Future of the Indo-Russian strategic partnership

India and Russia have enjoyed cordial relations for over half a century. The friendly relationship was made official in 1971 with the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed by the Soviet Union and India. With the fall of the Soviet Union the dynamics of this relationship changed as both countries’ standings on the international fora also changed. On one side, the Soviet Union ceased to exist and Russia took its place without the status of superpower. On the other side, India became an essential part of global trade, attracting the once estranged United States. This research analysed both the Indo-Russian and the Indo-American relationship in order to understand the future of the former. The analysis of these relationships were made employing Balance of Power and Balance of Threat theories in order to better understand how these relations were formed. The findings indicate that a crucial part of the Indo-Soviet relations, arms import, is witnessing progressive reduction in participation by Russia as India pushes towards diversifying by importing arms from the West. The significance of this finding lays on understanding the impacts on Russia by the recent American rapprochement with India.