The Soviet Union fully supported the Emergency period in India between 1975 and 1977. After the opposing Janata Party, which came to power in 1977, they feared that the Indo-Russian relations will sour. Relations with Egypt were already knotty. They did not want Indian resources to slip from their hands, too. So, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko found himself in the land of 33 crore gods and goddesses.
Before Gromyko stepped foot in India, the Soviet narrative towards the Emergency changed. They now believed that the Congress party suffered because of neglect towards working-class demands and because of abuse of power. The newly elected Prime Minister Morarji Desai and Foreign Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee assured Moscow that Delhi would continue to be friends with them. Vajpayee believed that no party or individual could break the strong ties between India and the USSR. The visit ended with Gromyko inviting the two ministers to Moscow.
Desai and Vajpayee accepted the invitation. It was the first time they went for a foreign visit after Desai became Prime Minister. That in itself pointed towards the strong relations between the two powers.
There aren’t many details of the exchange the two powers had. But the one thing they did needed to address was the currency rate of the ruble as opposed to the rupee. Between 1971 and 1975, the rupee had depreciated in terms of gold. The Soviet Union took this opportunity to adjust the exchange rate of the ruble with the rupee to their gain.
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