When did Vladimir Putin last visit India — and which other Russian presidents have travelled here?

Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to India from 4 to 5 December next month at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During the visit, Putin will attend the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit and hold talks with PM Modi, according to an official statement by the Ministry of External Affairs.

The President of India will also receive Putin and host a banquet in his honour.

The visit will provide an opportunity for the leadership of India and Russia to review progress in bilateral relations, outline the vision for strengthening the 'Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership', and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, the MEA statement said.

The visit will mark Putin's first visit to India since 2021. Putin and Prime Minister Modi met in person on 1 September this year in Tianjin, China, on the sidelines of the SCO Summit.

Putin as Russian President

Putin first became Acting President on 31 December 1999, when Boris Yeltsin resigned.

He was then formally elected President and inaugurated on 7 May 2000. Putin served as President from 2000 to 2008 (two consecutive terms).

And he stepped down in 2008 because of constitutional term limits. Between 2008 and 2012, he served as Prime Minister, while Dmitry Medvedev was President.

Who else of the Russian Presidents has visited India?

Putin, however, returned as President in 2012 and has remained in that post since then. He was sworn in for another term on 7 May 2024 after winning the 2024 election in Russia.

Before Putin, Dmitry Medvedev made an official visit in December 2008 – his first as Russian President— where the two countries signed a civil nuclear agreement and expanded defence and energy cooperation. Medvedev visited India again on 21 to 22 December 2010 for the India–Russia Annual Summit.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin visited India in January 1993. During his two-day visit, Yeltsin met with then-Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and reached agreements on issues such as resolving India's debt to Russia, military-technical cooperation, and addressing terrorism.

(With agency inputs)