Diplomatic relations between Russian Federation and India were established on April 13, 1947.

After 1991, the treaty basis was updated and over 250 documents were signed by two countries. The founding document is the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the Republic of India and the Russian Federation of January 28, 1993. 

A landmark event was the state visit of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to the Republic of India in October 2000, which saw the signing of the Declaration on Strategic Partnership between the Russian Federation and the Republic of India.

In a Joint Statement: “Celebrating a Decade of the India- Russian Federation Strategic Partnership and Looking Ahead” adopted in December 2010, Dmitry A. Medvedev (as the President of the Russian Federation) noted that relations had reached a qualitatively new level of a special and privileged  strategic partnership.

Contacts at the level of heads of state, governments and parliaments 

High intensity of political interaction is the distinctive feature of Russian-Indian relations. Meetings and talks at the highest level are held annually, at which key areas of cooperation are discussed, as well as current international and regional issues. 

Meetings of the leaders of the two countries are regularly held on the margins of multilateral forums: BRICS, RIC, the SCO, the G20, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the East Asian Summit (EAS), etc. 

Contacts between the security councils and the foreign affairs agencies are ongoing on a regular basis.