The Indian component in the historical dynamics of Russia (11th–17th centuries)

The paper builds a retrospective projection of the original dynamics of Russian-Indian relations. Focusing on the investigation of interactions between communities within the historical boundaries of their indigenous establishment is crucial for fostering contemporary dialogue between nations of the “Global South”, with the Russian Federation and the Republic of India functioning as key geostrategic dominants. The author’s conceptual interpretation of the topic is proposed. Consequently, the novelty of its ongoing development lies in the attempt at a historico-logical reconstruction of the early experiences of contact between the two historical subjects. This reconstruction leverages the instrumental apparatus of general communication theory, as well as intercultural and interethnic communication as specific sub-disciplines thereof. In the context of employing the theoretical and methodological units of these conceptual frameworks, the initial stages of bidirectional movement between two leading actors of the Global Majority and the specificity of their mutual attraction are defined and analyzed. The period under consideration spans from the emergence of the earliest notions of India in Rus’ to the seventeenth century inclusive, marking a transition from sporadic encounters to more or less stable bilateral ties and the commencement of the systematization of information about India in Russia.