Introduction: A Historic Agreement That Shaped South Asia
This is Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko in 1971. He is signing a historic agreement with India, an agreement so important that it would save New Delhi from fighting a three-front war and lead to the creation of a new country—Bangladesh.
The stakes couldn't have been higher. The world was caught in the grip of the Cold War, and South Asia was spiraling into a humanitarian crisis that could soon escalate into an all-out war. If it ever came to that, India needed a powerful partner to counter both Pakistan and China.
That deal shaped a friendship that has lasted decades. From military alliances to economic cooperation, India and Russia built one of the strongest strategic partnerships in modern history. But today, that partnership is facing new challenges. Russia's growing ties with China and Pakistan, combined with India's push for self-reliance, have raised questions about whether this friendship can truly last.
So how did India and Russia become such close allies? What forces are currently threatening this bond? And can this decades-old friendship survive in a rapidly changing world?
India's Post-Independence Struggles and the Search for Allies
On 15th August 1947, India was finally free. But this freedom came at a heavy cost. The sub-continent was torn apart by partition, leaving the nation bleeding, its economy shattered, and millions of refugees flooding across new borders.
Centuries of colonial exploitation had drained India's wealth, leaving behind a country struggling to rebuild its economy and find its place in a fractured world.
What India needed most was support—economic, military, and diplomatic—but in a world divided by the Cold War, allies weren't easy to find. India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, adopted a socialist approach to development. Still, the West saw this as dangerously close to communism—a threat the U.S. and its allies were determined to contain during the early days of the Cold War.
Refusing to be drawn into the power play of superpowers, India chose not to align with any major power bloc through the Non-Aligned Movement. But this neutrality came at a cost. The U.S. dismissed India as a potential ally and backed Pakistan, a strategically located country willing to join the American-led anti-Soviet bloc.
As U.S. military aid flowed into Islamabad, India found itself isolated, cornered by hostile neighbors and ignored by global powers. That's when the Soviet Union stepped in to help. As early as the 1950s, the USSR began providing technical expertise and industrial support that laid the foundation for India's industrial future.
Industrial and Scientific Collaboration: Building India's Foundations
The Bhilai Steel Plant, established in 1959, became a major industrial hub, followed by the Bokaro Steel Plant in 1964, and the Heavy Engineering Corporation in 1958, boosting India's industrial machinery production. Around the same time, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited also emerged with Soviet technical support, powering India's journey toward industrial self-reliance.
In space exploration, the USSR helped train Indian scientists and launch Aryabhata, India's first satellite, in 1975. The partnership reached new heights in 1984, when cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian in space aboard the Soviet Soyuz T-11.
Diplomatic Support: Shielding India on the Global Stage
Beyond this, the Soviet Union consistently supported India on critical territorial issues. In 1957, the USSR vetoed a UN resolution labeling Kashmir as a disputed territory, firmly backing India's sovereignty. In 1961, when Portugal sought international intervention on India's liberation of Goa, the USSR again used its veto. In 1962, the Soviet Union once again vetoed resolutions calling for international intervention in Kashmir.
By shielding India diplomatically, the USSR played a crucial role in ensuring that the Kashmir issue remained a bilateral matter, preventing international pressure from tilting in Pakistan's favor.
Escalating Security Threats and Military Modernization
By the early 1960s, India's security situation was becoming more dangerous by the day. Pakistan, heavily armed and funded by the U.S., grew more aggressive along the western border.
In the north, China's occupation of Tibet in 1950 brought Chinese troops to India's doorstep, turning the Himalayan region into a potential warzone. The tipping point came in 1962, when China invaded Indian territories in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh.
India had to urgently modernize its military to contain the emerging threats, but the West refused to help. With aging British-era equipment and outdated fighter jets, India was running out of options—and time.
Once again, the Soviets stepped up when India needed them the most. In 1962, the USSR began supplying MiG-21 fighter jets and transferred critical technology to manufacture these jets locally.
This was followed by a series of defense deals, including the acquisition of the T-54 and T-72 tanks, which were later upgraded to T-90 Bhishma tanks. The Indian Navy strengthened its fleet with Foxtrot-class submarines and Kashin-class destroyers from the Soviets.
By the 1980s, India's military was deeply tied to Soviet-built equipment. This partnership evolved further when Russia supplied Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets in 1996, later allowing licensed production in India.
India also co-developed the BrahMos Supersonic cruise missiles with Russia, one of the most successful partnerships to date. Later in 2004, India acquired its flagship aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, and in 2018, signed a $5.4 billion deal for S-400 missile systems, strengthening its air defense capabilities.
The 1971 Crisis: Humanitarian Disaster and Path to War
By the early 1970s, India's neighborhood was spiraling into crisis. On its eastern border, East Pakistan was on the verge of collapse. Decades of political neglect, economic exploitation, and cultural suppression were pushing the region towards an open rebellion.
On March 25, 1971, the Pakistani military launched Operation Searchlight, a brutal crackdown that killed over three million people, and millions fled to India seeking refuge.
As refugee camps swelled, India could no longer bear the expenses to house them, and the crisis could not be contained for long. The issue did not gain enough attention from the West because the United States was determined to back Pakistan at all costs. In fact, the Americans supplied weapons to Pakistan, which were later used in the Operation Searchlight.
Facing a crisis head on, India had no choice but to prepare for a fight. If war ever came knocking, India would likely face a two-front attack from both Pakistan and China, with no Western nation willing to help.
That's when the Soviets stepped up, signing the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation in August 1971. The treaty guaranteed mutual defense, with Article 9 committing the USSR to support India in case of an attack—a move that reshaped the balance of power in South Asia.
