(a) “After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Indo-Russian relations are gaining new heights.” Support th

Question

Q. (a) “After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, Indo-Russian relations are gaining new heights.” Support the statement with any four examples.

(OR)

(b) “After the Second World War, the Soviet Union was considered a superpower of the world.” Support the statement with any four arguments.

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Concept understanding — Foreign Policy Realignment

Imagine you have a close friend for years. You share secrets, help each other out, and your families get along. Then, one day, you realise that friend has changed. Their values no longer match yours, or they’ve started hanging out with people who are hostile to you. You don’t just cut them off overnight — you slowly shift your circle, make new friends, and adjust how much you trust the old one. That slow, deliberate shift in who you rely on and how you deal with the world is, in essence, what foreign policy realignment means for a country.

At its simplest, foreign policy realignment is a fundamental and lasting change in a country’s strategic relationships with other nations. It is not a temporary disagreement or a single treaty. It is a deep, structural shift in who a country considers its primary allies, adversaries, and neutral partners. Think of it as a nation redrawing its mental map of the world.

The Precise Meaning (as per NCERT logic)

The NCERT textbooks for Class 12 Political Science (especially the chapter on India’s External Relations and The Cold War Era) treat realignment as a response to a major change in the global or domestic environment. It happens when the old framework of friendships and enmities no longer serves the country’s core interests — security, economic growth, or ideological goals.

For example, during the Cold War, many newly independent countries, including India, chose non-alignment. This was a deliberate policy of not joining either the US-led or Soviet-led military blocs. But when the Cold War ended in 1991, the entire world’s power structure collapsed. Non-alignment, as a strategy, lost its original meaning. India had to realign — it began building closer ties with the United States, engaging economically with the West, and simultaneously maintaining a special relationship with Russia. That was a realignment, not just a tweak.

Important

Realignment is not the same as a policy change. A policy change is adjusting tariffs or signing a new trade deal. Realignment is changing who you see as your primary partner and why. It is a shift in the very foundation of your foreign policy.

Why Does It Matter?

For a commerce or humanities student, understanding realignment is crucial because it explains why the world is not static. It answers questions like:

Why did India suddenly start cooperating with the US on nuclear energy after decades of tension? (Post-2005 realignment)
Why did Pakistan shift from being a US ally to having closer ties with China? (Strategic realignment)
Why did the European Union form after centuries of war between its members? (A massive realignment of European powers)

Realignment is the engine of history in international relations. It creates new opportunities (new trade routes, new alliances) and new risks (new rivalries, arms races).

Key Features of a Realignment (Bullet Points)

It is strategic, not tactical. It changes the long-term direction, not just a short-term response to a crisis.
It is often triggered by a major event: The end of a war, the rise of a new power (like China), an economic collapse, or a technological revolution.
It involves multiple dimensions: Economic ties (trade agreements), military cooperation (joint exercises, arms deals), and diplomatic support (voting together at the UN).
It is rarely sudden. It unfolds over years, sometimes decades, as old relationships fade and new ones are tested. …

Part (a): Indo-Russian ties reached new heights after 1991 through defence cooperation, the Kudankulam energy partnership, political alignment in BRICS and the SCO, and space and technology collaboration.
Part (b): The post-war USSR was a superpower by virtue of its military and 1949 nuclear power, its Warsaw Pact sphere, the global appeal of communism, and its space and technological achievements.

The disintegration of the USSR in 1991 might have ended India's most important partnership, but instead the relationship with Russia deepened and reached new heights. First, defence remained the cornerstone: Russia continued as India's primary supplier of hardware, spare parts and advanced technology, and cooperation evolved into joint research and co-production, symbolised by the BrahMos cruise missile and the licensed manufacture of fighter jets and tanks.

Second, energy security became a major pillar. Russia was instrumental in building India's civilian nuclear programme, most notably the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, and cooperation expanded into oil and gas, with mutual investments that diversified India's energy sources.

Third, the two countries developed a strong political and diplomatic alignment, sharing a commitment to a multipolar world order and coordinating on counter-terrorism and regional stability through groupings such as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, with Russia backing India's aspiration for permanent membership of a reformed Security Council. Fourth, the legacy of Soviet-era space cooperation was carried forward, including the supply of cryogenic engine technology to ISRO, alongside collaboration in science and emerging technologies.

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Concept understanding — Collapse of USSR

The Collapse of the USSR – A First Look

Imagine a huge, old building that has been standing for decades. From the outside, it looks solid. But inside, the walls are cracked, the pipes are rusted, and the foundation is slowly crumbling. One day, a few strong winds blow — and the entire structure comes down, not because of the wind alone, but because it was already weak inside.

That is the story of the USSR.

The Intuition: What was the USSR?

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a massive country that existed from 1922 to 1991. It covered Russia and 14 other republics (like Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, etc.). It was a communist state — meaning the government owned almost everything: factories, farms, banks, and even housing. There was no private business. The state decided what to produce, how much to pay workers, and what prices to set.

For a while, this system worked. The USSR became a superpower after World War II, rivaling the United States. It had a powerful army, a space program, and provided free education and healthcare to its people.

But by the 1980s, the cracks were showing.

Why did it collapse? The key reasons

1. Economic failure

The Soviet economy was inefficient. Because there was no competition, factories produced poor-quality goods. People stood in long lines for basic items like bread or soap. The government spent huge amounts on the military and on the space race, but neglected everyday needs. By the 1980s, the economy was stagnant — it wasn't growing.

2. Political rigidity

The Communist Party had total control. There was no freedom of speech, no free press, no elections. People could not criticise the government. This created deep frustration, especially among educated citizens and minority groups in the non-Russian republics.

3. The burden of the Cold War

The USSR spent enormous resources trying to keep up with the US in nuclear weapons, space exploration, and military influence around the world (e.g., the war in Afghanistan, 1979–1989). This drained the economy further.

4. Nationalism in the republics

The USSR was a union of many different nations — Ukrainians, Georgians, Uzbeks, etc. Many of them never wanted to be part of the USSR in the first place. As the central government weakened, these republics began demanding independence.

5. Gorbachev's reforms

Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader in 1985. He introduced two major reforms:

Perestroika – restructuring the economy to allow some private enterprise and market forces.
Glasnost – openness, allowing people to speak freely and criticise the government.

These reforms were meant to save the system, but they backfired. Once people were allowed to speak, they demanded more change. Once the economy was loosened, it fell into chaos. The reforms unleashed forces that the government could no longer control.

The precise statement …

Part (a): Indo-Russian ties reached new heights after 1991 through defence cooperation, the Kudankulam energy partnership, political alignment in BRICS and the SCO, and space and technology collaboration.
Part (b): The post-war USSR was a superpower by virtue of its military and 1949 nuclear power, its Warsaw Pact sphere, the global appeal of communism, and its space and technological achievements.

After the Second World War the Soviet Union emerged as one of the two superpowers that defined international relations for four decades. First, it possessed overwhelming military strength; its successful test of an atomic bomb in 1949, only four years after the United States, gave it nuclear parity and the capacity for global projection. Second, it built a vast sphere of influence, installing friendly regimes across Eastern Europe and binding them into the Warsaw Pact, thereby creating the socialist "second world" that stood against the Western bloc. …