The mutual respect and understanding between the two nations started centuries ago
India and Russia have a unique historical relationship, even though they are not immediate geographic neighbors. Archaeological and linguistic evidence indicates that cultural ties were forged from ancient times when the Sanskrit and old Slavonic languages were closely linked and when there were similarities in the names of the divinities the two peoples worshiped.
Even after Christianity came to Russia, the cultural affinities continued. Indeed, this plurality and eclecticism is a special characteristic of Russia, which straddles two continents, like the Roman god Janus. India has also welcomed diverse peoples to its shores, which led Rabindranath Tagore to call India “the seashore of humanity.”
Perhaps this explains why Russia, basically a European nation, can establish affinity with Eurasian civilizations. Take the case of Russian travelers to India. Afanasy Nikitin’s travelogue reflects both curiosity and respect for India. He was interested in India’s customs and culture, not in commerce and politics. Prince Sergey Saltykov’s sketches of India and Vasily Vereshchagin’s paintings are done with empathy and interest.
Tsar Peter I had a cultural interest when he sent Russian scholars to India to learn about Indian civilization and established the institute for oriental studies in St. Petersburg in 1725.
President Vladimir Putin has very rightly mentioned Russian support during India’s freedom movement. During the Great Uprising of 1857, Tsarist Russia gave both material and moral support to subjugated India. Tsar Nicholas I publicly condemned the brutal treatment of the rebels. He is said to have advised British Queen Victoria to stop the atrocities. And Count Leo Tolstoy led a press campaign to condemn British rule in India.
When the revolutionary movements of 1905 were suppressed by the British Raj, some Indians turned to Count Tolstoy for guidance. “How do we achieve freedom? We have no army, no weapons,” they asked. Tolstoy responded by formulating five principles of passive resistance. These served as guidelines for the civil disobedience movement, which commenced under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi in 1921. This has remained in the collective memory of Indians.
There has been a cultural dialogue between India and Russia when the two nations have united for a peaceful cause. As Russia’s greatest writer, Tolstoy gave advice to Indians, India’s greatest poet gave warm support to the Soviet Union when capitalist Western Europe was sharpening its knives against this new egalitarian republic.
In 1931, Commissar Lunacharsky invited Tagore to visit Soviet Russia. The British government then ruling India told him not to go. Tagore was then a deeply revered international figure. He had won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913, and was made a knight of the British Empire in 1915, which he renounced after the massacre of Indians at Jallianwalla Bagh.
India’s greatest poet went to Russia and published a powerful, prophetic travelogue, ‘Letters from Russia’, warmly praising the new socioeconomic experiment in Russia and the government for transforming the country. But he also saw the gathering shadows of a terrible war and advised the Russians, “Build your strength quickly because you have adversaries around you.” His prophecy came true ten years later when Nazi Germany attacked.
The British government banned the book and stopped funds to Tagore’s university at Shantiniketan (my hometown). Tagore paid a high price for expressing his admiration of Russia.
This mutual respect and empathy between Russia and India is rooted in historical traditions. Both nations have deplored wars and violence. Neither embarked on wars of conquest or annexation of other nations’ territories. Neither pursued policies of exploiting other people’s resources. Both have believed in respecting civilizational diversity.
It is appropriate that Tolstoy, the apostle of peace (as was Mahatma Gandhi) should have an international prize named after him. The Leo Tolstoy Peace Prize seeks to promote the quest for world peace through dialogues of civilizations between peoples of different races, colors, and creeds. The recipients of this prize are indeed entrusted with the task of carrying forward the message of Tolstoy for attaining stability, harmony, and peace in a world of turmoil.
