The article is devoted to the analysis of the contemporary state and prospects of India-Russia relations. There is a disagreement between scientists and politicians: the former believe that relations are stagnating, the latter that they are developing successfully. The author examines the Indian way of conducting foreign policy through the prism of methodological problems: he notes that decision-making on external relations is the prerogative of the prime minister. A distinctive feature of India’s foreign policy is its continuity, but the ongoing process of elite erosion is putting it at risk. Nevertheless, at this stage, India’s foreign policy is characterized by certain imperatives. The author identifies three main reasons for the deterioration of Russian-Indian relations: changes in the economic and international situation and problems in the formation of the political discourse. The second factor is the most decisive. The Soviet system of training orientalists failed to adapt to new realities. A similar situation, albeit for different reasons, has developed in India. As a result, a kind of “discursive blindness” has emerged, in which the political elites of both countries do not understand the benefits of expanding relations with each other, and the expert community has too little weight to ensure this process on its own. A typical example is the attitude to the concept of the Indo-Pacific Region. The new Cold War between the United States and China may aggravate this problem. But the author believes that the correct strategy, including the gradual development of economic ties, the development of its own Indo-Pacific strategy and support for domestic Indology, could help to solve it in the end.

The article was prepared within the project “Post-crisis world order: challenges and technologies, competition and cooperation” supported by the grant from Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation program for research projects in priority areas of scientific and technological development (Agreement № 075-15-2020-783).