Russia-India Relations: The Significance of Subjective Factors

The India-Russia connection is the only bilateral relationship that is referred to as friendship. For more than five decades, people from both countries have had warm feelings towards each other, and although the fervour of the 1970s and 1980s has faded somewhat, there still remains the recognition of each other as reliable partners. It is for this reason that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in December 2014, during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India: "Even a child in India, if asked to say who is India's best friend, will reply it is Russia because Russia has been with India in times of crisis." Many reasons underpin the successful development of India-Russia relations, but it would be imprudent to set all hopes upon these. Concrete, consistent initiatives and changing Russian and Indian elites'approaches towards the partnership are essential, otherwise the stagnation of bilateral ties might worsen to degradation. At present, the relationship is predicated on cooperation in the defence and aerospace sectors, but the potential of these are insufficient to secure long-term, positive ties. Cooperation in peaceful uses of atomic energy is one of the fundamental components of the relationship between India and Russia. The construction of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant with our assistance is a flagship project in this field. In 2013, the first nuclear power unit was put into operation. In October 2016, the second unit was transferred to the Indian side, and construction of the third and fourth power units began. All of this contributes to the implementation of the plans to develop nuclear energy in India involving the construction of at least 12 power units in its territory by 2020. These goals are stipulated in a joint document - the Strategic Vision for Strengthening India-Russia Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy. We intend to further share best practices in this important industry with India and contribute to enhancing its energy security. The book covers a wide spectrum of issues and concerns related to India-Russia Strategic Partnership, and outlines various challenges and prospects for developing this relationship further.