By Ashish Singh
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed a 2-day visit to Russia, where he had a cup of tea with President Putin at the latter’s cottage (dacha), situated at Novo-Ogaryovo in the outskirts of Moscow. Observers and commentators closely watched this meet for two main reasons: it was the first official visit of the Indian PM post-2024 elections, and, secondly, post-Covid 19, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis/war seems to have cast a shadow over the relationship between the two countries. Important areas in focus during this meeting were security, energy, trade, investment, education, health, and people-to-people connectivity. As I pen down this piece, there are more than 25 tabs open on my computer with experts presenting different types of deals with Russia as well as the future of this relationship. Volumes are being written as the hours go by, so it is better for me to write with fewer numbers and more analysis of what I think is important based on my interactions with locals and the Indian Diaspora.
Russia has been India’s oldest and closest ally since India joined the community of nation-states in 1947. In times of crisis, Russia has stood with India and still gives high priority to India as its partner. Russia has provided India with high-tech weaponry, supports Indian bids in the UNSC, and accommodates a large number of students pursuing education in medicine.
The Russian state was quite effective in tackling the COVID crisis, as I witnessed it firsthand while living on the outskirts of Moscow as a student of Russia’s prestigious Higher School of Economics. The Russian healthcare system reaches all its citizens and has seemingly good infrastructure. It is also a notable fact that, at present, more than 10,000 Indian students are studying medicine in different parts of Russia.
There have been talks about building a Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor between India and Russia. The International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), initially meant to transport goods from India to Russia via Iran as an alternative to the conventional Suez Canal route, is getting back to the table as it has been found to be more cost- and time-effective; however, the insurance, documentation, and other issues are creating challenges.
The Indian Diaspora also wants the export process to be made more user-friendly with fewer bureaucratic (read corruption) hassles. My friends from UP and Bihar who have tried their hands at business between India and Russia find it extremely problematic. One exporter of food items had to spend nearly two years in different offices in India to get the paperwork cleared. Also, each time he visited any office or any official in this regard, he was supposed to bring some gifts for them. This is also what I have witnessed. Logistical and other challenges come later.
The People’s Friendship University of Russia (RUDN) in Moscow was established during Soviet times to invite students from underdeveloped, developing, and third-world countries. It has managed to accommodate many students since then. Furthermore, the education system requires students to obtain a minimum grade point average to obtain and maintain scholarships. As a result, hard-working students from working-class families in Russia are able to access good-quality education at prestigious universities. Some Russian students also visit a few Indian educational institutions per year. I believe what India and Russia can do together is develop a kind of mechanism that goes beyond student exchanges, talks, and scholarships. Shared learning could be one of such thematic areas to be considered.
Pyaterochka and Magnit are two big supermarket chains in Russia. During my 3.5-year stay in Moscow and St Petersburg, I bought almost everything of daily use from there. Just once I found peanuts exported from India; the rest of the time they were from Uzbekistan. Interestingly, Russia imports bananas from Ecuador. I don’t think that I need to present a dataset here comparing distances between Quito and Moscow with Delhi and Moscow.
PM Modi’s announcement of opening two new Indian consulates in Kazan and Yekaterinburg is a welcome step, as it is going to increase ease of mobility between the two countries and between different regions of these countries.
Finally, one should not ignore the fact that Russians are hard-working, friendly, and family-oriented people. The strengthened relations between both countries should not just increase opportunities for riches, but also provide all the opportunity to know, enjoy and share each other’s cultural and social pool of customs that many of us seem to have overlooked.
