Soviet-Indian relations from the early 1940s through the mid-1960s may seem dated as a topic at a time when the Soviet Union is a distant memory and India's leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement is no longer relevant. Yet, the intriguing continuities between then and now offer insight into the worldviews and diplomatic practices of both Russia and India today. This 767-page volume by Andreas Hilger, a specialist in German-Russian relations and the deputy director of the German Historical Institute in Moscow, offers readers, including policymakers, much material for reflection.
Hilger's massive book covers the formative period of what both sides hoped would be a “special relationship” under their visionary leaders, Jawaharlal Nehru and Nikita Khrushchev, a relationship that evolved into a less visionary but still special partnership under their successors, Indira Gandhi and Leonid Brezhnev, and those who came after them—a partnership that remained robust until the end of the...