How India-Russia relations overcame the bitterness of Stalin years

"The India-Russia relationship is not just about politics or diplomacy or economics. It is something much deeper," said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as he met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov earlier this week. Jaishankar underscored that Russia is a "valued, time-tested partner" of India and both countries have benefitted enormously from this relationship.

The foreign minister's remarks underscored the fact that India's relationship with Russia and the Soviet Union before that has been one of its most consistent geopolitical partnerships. However, there was a time when this relationship was plagued by distrust due to ideological differences.

During the rule of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union saw India's fight for independence with suspicion -- a "bourgeois conspiracy" built by the imperialist forces.

JOSEPH STALIN'S DISLIKE FOR NEHRU, GANDHI

Stalin, who led the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953, had a notably sceptical view of India's leaders and their political movements during the initial years following India's Independence from British colonial rule in 1947.

Stalin perceived key figures in the Indian Independence movement, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, through a lens of suspicion, considering them to be instruments of British imperialism and American capitalism. This perspective was rooted in Stalin's Marxist-Leninist ideology, which often viewed national liberation movements that did not align strictly with communist principles with a degree of mistrust.

In his paper 'Changing Soviet views on Mahatma Gandhi', Hemen Ray writes that in Vladimir Lenin's lifetime, the Bolsheviks considered Gandhi as a progressive leader who had turned the Indian National Congress into a genuinely mass political movement agitating for independence of India. This view underwent a change after Lenin's death in 1924.

After Lenin's death, Stalin started showing interest in Indian politics. In April 1924, giving a lecture at Sverdlov University, Stalin saw India as next in line to follow the example of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Soon, the Bolshevik leaders invited Gandhi to pay a visit to Soviet Russia. Gandhi declined, saying "an attempt to use me for violent purposes is bound to fail".

This angered the Bolsheviks, who claimed that Gandhi had ceased to be a progressive leader and his philosophy had become a "reactionary form of social life". The Soviets, under Stalin, asked Indian Communists to unmask Gandhi's "reactionary" policy, notes Ray.

This view of Gandhi prevailed until 1939 when Stalin advocated a united front between the Indian Communist Party and the Indian National Congress. However, soon after the Second World War, the Soviet scholars resumed their criticism of Gandhi and assailed him as a "demagogue" and a "principal traitor" in India's independence movement and his philosophy as an "avowed national ideology of the Indian capitalists and landowners".

Stalin was a proponent of Lenin's Comintern or Communist International, an organisation with the goal of overthrowing capitalist governments and the establishment of socialist regimes through revolutionary means. Stalin saw India's Independence in 1947 as a "political farce".

"There is no way to believe that 50,000 British families who are currently in India could leave it over the course of a year," read a news published in Soviet mouthpiece 'Pravda' on August 14, 1947, on the eve of India's Independence.

FORMALISING TIES DESPITE 'DISTRUST'

Post-Independence, India, under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, adopted a non-aligned stance, choosing not to side with either the capitalist bloc or the Communist bloc during the Cold War. This caused further insecurity to the Soviets, who thought that in the event of a war, India would side with the British and the Americans, as they believed that New Delhi was still under the control of its former imperial master.

Despite these ideological differences, formal diplomatic relations between India and the Soviet Union were established in April 1947, months before India gained its Independence.

The establishment of these relations was marked by an exchange of letters between the Indian Ambassador to China, KPS Menon, and the Soviet Ambassador to China, Apollon Petrov. This exchange culminated in a simultaneous official statement in Moscow and New Delhi, declaring the intent to strengthen friendly relations through the exchange of diplomatic representations at the rank of embassies.

The groundwork for future cooperation was laid with the opening of the Soviet Embassy in New Delhi in April 1947. Russia had expressed interest in establishing stronger commercial, cultural, and literary ties with India since the 19th century, but it was only after the decline of British influence that these aspirations could begin to materialise.

Following Nehru's unsuccessful trip to the United States in 1949 and the rejection of American assistance for food aid to India, the Indian government approached the Soviet Union with a comparable appeal. A formal agreement was reached in 1951, stipulating the delivery of 100,000 tonnes of Soviet wheat to India in exchange for the export of traditional Indian commodities.

