have also collaborated in BRICS and similar regional organisations in advancement of mutually agreed objectives.

          Today, India has become a major global power. Its outstanding achievements in high-tech fields and in the implementation of economic reforms are worthy of close attention and through analysis. Despite New Delhi’ policy of diversifying its foreign policy, trade and economic ties, it is prepared to promote cooperation with Russia as an equal partner. Today, both India and Russia have acquired a new self-confidence arising out of their rapid economic growth, at the time when many developed countries are suffering from economic recession.

          As rising economic powers, both India and Russia are playing an increasingly larger role on the world stage. The two countries share the goal of creating a multi-polar world. India values the political and diplomatic support it continues to get from Russia on vital issues. In today’s complicated and fast changing geopolitical situation, both countries have wisely diversified their foreign policy options, yet have been careful not to abandon a mutually beneficial partnership of trust built up over decades.

          Russia’s preference for multi-polarity and encouragement for the promotion of groupings like RIC (Russia-India-China), BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa), as well as SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) is intended to create a forum outside the Western block where India and Russia along with other countries can discuss issues without western pressure. Amidst all these positive developments as well as certain concerns, there is a hope that India-Russia friendship and the strategic partnership will scale new heights and it will grow, thrive and blossom in the coming years.