5 Russian imports that have enriched India

[Gandhara]

Russia or USSR?
I think Soviets were close to India, Russia is more closer to China.

 

[Parul]

@vostok @senheiser Me bratya no otcu.

 

[Astra-2013]

best contribution of Russia in my life
I.E. irodov General problems in physics awesome book and one of the toughest problems in physics

 

[mike2000]

Russia is and was the best friend of India. Help of Soviet Union in 1971 against USA and UK prove that.

ahahahhaha......jeez i find it hard to believe Indians here can be so Naive or whatever. You are still talking about 'friends' in geo politics? Seems Indias soviet romance with its patron Russia, hasnt really died yet.lool
Bro there are no friends in politics, only interests. So stop saying Russia is best friend of India, couldnt be more farther away from the truth.

Russia does what is in its best interests, just like any great power or P5 country does. Do you think they care about India? loool They supported India during the cold war because they needed you to hedge against the U.S and China back then, plus they also got alot more in return from you(billions of dollars of arms exports which continues until today). If we were to calculate the amount of money Russia has made out of selling its soviet era weapons alone to India, it will be more than the total GDP of a mid size major latin american country. If Russia was Indias 'best friend' as you said, it will have as priority of helping India solves it problems with its neighbours like Pakistan/China/sri lanka etc instead of selling weapons to all parties who can pay.lool No country(and a major power for that matter) has any friends or gives anything for free(without expecting/getting much more in return). Thought every member on here knew that already.lol

Tomorrow, India might move away from Russia if it thinks her interests will be better served/aligns with that of the west/U.S(India is slowly but surely moving towards this direction already. reason Russia seems to be worried recently). That's how geo politics has been for centuries and thats how it will be inthe foreseable future, i don't see anything wrong in that. So just cut off the 'best friend' thing bro.

Personally i think Indias interests will be best served by tilting more towards us in the west/U.S since we can offer more to India in the long run, than Russia can.

 

[AugenBlick]

5 Russian imports that have enriched India | Russia & India Report
October 31, 2014 Ajay Kamalakaran
Russia's contribution to India goes well beyond defence ties and political and diplomatic support during times of need.



View attachment 141326
Russia initially assisted India's space programme. Source: Roscosmos
When some of my Russian friends and colleagues read this article, they insisted that I return the compliments to their country and come out with a list of five Russian origin products or systems that have enriched life in India. Here are five areas where the Russian hand has made a significant contribution to India.



Space Technology

Last month, India celebrated the success of Mangalyaan, its Mars Orbiter Mission. The country’s first inter-planetary mission represents the coming of age of India as a space power. Russia played a very important role in bringing India into the space age.

Aryabhatta, India’s first space satellite was launched from Kapustin Yar in 1975, by the Russians, who used the Kosmos-3M vehicle. India’s first cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma travelled to the Salyut-7 space station from Baikonour.

The Indian Space Research Organisation received a lot of technical assistance and support from the Soviet Union in its early days, and there is still a great deal of cooperation with the Russians.



Russian Literature

Perhaps the greatest source of Russian soft power for India comes from its great works of literature. Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Alexander Pushkin have been household names in India for generations. Their books can be found in translated versions in most official Indian languages. I have even seen a Mizo version of Crime and Punishment.

Russia’s literary giants were the inspiration for many Indian writers, including Malayalam writer O.V. Vijayan, Bengali writer Nabarun Bhattacharya and polyglot playwright and Hindi writer Bhisham Sahni. Rabindranath Tagore also had special feelings for Russia, although it was the country as he saw it in the early 1930s more than the literature per se.

Russian classics remain ever so popular in contemporary India, right from the intellectual urban elite to college students in poorer regions.



Vaccines for cholera and the plague

Dr Waldemar Mordecai Haffkine was a Russian scientist who saved many people in different parts of India from cholera, and helped rid Bombay of the bubonic plague in the 1890s.

In 1892, Dr Haffkine developed a vaccine for cholera and tested it on himself. He fought what was described as a “lone battle” against cholera in Calcutta, where thousands were inoculated against the disease. He treated poor and discouraged labourers in Assam and the Gangetic plain.

The Russian doctor then went to Bombay, where the bubonic plague had claimed 3148 lives between October 1896 and January 1897. Dr Haffkine felt the British attempts at disinfection were “hopelessly inadequate to the epidemiological realities of plague, and therefore, ultimately futile.” He was also upset by the misery and upheaval that the segregation camps caused the residents of Bombay, who were “far more terrified of camps and hospitals than they were of plague.”

Within three months, he developed a vaccine, which again, he tested on himself. Dr Haffkine subjected himself to “fourfold auto-inoculation and experienced a painful week of febrile reaction,” before announcing his findings to the authorities. The end result was that Bombay was cured of the plague. Read more about the legacy of Dr Haffkine here.



