Is Russia still our friend? Poll

[Singh]

In light of the recent situation where Russia has been trying to sell jet engines to PAF, conducting military ops with Pakistan and then blackmailing us on prices of many products, is it time we stop being a friend of Russia and make this relationship transactional ?

Please give your views, comments and ofcourse vote.

 

[Singh]

@Yusuf @Ray @pmaitra @sgarg @SajeevJino @sob @sayareakd @Sridhar @nrj @Energon @Bangalorean @Sakal Gharelu Ustad @jus @Mad Indian @ersakthivel @p2prada @Virendra @thakur_ritesh @Daredevil @LurkerBaba @maomao @rock127 @Apollyon @Neil @brtarun @asianobserve

 

[Sakal Gharelu Ustad]

Russia is a beggar state now and would do anything for money. Also, their future is bleak as of now (I mean they cannot support super-power status in the long run).

Not to forget India is becoming more than equal in the relationship now, so I won't be surprised if Russian assistance and cooperation increases with Pak in the future to maintain a dominant position in the relationship. Also, if India gets closer to US economically and otherwise, the gap will only increase.

 

[hit&run]

@brtarun assuming it is me.

The best way to judge any friendship in geo-politics is trail of money. More monetary stakes means better the friendship.

Then there are certain types of investments which can further ascertain the nature of friendship. Like bilateral trade, investing in a market with better returns. The alarm should go off when a nation start giving soft loans, trade of commodities on more fungible terms or same currency and the worst is dolling money for free.

What Russians are going to do in future is still in the womb. It will also depend on how India will keeps its books busy with Russian imports. If India can succeed in bringing down its import and build its own MIC then the so called breaking of ice between Pakistan and Russia will turn into a mature bilateral relationship which India has to learn live with it.

Only annoying part of this relationship will be Madrasa educated Pakistanis marasee who have habit of singing songs for anyone who tap their backs; which I am sure many Indians on Pakistani forums will mock it out and fix the same at whim.

 

[Yusuf]

There are no permanent friends in international relations, only permanent interests. We do have many hearts that bleed for Russia out of nostalgia of Cold War. Russia didn't do us any favors. It was playing its own game of influence when both sides were looking to get allies.


What Russia is doing now is hedging its bets. India is looking to get closer and closer to the west both economically & strategically. We have a far more broad based relations with the west & US in particular than we have with Russia which is only a transactional one wrt defence.

Russia has sold weapons and continues to sell weapons to China. It needs money and it will do so even if it means selling to China which violated IPR.

With US forces out from Af in total in future, Russia just keeping all options open in making friends with Pak.

Is Russia our friend? Well it's not our enemy. That's the best way to put it.

 

[Ray]

Russia is going in a big way to woo Pakistan.

They have recently given a huge billion dollar aid and are conducting military exercises with Pakistan.

 

[blueblood]

Two words - nuclear submarine. If someone else is willing to part with this kind of tech, I am all ears. If India can get close to US, Russia has every right to sell outdated stuff to Pakis.

 

[tarunraju]

Russia midwifed Congress-I, and Nehru-Gandhi family's dominance in Congress. It also conducted hits for the Congress (eg: Netaji, LB Shastri, and most recently [and although not in the same category,] Sunanda Pushkar).

So no, Russia is not even close to being a friend of India. The only credit they deserve is the help they gave us in carving out Bangladesh.

Nehru-Gandhi family did more damage to India than 1971 did to Pakistan.

With Op-Rahat we got a taste of American quality (C17). It's time we pull our Bongo-bindi heads out of our asses and acknowledge that. Buy more American/European stuff.

 

[Khagesh]

:kiss::smooch:


:washing:

 

[indiatester]

Russia has been more than a good friend to us during our times of distress.

I think the question we must be asking is, if we have been a good friend to Russia in its time of distress.

 

[SajeevJino]

.

