Short answers, pulled from the story.
India and Russia established bilateral relations in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, though formal diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union were established in April 1947, shortly before Indian independence. The two countries exchanged embassies simultaneously in Moscow and New Delhi.
The five major components of the India-Russia strategic partnership are politics, defence, civil nuclear energy, anti-terrorism cooperation, and space exploration. These pillars were highlighted in a speech by former Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai in Russia.
Between 2012 and 2016, Russia accounted for 68% of India's defence imports, making it the chief supplier of defence equipment. Between 2013 and 2018, Russia accounted for 62% of all arms sales to India, according to SIPRI data.
After Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the resulting Western sanctions, bilateral trade between India and Russia climbed from $13 billion to $27 billion within 2022 as India purchased discounted Russian oil and fertilizers. After January 2023, Russia became India's top oil supplier, surpassing Iraq.
The Soviet Union launched India's first satellite, Aryabhata, on the 19th of April 1975 from Kapustin Yar using a Kosmos-3M rocket. The only Indian to visit space, Rakesh Sharma, was also launched by the Soviet Union under the Interkosmos programme.
Afanasy Nikitin was a Russian merchant from Tver who began his journey to India in 1468, traveling through Persia, India, and the Ottoman Empire between 1468 and 1472. His account of spending years in India, documenting its people, trade, agriculture, and customs, was published as A Journey Beyond the Three Seas and stands as one of the earliest Russian records of India.