Steel plants in Bhilai and Bokaro

India’s massive steel plants in Bhillai and Bokaro were set up with Soviet assistance.

The Bhilai plant was set up in 1959 in what is now Chhattisgarh. As this article illustrates, this was a project that was close to the hearts of the Russians and set the tone for greater integration between Indians and Russians from the 1960s to 80s. Russian engineers are still involved in the maintenance of the plant.

Bokaro’s steel plant was set up in 1965 in what is now Jharkhand. The plant, though built with Russian assistance, was called the first Swadeshi plant in India. Soviet engineers worked with their Indian counterparts using Indian equipment and material. Could there be a better example of the ‘Make in India’ model than this?

At the moment, the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is using Russian engineers even in plants that were not set up by the Soviets. Altogether SAIL plants account for about 40 percent of India’s crude steel production.



Russian Salad

Although Russian and Indian cuisines are as different as night and day, there is something a dish that the countries share.

From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, restaurants in even smaller Indian towns serve Russian Salad. For a Russian who spots this for the first time on an Indian menu, there is a bit of suspense, since Russia has many delicious varieties of salads. What we end up getting served in India is Oliviye, a Russian winter salad that is usually a part of the New Year dinner spread.

The Indian variant, depending on where it is made, has an exotic fruit or two in it. Pineapple seems to be a popular choice. Many families have patented their own version of Russian Salad and adjusted it for their palates. No buffet worth its mention in India would be complete without this dish.

Russia played a special role in my life too.

This book is responsible for getting me into a university.

 

[INDIC]

best contribution of Russia in my life
I.E. irodov General problems in physics awesome book and one of the toughest problems in physics

Russia played a special role in my life too.
View attachment 141909
This book is responsible for getting me into a university.

Irodov's was the craziest physics book.

 

[Cat Shannon]

author is trying to extend ussr's legacy to russia.

ussr was undoubtedly a friend of india.

i still can't say russia is.

 

[Skull and Bones]

Russia has been more than a brother to us.

 

[AugenBlick]

best contribution of Russia in my life
I.E. irodov General problems in physics awesome book and one of the toughest problems in physics

Which uni bro IIT/NIT? ... me also an Irodov fan

 

[AugenBlick]

Personally i think Indias interests will be best served by tilting more towards us in the west/U.S since we can offer more to India in the long run, than Russia can.

In principle I agree..
but the issue is that at least at the moment India has ZERO ideological "stumbling blocks" with Russia. An anti russia lobby simply does not exist. The left wing commies love them, the right is too pragmatic to hate them and there is no real center in India(in my view)

With the west we are still vary .... everything the US touches is burning ( may or may not be America's fault, not the issue here) and there seems to be a "be careful with the US " emotion which has been strengthened by the NSA $hit . people still have a mixed view of Britain even after all the sanitized history taught in Indian school, not to mention the UK's vailing influence.

This is not to say that Russia gets a free pass , they screwed us in the Aircraft Carrier refab deal and now are displaced by US as arms supplier for us.
Finally we will do what ever it takes to protect our interests. But on a personal level I would trust russia a lot more than west.

Irodov's was the craziest physics book.

after the few easy problems in each section , it took me about 2/3 h for each problem. :/

 

[INDIC]

after the few easy problems in each section , it took me about 2/3 h for each problem. :/

Tomorrow, India might move away from Russia if it thinks her interests will be better served/aligns with that of the west/U.S(India is slowly but surely moving towards this direction already. reason Russia seems to be worried recently). That's how geo politics has been for centuries and thats how it will be inthe foreseable future, i don't see anything wrong in that. So just cut off the 'best friend' thing bro.

India's best interest would be keeping equal distance from both of them not getting involved into American-Russian dislike for each other.

 

[Hiptullha]

Personally i think Indias interests will be best served by tilting more towards us in the west/U.S since we can offer more to India in the long run, than Russia can.

India won't have to outbid other countries and corporations to control politicians in Russia.

 

[Astra-2013]

Which uni bro IIT/NIT? ... me also an Irodov fan

kon kambakht IIT clear karne ke liye irodov padhta tha....
hum to bus yuhi kisi ki nazar me aane ke liye or unke Batch me jane ke liye Irodov lagaya karte the

 

[AugenBlick]

kon kambakht IIT clear karne ke liye irodov padhta tha....
hum to bus yuhi kisi ki nazar me aane ke liye or unke Batch me jane ke liye Irodov lagaya karte the

 

[T90TankGuy]

They forgot Russian girls, who act as extras in Hindi movies as backup dancers