IMPROVEMENT IN TIES

Despite being a proponent of the Non-Aligned Movement, Jawaharlal Nehru was more inclined towards socialism than American capitalism. He made it evident through his trips to the US where he made his "discomfort" known to the Americans.

To strengthen the ties with Russia, Nehru sent Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan to Moscow in 1949 as India's second Ambassador to the USSR. In his memoir 'A Life in Diplomacy', diplomat Maharaja Krishna Rasgotra notes that Nehru's decision to send Radhakrishnan to Moscow was his "most imaginative choice for the post at that particular time".

"Stalin had to be convinced of the genuineness of India's Independence, of the depth of India's concern over Cold War tensions and its desire for peace and for Russia's friendship and cooperation. The usual diplomatic approach would be of no avail, and Radhakrishnan was just the man for the complex task," writes Rungta.

In his book, Rungta says that Radhakrishnan's informality and directness, accompanied by unpredictable touches of teasing humour, served him well in the months to follow.

Rungta writes about a meeting between Radhakrishnan and then Soviet Foreign Minister Andrey Yanuarevich Vyshinsky, where the Indian Ambassador asked the minister why the Soviet Union did not support India on the Kashmir issue. Taken by surprise, Vyshinsky mumbled something about India never having asked for Soviet help in the matter.

"But that's what I am doing now, am I not?" asked Radhakrishnan.

This short meeting had far-reaching consequences as, in the next meeting of the UN Security Council, the Soviet Union blasted the US and the UK for meddling in the Kashmir issue. In fact, after that, the Soviet Union (and now Russia) always vetoed any Western resolution that was not acceptable to New Delhi.

NEHRU'S VISIT TO SOVIET UNION

Following Stalin's death in 1953, the relationship between India and the Soviet Union entered a new phase.

The subsequent Soviet leaders recognised the strategic importance of fostering a partnership with India, particularly as a counterbalance to China and as part of the broader Soviet strategy to engage with the Third World countries during the Cold War.

Jawaharlal Nehru visited the Soviet Union in June 1955 at the invitation of Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin and Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Nikita Khrushchev. This visit laid the foundation for a strong and enduring relationship between the two countries.

This diplomatic visit was not only remarkable for its duration, but also for the extensive itinerary that saw Nehru visit various Soviet republics, from Ukraine to Turkmenistan. The visit, documented by author OP Ralhan, saw instances such as Nehru catching bouquets of roses thrown by adoring crowds, an act that led to a light-hearted comment from the Indian Prime Minister about shedding his blood for Russia after being "pricked by thorns".

Nehru's journey was a turning point geopolitically and symbolised increasing closeness between India and the Soviet Union. While India was largely reliant on US aid, the Soviet Union offered support in power and infrastructure, which played a pivotal role in India's industrialisation. The steel plants at Bhilai and Bokaro were direct outcomes of this visit.

The warmth of Nehru's reception in the Soviet Union was undeniable, with large crowds and even Soviet leaders like Premier Marshal Nikolai Bulganin and First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev displaying genuine friendliness. Nehru's visit also marked a shift in Soviet foreign policy, as they did not support China against India during the 1962 war, despite their historical ties.

During his visit, Nehru expressed his admiration for the Soviet economic model, which he believed could offer an alternative to the capitalist system that, in his view, bred wars.

The reciprocal visit in 1955 by Soviet leaders to India further cemented the relationship. Nikolai Bulganin became the first Russian Prime Minister to visit India post-Independence, accompanied by Nikita Khrushchev, the Secretary of the Communist Party.

India received substantial military support from the Soviet Union during the Cold War era. The Soviet Union became a major supplier of arms and military equipment to India. This cooperation strengthened India's defence capabilities and played a crucial role in various conflicts, including the 1962 Sino-Indian War and the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

In recent times, as stated by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, India-Russia relations remain steady and robust, based on strategic convergence, geopolitical interests, and mutual benefits. Bilateral trade between the two nations has hit an all-time high, indicating the strength of their economic ties.