India-Russia Relationship

Prime Minister Modi’s first bilateral visit to Russia after being sworn in, showcases the importance of India-Russia ties for India, especially in energy and defence. India and Russia have maintained a relationship for over seventy years. However, as India has expanded its global ties in a multi-polar world, its partnership with Russia has seen stagnation in some areas and decline in others.

• Defence remains the strongest aspect of their strategic alliance, with significant cooperation also in nuclear and space sectors.

Significance of Russia for India

• Critical Defence Interests: India heavily relies on Russian and Soviet-origin defence equipment, constituting 60-70% of its arsenal. Cooperation includes joint R&D, co-development, and production of various military systems like S-400 missiles, MiG-29s, and tanks.
  • India’s armed forces still rely heavily on armoured divisions and 97 percent of its 3,740 tanks are Russian-made.
  • The Brahmos supersonic antiship missile, for instance, was jointly designed by Indian and Russian engineers for the Indian armed forces and first tested in 2001.
  • Russian joint ventures with India also include making
    • 35,000 Kalashnikov AK203 assault rifles for the Indian army
    • licensed production of advanced T-90 tanks and Sukhoi Su-30-MKI fourth-generation fighter jets
    • maintenance facilities for India’s MiG-29 fighter jets
    • collaboration on making the Konkurs antitank guided missile

• War and Oil Trade Boost: India buys Russian oil at discounted rates, significantly impacting bilateral trade.
  • Despite the threat of even more US sanctions, Russia has become the 1 supplier of oil for India, which in turn is the top buyer of seaborne Russian oil. In June, India bought a stunning 2.13 million barrels of oil per day from Russia. 
  • This trade helps mitigate inflation from rising crude prices, though it creates diplomatic challenges with Western allies due to Russia's actions in Ukraine.

Factors irritating United States in India-Russia Relations

• India continues to strengthen its trade and diplomatic relationship with the world's most-sanctioned country.
• India has taken a neutral stance regarding Ukraine.
• The Chennai-Vladivostok maritime route and the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), are aimed at long-term integration of the Indian and Russian economies. The INSTC also brings Iran - another American adversary - into the mix.
• India has even defied the US to strike a 10-year deal to develop Iran's Chabahar port.
• India significantly boosted India-Russia cooperation in military affairs. For example, India bought the Russian S-400 missile defense systems.
• India and Russia are considering cooperation on numerous strategic areas such as joint production of weapons, reciprocal access to military facilities, joint deployment of troops, warships and fighter jets.

Indo-US vs Indo-Russia Defence Deals

PYQ

Q: What is the significance of Indo-US defence deals over Indo-Russian defence deals? Discuss with reference to stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (2020)