Peter the Great welcomed the idea of Indian traders living within the boundaries of the Russian Empire, and the city of Astrakhan had a small but thriving community of Indians from the 17th to the 19th centuries.
Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, visited India, where he was disgusted with the sight of “redcoats.”
Going against European convention, he also had a very close friendship with King Rama V of Siam.
Russia managed to get one of its best glimpses of India when Prince Alexey Saltykov, a former diplomat, visited the country twice in the 1840s.
He wrote a book in French titled Voyages dans L’Inde (Journeys in India), which is a compilation of his letters and notes, accompanied by his drawings.