The 1971 War: Soviet Support and the Birth of Bangladesh
Months later, this agreement proved decisive when Pakistan launched a surprise air attack on India in December 1971. In response, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared war on Pakistan.
The Indian military adopted a defensive approach on the Western front and launched an offensive in the East with a singular goal to liberate East Pakistan.
While the Indian military crushed the Pakistani aggression on both fronts, the USSR extended unwavering military and diplomatic support.
The Soviets vetoed three consecutive UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire—a move that would have stalled India's military operations.
When the UN resolutions failed, the United States, on December 11, 1971, deployed its 7th Fleet, led by the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise, to the Bay of Bengal. It was an attempt to force Indian troops to retreat and possibly turn the tide of the war in Pakistan's favor.
In response, the Soviets deployed their Fleet of nuclear-armed submarines, cruisers, and destroyers towards the Indian Ocean, ready to intercept the American warships.
This played a critical role in India achieving its objective of liberating East Pakistan and creating a new independent nation of Bangladesh.
At the end of the war, 93 thousand Pakistani soldiers surrendered to India, making it the largest surrender since World War 2.
Mutual Support: A Two-Way Street in International Relations
The 1971 war marked the high point of India's 'Special relationship' with the Soviet Union, but this friendship wasn't one-sided. While the USSR used its veto to shield India, New Delhi stood by Moscow, abstaining from UN resolutions condemning its actions in the Hungarian uprising in 1956 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Even during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, India backed Moscow at the UN General Assembly. This approach continued into the 21st century as India took a neutral position on the Russo-Georgian War in 2008, Crimea's annexation in 2014, and the Ukraine conflict since 2022—maintaining a balance between its ties with Russia and growing partnerships with the West.
Post-Soviet Shifts: New Alliances and Emerging Challenges
However, this special relationship soon faced the biggest test of its time. Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, global alliances began to shift in ways India had not anticipated. At the start of the century, and particularly after 2014, economic and strategic relations between Russia and China deepened significantly.
More recently, in early 2022, just before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the two countries declared a “no limits” partnership between them.
For India, this growing Russia-China nexus couldn't have come at a worse time. China's aggressive behavior along the Line of Actual Control and its deepening ties with Pakistan posed a serious strategic threat.
To make matters worse, Russia also strengthened its military co-operation with Pakistan, a country whose only strategic goal has been to counter India since its inception. In 2015, Russia shocked India by selling four Mi-35 attack helicopters to Pakistan—the first significant sale of Russian military equipment in recent history.
This was followed by joint military exercises under the code name Friendship, held annually since 2016, involving Russian and Pakistani troops. Despite India's protests, Russia continued expanding its defense ties with Islamabad, raising concerns in New Delhi about Moscow's changing priorities.
Military Reliance: Strengths and Liabilities in Procurement
India's military reliance on Russia has also been both a strength and a liability. It's a liability because this reliance comes at a cost: expensive maintenance, broken promises, delays, and incomplete projects.
The most infamous example of this is the acquisition of the INS Vikramaditya. Originally commissioned as the Admiral Gorshkov in 1987, the vessel was decommissioned by Russia in 1996 due to high operational costs. However, India negotiated a seemingly great deal in 2004, agreeing to buy and refurbish the ship for $974 million.
But what seemed like a bargain quickly turned into a nightmare. Extensive structural repairs, outdated technology, retrofit delays, and cost overruns ballooned the cost to $2.3 billion by 2010. And then, the delivery was delayed by over five years; and even after its induction in 2013, the ship required constant, expensive maintenance—making it one of India's costliest military purchases ever.
Then comes the much-hyped Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft program. In 2007, India and Russia launched the project to co-develop a stealth fighter based on Russia's Su-57 platform. India hoped this collaboration would modernize its air force while giving its defense industry valuable design experience.
But the deal gradually ran into problems. Russia refused key technology transfers, leaving India with no meaningful design role. The Indian Air Force also raised concerns about the Su-57's stealth features and sought multiple changes to make it suitable for the Indian use case. By 2018, India withdrew from the project, losing over $295 million in research costs—and its hope of acquiring stealth fighter jets anytime soon.
These weren't isolated incidents. Delays in delivering warships, spare parts shortages, and expensive maintenance plagued India's procurement of Russian military equipment.
Navigating Modern Geopolitics: Balancing Russia and the West
Despite Moscow's shifting alliances, India has managed to maintain a strategic relationship with Russia. When the U.S and its allies imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, India refused to condemn Moscow and instead called for peace and dialogue.
India also ramped up Russian oil imports at a discount and helped keep its economy afloat.
As India emerged as a rising power in the 21st century, its foreign policy has faced a monumental challenge in balancing ties between Russia and the West. While strengthening partnerships with the U.S., France, and Israel, India has strategically diversified its arms imports—acquiring Rafale jets from France and advanced drones from the U.S.
Yet, Russia remains India's largest arms supplier, accounting for 45% of India's imports between 2017 and 2022, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Russia has also supported India in areas beyond defense. Recently, a U.S.-based terrorist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, threatened Russia for sharing intelligence with Indian agencies on Khalistani activities in North America and Europe.
This kind of cooperation reflects the enduring value of the India-Russia partnership, built on mutual interests that continue to serve both nations.
Conclusion: Resilience Amid Shifting Global Dynamics
For decades, India and Russia have shared a unique partnership, one shaped by shared interests and mutual respect. As the global balance of power shifts, even the strongest alliances face new challenges. In geopolitics, they say, 'there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.'
Yet, the India-Russia partnership has proven its resilience, evolving to meet new realities and continuing to grow stronger with time. But there's something else that is having an even bigger impact on India's position as an emerging power.