Russian Indians include
Indian expatriates in Russia, as well as Russian citizens of Indian origin or descent.
Demography
According to the Indian embassy, there are approximately 14,000 Indians in Russia. In addition to this, there are also about 1500 Afghan nationals of Indian origin living in the country.
History
In the late eighteenth century, Russian traveller
Pallas noted the presence of hundreds of
Multani Vaiṣṇava Hindu merchant families in
Astrakhan
Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...
at the mouth of the Volga river.
The Hindustani Samaj is the oldest Indian organization to be set up in Russia, in 1957.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Center was opened in 1989 for propagating Indian culture in Russia. Its idea was conceived after the great success of the Festival of India, held in 1988 in the USSR.
In May 2022, two consignments of medicine were sent to Russian soldiers during the
invasion of Ukraine, under the initiative of Disha.
During the invasion of Ukraine, dozens of Indians were recruited to serve in the
Russian Armed Forces
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...
. Most of them were deceived by recruiters promising them money and jobs.
According to a Russian official, as of February 2024, around 100 Indians had been recruited. Indians were sent to work on the front, with nine of them having been killed as of September 2024. Following a visit in Moscow by Indian Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
, in July 2024 Russia promised to discharge all Indians fighting in its army. As of September, 45 Indians had been released.
Religion
A majority of Indians living in Russia are Hindus, with other populations including Christians of Indian origin, Muslims, and Sikhs.
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
is practised in Russia, though most ignore it, primarily by followers of the
Vaishnava Hindu organization
International Society for Krishna Consciousness,
Brahma Kumaris and by itinerant
swamis from India.
Notable people
*
Annet Mahendru – actress
*
Abani Mukherji – Indian revolutionary and co-founder of the
Communist Party of India (CPI)
See also
*
Hinduism in Russia
Hinduism has been spread in Russia primarily due to the work of scholars from the religious organization International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and by itinerant Swamis from India and small communities of Indian immigrants. Whil ...
*
India–Russia relations
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indians In Russia
Asian diaspora in Russia
Ethnic groups in Russia
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...