Let me say, What if China starts It's version of Crimea by occupying Nepal and Bhutan with it's huge Ground Forces, mean time Pakistani's starts it's infiltration and cross border firing towards Indian Posts, of course without sending their regular forces,

This is the symbolic start of Chinese aggression towards India, and I sure we are get hard time to counter the Chinese presence in our Border countries,

How many of you Think Russia can condemn China and Pakistan, who will provide Satellite information's about Chinese Activity, who will support us with giving Aerial Recon Missions over Nepal and Bhutan( one who must Remember American Nuke watching Radars in the Mountains, and U 2 from Arunachal ) .


my take goes on

 

[JBH22]

Russia is a beggar state now and would do anything for money. Also, their future is bleak as of now (I mean they cannot support super-power status in the long run).

Not to forget India is becoming more than equal in the relationship now, so I won't be surprised if Russian assistance and cooperation increases with Pak in the future to maintain a dominant position in the relationship. Also, if India gets closer to US economically and otherwise, the gap will only increase.

Russia is a beggar state huh?

Russia though western media would love to tell us the contrary, this country still has cutting edge technology (Space exploration, Nuclear Powerplants, defence industry, large natural resources)

India is aligning itself increasingly with USA and I fear that we may lose our independence, check what happen to Pakistan for siding with Uncle Sam. Moreover, there has been no other nation except Russia has helped India bolster its defence. Our second strike capability is existent mainly because of Russian assistance.

Liberals draw their inspiration from US/West, but for conservative Russia is surprisingly asserting itself as a state that promotes family values etc and frankly I would better relate to a Putin rather an Obama.

India should continue pursue multi vector foreign policy move with Russia and not push it in the arms of China and Pakistan. Smart policy would tell us not to become Uncle Sam b!tch.

USA does not give partnership but only offers vassal state status. I reject this status for India.

 

[arya]

Modi has to think he want many friends or few best friend . India need to focus on few area . we can't be like USA or uk in few years but we have to improve . we have to keep Russia in our side . China Russia cooking is danger for us

 

[roma]

i think we are in a state of flux

during the cold war era the lines were well-defined

however since the end of the cold war, we are still yet to fall into a time frame
that can be readily defined

we are in a kind of no-man's land where it is hard to see the alignments
the only big thing which remains stable and constant is that money still buys !

it buys equipment and systems and temporary friendships

and that's as far as we can say for sure - everything else is in a state of transition

 

[Sakal Gharelu Ustad]

Russia is a beggar state huh?

Russia though western media would love to tell us the contrary, this country still has cutting edge technology (Space exploration, Nuclear Powerplants, defence industry, large natural resources)

India is aligning itself increasingly with USA and I fear that we may lose our independence, check what happen to Pakistan for siding with Uncle Sam. Moreover, there has been no other nation except Russia has helped India bolster its defence. Our second strike capability is existent mainly because of Russian assistance.

Liberals draw their inspiration from US/West, but for conservative Russia is surprisingly asserting itself as a state that promotes family values etc and frankly I would better relate to a Putin rather an Obama.

India should continue pursue multi vector foreign policy move with Russia and not push it in the arms of China and Pakistan. Smart policy would tell us not to become Uncle Sam b!tch.

USA does not give partnership but only offers vassal state status. I reject this status for India.

Whatever accomplishments you are quoting are from Soviet era. The boom in Russian economy for the last decade was helped by high oil prices. With the increasing reliance on renewables and other energy sources in the future, it would be difficult for Russia to maintain whatever technology it has right now, forget about building new tech.

As for being vassal or non-vassal state, it has nothing to do with who you align with but a matter of statecraft. Ofcourse, you are free to like whoever you like but good luck to live in a family valued Russia under the new Czar.

 

[Rowdy]

Easy.
As long as we hedge our bets we will always be out of Uncle Sam's iron grip and russia is an important component of that strategy. Russia also maintains a balance of power in the world and needs to be propped up to deter US+West. China also plays this role and hence India is able to get away with stuff like NSG exemption and EMALS tech transfer.
Russia is here to stay and will play an important role in India's foreign policy.

 

[Peter]

Russia is a beggar state huh?

Russia though western media would love to tell us the contrary, this country still has cutting edge technology (Space exploration, Nuclear Powerplants, defence industry, large natural resources)

India is aligning itself increasingly with USA and I fear that we may lose our independence, check what happen to Pakistan for siding with Uncle Sam. Moreover, there has been no other nation except Russia has helped India bolster its defence. Our second strike capability is existent mainly because of Russian assistance.

