India must be Russia’s number one priority

“Two geopolitical factors must be brought to the forefront here: the first is that India currently ranks first in terms of Russian arms purchases; and second is that power in China is now in the hands of a new wave of young 40-something politicians that regard the USSR as history, believes Sergey Pisarev. While the old generation treated the Soviet Union as a serious power that shouldn’t be messed with, modern Chinese politicians see the Soviet Union as ancient history, and many Russian territories are marked as Chinese in their minds and on their maps.”

Many Russian politicians and diplomats, the businessman says, have noted that the new generation of Chinese politicians has been showing a certain aloofness. In the meantime, India became the world’s largest buyer of Russian arms in 2012. These two factors suggest that India should be Russia’s number one priority. If we manage to build a military-strategic, military-economic and cultural bloc with India, Russia will reap enormous benefits.

“Western culture is disintegrating before our eyes and Chinese culture remains somewhat of an enigma. In contrast, Indian culture has been close and familiar to us since the Soviet times. We accepted Indian music and Indian arts because Indian culture has always been comprehensible, not because someone imposed them on us. We have no major religious differences, because Hinduism is a faith that accepts everything. Indians have no problem with Christianity. The histories of Russia and India are very interesting. We used to have the same geopolitical enemy in England. India has always considered England to be an invader, and we had problems with England whenever the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union tried to build relations with India. It was believed that Russia would become an all-encompassing power if we formed a union with India, and our opponents did everything in their power to prevent such an alliance,” says Pisarev.

He believes that India and Russia may have the same opponents in the future: the United States, which will target India as soon as India becomes the world’s leading nation in terms of population and the size of its economy; NATO and China, the latter remaining the chief antagonist for India.

At the same time, Russia and India have never had – and probably will never have – any border, economic or geopolitical disagreements, says Pisarev. Unlike many countries, we have preserved cordial relations. Our governments and nations have no conflicts, not even the kind Russia has with Belarus and Ukraine, let alone Georgia.

“One more thing is that we have very similar economies – we have very poor and very rich people; some industries are developing, and some are falling behind. Russia and India may, therefore, move together in their economic development.”

“India is a nuclear power. Therefore, if we sign a mutual assistance treaty with India to guarantee support in the event that either country comes under attack, there won’t be a single country in the world to dare make a stand against such a bloc. This alliance will secure us forever, and we will never be scared of China, America or Western Europe. Based on this assumption, it is profitable and safe to arm India. India is currently the chief buyer of Russian weapons. This factor should become a geopolitical priority in order for the administration to think about it and take responsibility for promoting it, then occasional contacts will turn into a regular consistent relationship.”

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