ABSTRACT
With the signing of the Indo-Russian strategic partnership in October 2000, New Delhi and Moscow renewed a long-standing political relationship that had fallen into disrepair during the waning years of the Soviet Union and the early years of the newly formed Russian Federation. This partnership agreement came almost three decades after the landmark 1971 Soviet-Indian Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation that had signaled India’s pronounced tilt toward the USSR during the later phases of the Cold War. The neglect of the Indo-Soviet/Russian relationship after 1987 had resulted primarily from the diversion of Soviet, and later Russian, energies to dealing with the fall-out stemming from the break-up of the USSR. With the re-orientation of EastWest ties following the foreign policy revolution unleashed in the USSR by President Mikhail Gorbachev’s “new thinking,” came the abandonment of ideologically driven Soviet doctrines and policies, leading to a peaceful and anti-climactic end to an almost half-century-long Cold War. After an early and intense engagement with the West in 1992, several developments over the course of that decade served to redirect the attention of Russia’s leaders eastward toward China and India: NATO’s post-Cold War expansion in Europe; its military involvement in the Balkans; and the growing political instability in Afghanistan in the Asian theater. Carefully calibrated moves in Moscow and New Delhi toward a gradual improvement of ties during the 1990s culminated in the initialing of the strategic partnership. The Indo-Russian strategic partnership is undergirded by a strong political
foundation that crosses party lines and enjoys popular support in both countries. This partnership is grounded primarily in extensive military cooperation, buttressed by a shared vision of the contours of a desirable international order and a congruence of views on important issues related to regional and international security. However, the partnership has inherent limits because neither country’s economic aspirations can be successfully achieved within the ambit of their bilateral relationship. Furthermore, leaders in New Delhi and Moscow recognize the constraints upon their partnership and upon their regional influence imposed by America’s global reach. The vagaries of their respective ties with the United States are likely to have an indirect impact on the
strategic partnership represents the efforts of two major powers-one in Asia and one in Eurasia-to steer a careful course designed to enhance their status and influence in a dynamic world of multiple emerging power centers, even as they attempt to craft mutually beneficial ties based upon pragmatic self-interest. These arguments are developed in sections that examine: (1) the historical
context within which Indo-Soviet and Indo-Russian ties have unfolded; (2) the key elements of the strategic partnership and succeeding agreements; (3) the military and economic facets of the relationship; and finally (4) an assessment of the partnership and its future trajectory.