Liberals draw their inspiration from US/West, but for conservative Russia is surprisingly asserting itself as a state that promotes family values etc and frankly I would better relate to a Putin rather an Obama.

India should continue pursue multi vector foreign policy move with Russia and not push it in the arms of China and Pakistan. Smart policy would tell us not to become Uncle Sam b!tch.

USA does not give partnership but only offers vassal state status. I reject this status for India.

Russia is not a conservative state as per Indian standards. Russia has a high divorce rate which is comparable to the USA.(about 51 % for Russia compared to 53% for US. India has one of the lowest divorce rates.).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divorce_demography

IMO India should be a part of the NAM. It should cooperate with both US and Russia.

 

[pmaitra]

In light of the recent situation where Russia has been trying to sell jet engines to PAF, conducting military ops with Pakistan and then blackmailing us on prices of many products, is it time we stop being a friend of Russia and make this relationship transactional ?

Please give your views, comments and ofcourse vote.

Recent situation:
There has been a shift in India's posture before Russia started considering selling arms to Pakistan.

Selling jet engines to Pakistan:
India has been buying jet engines from the US.

Conducting military ops with Pakistan:
India has been conducting military ops with the US and other NATO countries for years now.

"Blackmailing" us on prices:
Every country will blackmail us, some on prices, some on other end user clauses. Moreover, Russia is not the USSR, and we need to start building weapons systems at home, instead of importing from any country.

Should we stop being friends with Russia:
We should continue to be friends with Russia just like with any other country. I think the Russians have asked themselves whether they should be friends with India. Looks like they have the answer.

Making this relationship transactional:
Relationship with Russia is already transactional, just like it is with any other country, and so should it be. It was not so with the USSR, but now, Russia is a capitalist country, so they act like capitalists.

The problem with many of us:
After years of mollycoddling and spoon-feeding by the USSR, we have grown a sense of entitlement, and we throw a tantrum every time Russia puts its interests first. We conveniently forget that India also put its interests first before Russia's. India should put its interests first, and so should any other country. We just need to stop throwing a tantrum.

 

[pmaitra]

There are no permanent friends in international relations, only permanent interests. We do have many hearts that bleed for Russia out of nostalgia of Cold War. Russia didn't do us any favors. It was playing its own game of influence when both sides were looking to get allies.


What Russia is doing now is hedging its bets. India is looking to get closer and closer to the west both economically & strategically. We have a far more broad based relations with the west & US in particular than we have with Russia which is only a transactional one wrt defence.

Russia has sold weapons and continues to sell weapons to China. It needs money and it will do so even if it means selling to China which violated IPR.

With US forces out from Af in total in future, Russia just keeping all options open in making friends with Pak.

Is Russia our friend? Well it's not our enemy. That's the best way to put it.

Apropos the emboldened part, I disagree.

Just pretend that the USSR did not help India in 1971/72.

So, we have PRC to the north of North East India, and Pakistan to the south. What does that look like?

I could give scores of other examples, such as accepting Rupee payments. That is certainly a favour.

My fears are presented in the emboldened portions in the quote below:

Russia is a beggar state huh?

Russia though western media would love to tell us the contrary, this country still has cutting edge technology (Space exploration, Nuclear Powerplants, defence industry, large natural resources)

India is aligning itself increasingly with USA and I fear that we may lose our independence, check what happen to Pakistan for siding with Uncle Sam. Moreover, there has been no other nation except Russia has helped India bolster its defence. Our second strike capability is existent mainly because of Russian assistance.

Liberals draw their inspiration from US/West, but for conservative Russia is surprisingly asserting itself as a state that promotes family values etc and frankly I would better relate to a Putin rather an Obama.

India should continue pursue multi vector foreign policy move with Russia and not push it in the arms of China and Pakistan. Smart policy would tell us not to become Uncle Sam b!tch.

USA does not give partnership but only offers vassal state status. I reject this status for India.

 

[jouni]

I think Russia and India will remain friends. You both have suspicion towards progress in the west, you both love poor infrastructure and good food. Russians drink more, you love to dance...you are made for each other.