India-Russia ties stem from 1955 Indo-Soviet partnership: Congress

The Bulganin-Khrushchev visit established the foundations of close Indo-Soviet collaboration of which the Bhilai Steel Plant and IIT Bombay were only two of the early examples, Ramesh said

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Ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India, the Congress on Thursday recalled Soviet leaders Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev's tour of India and said the India-Russia ties are the direct outcome and continuation of the Indo-Soviet partnership cemented for the first time in late half of 1955.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh noted that the 23rd annual summit between the President of Russia and the Prime Minister of India in the last 26 years begins today.

"These ties go back even longer.Exactly 70 years ago the top two leaders of the USSR came to India. Nikolai Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev were here for an extraordinary 19 days: from November 18 to 30, 1955, and again from Dec 7 to 14, 1955. This followed Jawaharlal Nehru's journey to the USSR six months earlier," Ramesh said.

The Bulganin-Khrushchev visit established the foundations of close Indo-Soviet collaboration of which the Bhilai Steel Plant and IIT Bombay were only two of the early examples, he said.

"A few years later MiG aircraft came to be manufactured by HAL with technology transfer. This visit also helped shape the future of ONGC and many other public sector companies like IDPL that, in turn, spawned private enterprises," Ramesh said on X.

The India-Russia relationship is the direct outcome and continuation of the Indo-Soviet partnership cemented for the first time in the second half of 1955, he asserted.

Ramesh also shared video clippings from the visit of Soviet leaders to India in 1955.

The Congress leader's remarks came just ahead of Russian President Putin's two-day visit to the country.

Modi will host a private dinner for Putin on Thursday, hours after he lands in New Delhi with a broader goal to shore up bilateral strategic and economic partnership against the backdrop of a sharp downturn in India's relations with the US.

Boosting defence ties, insulating bilateral trade from external pressure and exploring cooperation in small modular reactors are set to be the focus of the summit talks between Modi and Putin on Friday that are expected to be closely watched by Western capitals.

On Friday, Putin will be accorded a ceremonial welcome before the 23rd India-Russia summit. Modi will also host a working lunch for the Russian leader and his delegation at Hyderabad House, the venue for the summit. Putin will also visit Rajghat in the morning.

After the summit, Putin is set to launch the new India channel of Russian state-run broadcaster, following which he will attend a state banquet to be hosted in his honour by President Droupadi Murmu.

The Russian leader is expected to leave India at around 9:30 pm on Friday, wrapping up his nearly 28-hour visit.